Introduction:  

Manjistha consists of dried roots of Rubia cordifolia L. (family Rubiaceae). It is also known as Manjitha or Manjit in Hindi and Indian Madder in English. Manjistha is found throughout the country.¹ The plant has a long and cylindrical root with red coloured bark. Its flowers are small, white, or greenish, whereas fruits are globose, dark purple or, black. Stems have a long, woody, and rough base.²

Rubia cordifolia has been traditionally used for its medicinal benefits. Apart from therapeutic benefits, it is also used as a natural hair dye and food colourant.² 

Chemical Constituents of Manjistha: 

The various chemical constituents present in Manjistha are quinones, iridoids, oleananes triterpenoid, bicyclic hexapeptides, anthraquinones. Some notable anthraquinones are alizarin, purpurin, and rubicordifolin.² Apart from various phytochemicals, carbohydrates and amino acids are also present in the roots of Manjistha.³  

Therapeutic Uses of Manjistha: 

The therapeutic uses of Manjistha are as follows: 

• Traditionally, Manjistha has been used in the treatment of liver fluke, maggots, dysentery, wounds, and intestinal worms in animals.² 
• Manjistha is commonly used as a blood purifier. It has many other therapeutic properties like calcium channel blocking, anti-diabetic, anti-stress, and anti-platelet. 
• It has anticancer activity and is used in the treatment of skin disorders.²  
• The anthraquinones found in Manjistha have many biological activities, such as antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, antifungal, immunomodulatory, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antimalarial, antioxidant antileukemic, and mutagenic.^2,4 

Benefits of Manjistha: 

Benefits of Manjistha for Cardiovascular Disorders 

• The cardioprotective benefit of Manjistha is likely to be due to the synergistic effect of all the bioactive components.⁵
• The calcium channel blocking constituents of Manjistha root extract show spasmolytic activity similar to that of verapamil.² 

Benefits of Manjistha for Treating Acne 

• The anti-bacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities of Manjistha are beneficial for the skin.
• Manjistha extract inhibits the acne-causing bacteria and is helpful in managing external inflammations like ulcers and skin conditions.
• Anthraquinones found in the extract show anti-acne activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Malassezia furfur, Propionibacterium acne when compared with standard Clindamycin gel.⁶ 

Benefits of Manjistha for Managing Diabetes 

• The root extract of Rubia cordifolia shows hypoglycemic activity due to the presence of various bioactive components.
• Administration of the root extract showed significant hypoglycemic activity in an animal study.² 

Anticancer Benefits of Manjistha   

• The cyclic hexapeptides and quinones of Rubia showed significant anticancer activity against various proliferating cells.
• The antitumor activity of cyclic hexapeptide was comparable to that of deoxy-bouvardin and less than that of vincristine against leukemia cell lines.² 

Benefits of Manjistha for Wound Healing 

Manjistha has shown effectiveness in wound healing in experimental models.² 

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Benefits of Manjistha for Managing Psoriasis  

• The antiproliferative activity of Manjistha extract is beneficial for the management of psoriasis.
• The ethanolic root extract of Manjistha has significant antiproliferative activity.² 

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Benefits of Manjistha for Preventing Liver Damage 

• Manjistha extract has shown hepatoprotective (preventing liver damage) activity in many animal trials.
• Rubiadin, a major component of Manjistha root extract, also showed potent hepatoprotective action against liver damage in a rat model.² 

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How to Use Herb? 

There are many ayurvedic formulations containing Manjistha available to be used in cases of skin diseases, blood purification, bacterial infections, pain, and wounds.⁶ Some examples are given below, 

• Laghu Manjisthaadi kwatha is used in the treatment of skin diseases.  
• Mukhakrantimkar lepa can be used to improve the glow of the face. 
• Raktasodhana can be used as a blood purifier.  
• Vranaropaka can be used for wound healing. 
• Vedanasthapana can be used as an analgesic.⁶ 

Your Ayurvedic physician will prescribe you the form and dose as per your health condition. 

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 Side Effects of Manjistha: 

There is a lack of data about the safety of oral consumption and the topical application of Manjistha. Therefore, use this herb at the discretion of the doctor.  

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Frequently Asked Questions: 

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References:  

1. Pharmacopoeia Commission For Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy. The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia Of India Part-I Volume-IX Government of India Ministry of AYUSH 2016. 2016.  

2. Patil R, Mohan M, Kasture V, Kasture S. Rubia cordifolia: a review. Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine [Internet]. 2009 Mar 31 [cited 2022 Feb 9];9(1):1–13. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/244943682_Rubia_cordifolia_a_review 

3. (PDF) Therapeutic Importance of Rubia cordifolia Linn. and its Phytochemical Analysis [Internet]. [cited 2022 Feb 16]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343826995_Therapeutic_Importance_of_Rubia_cordifolia_Linn_and_its_Phytochemical_Analysis 

4. Meena AK. A review on Rubia cordifolia Its phyto constituents and therapeutic uses [Internet]. Vol. 2. 2010. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331398141 

5. Chandrashekar B, Prabhakara S, Mohan T, Shabeer D, Bhandare B, Nalini M, et al. Characterization of Rubia cordifolia L. root extract and its evaluation of cardioprotective effect in Wistar rat model. Indian Journal of Pharmacology [Internet]. 2018 Jan 1 [cited 2022 Feb 10];50(1):12. Available from: /pmc/articles/PMC5954628/ 

6. (PDF) Manjistha(Rubia Cordifolia)- A helping herb in cure of acne [Internet]. [cited 2022 Feb 9]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/302902410_ManjisthaRubia_Cordifolia-_A_helping_herb_in_cure_of_acne 

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