''Tinospora cordifolia'' (common names gurjo, heart-leaved moonseed, guduchi or giloy) is a herbaceous

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

of the family

Menispermaceae Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greek ''mene'' 'crescent moon' and ''sperma'' 'seed') is a family of flowering plants. The alkaloid tubocurarine, a neuromuscular blocker and the active ingredient in the 'tube curare' form ...

indigenous to tropical regions of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It has been used in

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

to treat various disorders, but there is no clinical evidence for the effectiveness of such treatment.

Botanical description

It is a large, deciduous, extensively-spreading, climbing vine with several elongated twining branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, and exstipulate with long petioles up to long which are roundish and pulvinate, both at the base and apex with the basal one longer and twisted partially and half way around. It gets its name heart-leaved moonseed by its heart-shaped leaves and its reddish fruit. Lamina are broadly ovate or ovate cordate, long or broad, seven nerved and deeply cordate at base, membranous, pubescent above, whitish tomentose with a prominent reticulum beneath. Flowers are unisexual, small on separate plants and appearing when the plant is leafless, greenish-yellow on axillary and terminal racemes. Male flowers are clustered, but female flowers are usually solitary. It has six sepals in two series of three each. The outer ones are smaller than the inner. It has six petals which are smaller than sepals, obovate, and membranous. Fruits aggregate in clusters of one to three. They are ovoid smooth drupelets on thick stalks with sub terminal style scars, scarlet or orange colored.

Ecology

Endophytic fungi colonize the living, internal tissues of their host without causing any harmful effects. A recent study has shown that 29 endophytes belonging to different taxa were present in the samples collected from ''T. cordifolia''. Extracts of the endophytic fungus '' Nigrospora sphaerica'' obtained from ''T. cordifolia'' were found to have insecticidal properties against the Oriental leafworm moth (''Spodoptera litura''), a polyphagous pest.

Phytochemicals

''Tinospora cordifolia'' contains diverse phytochemicals, including

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

phytosterol Phytosterols are phytosteroids, similar to cholesterol, that serve as structural components of biological membranes of plants. They encompass plant sterols and stanols. More than 250 sterols and related compounds have been identified. Free phy ...

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycoside ...

tinosporide Tinosporide is a chemical compound classified as a diterpenoid and a furanolactone. It was first isolated from the plant ''Tinospora cordifolia'', from which it derives its name. It has since been found in other plants of the genus ''Tinospora'' ...

, and mixed other chemical compounds.

Traditional medicine

Although used in

over centuries in the belief that ''Tinospora'' has medicinal properties, there is no good evidence that it is effective for treating any disease. During the 2020-22 COVID-19 outbreak in India, the

Ministry of AYUSH The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of traditional medicine systems in India. Ayush is a name devised from the names of the alternative healthcare syst ...

recommended use of ''T. cordifolia'' ("giloy") as a

home remedy Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

for immune support, but such a practice appeared to be associated with

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...

cases among six people in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

who used boiled or capsule preparations of the plant. Another analysis from April 2020 to July 2021 across multiple Indian states found "43 patients with acute hepatitis which had no identifiable cause other than giloy consumption."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3595912 Menispermaceae Flora of Asia Medicinal plants Plants used in Ayurveda Taxa named by Carl Peter Thunberg