SpringerLink
Log in

Recent Developments in Natural Compounds of Guggul and Production of Plant Material for Conservation and Pharmaceutical Demand Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Plants for Immunity and Conservation Strategies

  • 134 Accesses

Abstract

Commiphora wightii (Arnott.) is a dioecious, slow-growing, balsamic tree of family Burseraceae that is primarily found in desert regions of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka have the suitable condition for growing C. wightii. Since ancient times, C. wightii, sometimes known as “Guggul,” has been used to treat a variety of illnesses and problems due to the presence of the steroidal component guggulsterone in the oleo-gum resin. Guggulsterone’s bioactive isomers E and Z are mainly responsible for its effects on lipid and cholesterol levels. Recent research has also revealed anticancerous properties.

Guggul is a poor choice for social forestry since it takes several years to grow and blossoms slowly. This shrub is used to produce firewood and gum-resin, among other forest products. The relentless exploitation of this species and insufficient conservation efforts have led to its placement in the list of endangered plant species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Field surveys over the past several decades have revealed a decline in its wild population. Due to improper harvesting for their oleo-gum resin, the plant dies after two to three years.

This chapter summarizes the natural compound, pharmaceutical demand, and conservation and future directions of research for this important endangered medicinal plant.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
GBP 19.95
Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
GBP 143.50
Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
GBP 179.99
Price includes VAT (United Kingdom)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Al-Bishri WM, Al-Attas OS (2013) Guggul resin extract improve hyperglycemia and lipid profile in streptozotocin induced diabetes mellitus in rats. Life Sci J 10(1):2735–2741

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Howiriny T, Al-Sohaibani M, Al-Said M, Al-Yahya M, El-Tahir K, Rafatullah S (2005) Effect of Commiphora opobalsamum (L.) Engl. (Balessan) on experimental gastric ulcers and secretion in rats. J Ethnopharmacol 98(3):287–294

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arora RB, Kapoor V, Gupta SK, Sharma RC (1971) Isolation of a crystalline steroidal compound from Commiphora mukul and its anti-inflammatory activity. Indian J Exp Biol 9(3):403–404

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Asres K, Tei A, Moges G, Sporer F, Wink M (1998) Terpenoid composition of the wound-induced bark exudate of Commiphora tenuis from Ethiopia. Plantamedica 64(05):473–475

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Azharhusain SM, Shrivastava B, Quazi A, Shaikh MAJ, Patwekar M (2022) A review on guggul [Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhand.], its phytochemical constitution and mode of action. Int J Ayurveda Pharma Res:74–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Bajaj AG, Dev S (1982) Chemistry of Ayurvedic crude drugs—V: Guggul (resin from commiphora mukul)—5 some new steroidal components and, stereochemistry of guggulsterol-I at C-20 and C-22. Tetrahedron 38(19):2949–2954

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balasundram N, Sundram K, Samman S (2006) Phenolic compounds in plants and agri-industrial by-products: antioxidant activity, occurrence, and potential uses. Food Chem 99(1):191–203

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barve DM, Mehta AR (1993) Clonal propagation of mature elite trees of Commiphora wightii. Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult 35:237–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Benn WR, Dodson RM (1964) The synthesis and stereochemistry of isomeric 16-hydroxy-17 (20)- Pregnane. J Org Chem 29(5):1142–1148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benvegnu R, Cimino G, De Rosa S, De Stefano S (1982) Guggulsterol-like steroids from the Mediterranean gorgonian Leptogorgia sarmentosa. Experientia 38(12):1443–1444

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chadha MS, Joshi NK, Mamdapur VR, Sipahimalani AT (1970) C-21 steroids in the defensive secretions of some Indian water beetles—II. Tetrahedron 26(8):2061–2064

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chander R, Rizvi F, Khanna AK, Pratap R (2003) Cardioprotective activity of synthetic guggulsterone (E and Z-isomers) in isoproterenol induced myocardial ischemia in rats: a comparative study. Indian J Clin Biochem 18(2):71–79

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhary G (2012) Pharmacological properties of Commiphora wightii Arn. Bhandari—an overview. Int J Pharm Pharm Sci 4(3):73–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheon JH, Kim JS, Kim JM, Kim N, Jung HC, Song IS (2006) Plant sterol guggulsterone inhibits nuclear factor-κB signaling in intestinal epithelial cells by blocking IκB kinase and ameliorates acute murine colitis. Inflamm Bowel Dis 12(12):1152–1161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deng R (2007) Therapeutic effects of guggul and its constituent guggulsterone: cardiovascular benefits. Cardiovasc Drug Rev 25(4):375–390

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dev S (1987) A modern look at an age old Ayurvedic drug Guggul. Sci Age 5:13–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Dev S (1999) Ancient-modern concordance in Ayurvedic plants: some examples. Environ Health Perspect 107(10):783–789

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Goyal C, Ahuja M, Sharma SK (2011) Preparation and evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity of gugulipid-loaded proniosomal gel. Acta Pol Pharm 68(1):147–150

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta S, Dey YN, Kannojia P, Halder AK, Sharma D, Wanjari MM et al (2022) Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of Trayodashang guggul, an ayurvedic formulation. Phytomed Plus 2(3):100281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanuš LO, Řezanka T, Dembitsky VM, Moussaieff A (2005) Myrrh-commiphora chemistry. Biomed Papers 149(1):3–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harsha C, Banik K, Bordoloi D, Kunnumakkara AB (2017) Antiulcer properties of fruits and vegetables: a mechanism based perspective. Food Chem Toxicol 108:104–119

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hung T, Stuppner H, Ellmerer-Müller EP, Scholz D, Eigner D, Manandhar MP (1995) Steroids and terpenoids from the gum resin of Ailanthus grandis. Phytochemistry 39(6):1403–1409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kant T, Prajapati S, Parmar AK (2010) Efficient micropropagation from cotyledonary node cultures of Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari, an endangered medicinally important desert plant. J Plant Develop 17:37–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Kar A, Panda S (2003) Ayurvedic therapies for thyroid dysfunction. In: Scientific basis for Ayurvedic therapies. Routledge, pp 157–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimura I, Yoshikawa M, Kobayashi S, Sugihara Y, Suzuki M, Oominami H, Doiphode VV (2001) New triterpenes, myrrhanol A and myrrhanone A, from guggul-gum resins, and their potent anti-inflammatory effect on adjuvant-induced air-pouch granuloma of mice. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 11(8):985–989

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Suri SS, Sonie KC, Ramawat KG (2004) Development of biotechnology for Commiphora wightii: a potent source of natural hypolipidemic and hypocholesterolemic drug. In: Plant biotechnology and molecular markers. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 129–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunnumakkara AB, Banik K, Bordoloi D, Harsha C, Sailo BL, Padmavathi G et al (2018) Googling the Guggul (Commiphora and Boswellia) for prevention of chronic diseases. Front Pharmacol 9:686

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kuruvilla J, Anilkumar M (2020) Pharmacognostic and phytochemical evaluation of the bark of Grewia tiliifolia Vahl. Pharm J 12(5):967

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lather A, Gupta V, Bansal P, Sahu M, Sachdeva K, Ghaiye P (2011) An Ayurvedic polyherbal formulation Kaishore Guggulu: a review. Int J Pharm Biol Sci Arch 2(1):497–503

    Google Scholar 

  • Lemenith M, Teketay D (2003) Frankincense and myrrh resources of Ethiopia: II. Medicinal and industrial uses. Ethiop J Sci 26(2):161–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Manach C, Scalbert A, Morand C, Rémésy C, Jiménez L (2004) Polyphenols: food sources and bioavailability. Am J Clin Nutr 79(5):727–747

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mencarelli A, Renga B, Palladino G, Distrutti E, Fiorucci S (2009) The plant sterol guggulsterone attenuates inflammation and immune dysfunction in murine models of inflammatory bowel disease. Biochem Pharmacol 78(9):1214–1223

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meselhy MR (2003) Inhibition of LPS-induced NO production by the oleogum resin of Commiphora wightii and its constituents. Phytochemistry 62(2):213–218

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mesrob B, Nesbitt C, Misra R, Pandey RC (1998) High-performance liquid chromatographic method for fingerprinting and quantitative determination of E-and Z-guggulsterones in Commiphora mukul resin and its products. J Chromatogr B Biomed Sci Appl 720(1–2):189–196

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patil SS, Belge R (2019) Anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory activity of shiva guggul Wsr to Aamavata. World J Pharmaceut Res 8(11):1202–1212

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Patil VD, Nayak UR, Dev S (1973) Chemistry of ayurvedic crude drugs—III: Guggul (resin from Commiphora mukul)-3 long-chain aliphatic tetrols, a new class of naturally occurring lipids. Tetrahedron 29(11):1595–1598

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan SL, Pradhan PS (2011) Ayurvedic medicine and anaesthesia. Indian J Anaesth 55(4):334

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad RS, Dev S (1976) Chemistry of ayurvedic crude drugs—IV: guggul (resin from commiphora mukul)—4 absolute stereochemistry of mukulol. Tetrahedron 32(12):1437–1441

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Purushothaman KK, Chandrasekharan S (1976) Guggulsterols from Commiphora wightii (Burseraceae). Indian J Chem 14(10):802–804

    Google Scholar 

  • Radheshyam JB, Singh R, Maurya PS, Singh R (2022) A review on: herbal, pharmacognostical and pharmacological studies on guggul. J Pharm Res Int 7(1):139–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramawat KG, Marthur M, Dass S, Suthar S (2008) Guggulsterone: a potent natural hypolipidemic agent from Commiphora wightii–problems, perseverance, and prospects. In: Bioactive molecules and medicinal plants. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 101–121

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Randhir R, Lin YT, Shetty K, Lin YT (2004) Phenolics, their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in dark germinated fenugreek sprouts in response to peptide and phytochemical elicitors. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 13(3):295

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sarup P, Bala S, Kamboj S (2015) Pharmacology and phytochemistry of oleo-gum resin of Commiphora wightii (Guggul). Scientifica 2015:138039

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Schauss AG, Munson SE (1999) Natural medicine. Online http://www.nat-med.com

  • Schildknacht H (1970) Angew Chem Int 9:1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah R, Gulati V, Palombo EA (2012) Pharmacological properties of guggulsterones, the major active components of gum guggul. Phytother Res 26(11):1594–1605

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma JN (1977) Comparison of the anti-inflammatory activity of Commiphora mukul (an indigenous drug) with those of phenylbutazone and ibuprofen in experimental arthritis induced by mycobacterial adjuvant. Arzneimittelforschung 27(7):1455–1457

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shishodia S, Harikumar KB, Dass S, Ramawat KG, Aggarwal BB (2008) The guggul for chronic diseases: ancient medicine, modern targets. Anticancer Res 28(6A):3647–3664

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqui MZ (2011) Guggul: an excellent herbal panacea. Asian J Pharmaceut Health Sci 1:35–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqui MZ, Thomas M, Prasad N (2013) Physicochemical characterization and antioxidant activity of essential oils of guggul (Commiphora wightii) collected from Madhya Pradesh. Indian J Pharm Sci 75(3):368

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Singh BB, Mishra LC, Aquilina N, Kohlbeck F (2001) Usefulness of guggul (Commiphora mukul) for osteoarthritis of the knee: an experimental case study. Altern Ther Health Med 7(2):120

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soni V (2010) Final project report of in-situ conservation of Commiphora wightii a red-listed medicinal plant species of Rajasthan state, India. http://www.cropwildrelatives.org. Accessed 20 July 2021

  • Swami DV, Anitha M, Rao MCS, Sharangi AB (2022) Medicinal plants: perspectives and retrospectives. In: Medicinal plants. Apple Academic Press, pp 1–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Tadesse W, Desalegn G, Alia R (2007) Natural gum and resin bearing species of Ethiopia and their potential applications. Forest Syst 16(3):211–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Urizar NL, Moore DD (2003) Gugulipid: a natural cholesterol-lowering agent. Annu Rev Nutr 23:303

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vyas KY, Bedarkar P, Galib R, Prajapati PK (2015) Comparative anti-hyperlipidaemic activity of Navīna (fresh) and Purāṇa (old) Guggul. Anc Sci Life 35(2):101

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • **ao D, Zeng Y, Prakash L, Badmaev V, Majeed M, Singh SV (2011) Reactive oxygen species-dependent apoptosis by gugulipid extract of Ayurvedic medicine plant Commiphora mukul in human prostate cancer cells is regulated by c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Mol Pharmacol 79(3):499–507

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Yamada T, Sugimoto K (2016) Guggulsterone and its role in chronic diseases. Drug Discov Mother Nat:329–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu N, Kikuzaki H, Sheng S, Sang S, Rafi MM, Wang M, Nakatani N, DiPaola RS, Rosen RT, Ho CT (2001a) Furanosesquiterpenoids of Commiphora m yrrha. Journal of Natural Products 64(11):1460–1462

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu N, Rafi MM, DiPaola RS, **n J, Chin CK, Badmaev V, Ho CT (2001b) Bioactive constituents from gum guggul (Commiphora wightii). Phytochemistry 56(7):723–727

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine are gratefully acknowledged by the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, New Delhi, India

    Gulwaiz Akhter & Ghazala Javed

Authors
  1. Gulwaiz Akhter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ghazala Javed
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Rama University, Kanpur, India

    Manoj Kumar Mishra

  2. Department of Botany, Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Nishi Kumari

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Akhter, G., Javed, G. (2023). Recent Developments in Natural Compounds of Guggul and Production of Plant Material for Conservation and Pharmaceutical Demand Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari. In: Mishra, M.K., Kumari, N. (eds) Plants for Immunity and Conservation Strategies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2824-8_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation