MEDICINES FROM INDIAN CHILLIES: A MINI REVIEW
SUVENDU GHOSH, ALAK KUMAR SYAMAL, DEBOSREE GHOSH
India is a country with vast biodiversity. The country is rich in its natural resources. Varieties of spices, herbs, plants, and trees are grown in various parts of the country, which have more than one use. Most of them are rich source of nutrition, some are popular spices, and some have exclusive medicinal uses also. The objective of this article is to give a brief and compact review of the various types of chillies available in India, to discuss their versatile potential medicinal values, and to consider those for developing some potent and effective drugs with minimum or no side effects for wide range of pathological conditions. Indian traditional medicine is famous all around the world and for ages and now a days, Indian biodiversity has immense contribution in the development and advancement of alternative and complementary medicine. Chillies are one of the popular spices in India. They add the burning hot taste and wonderful color to Indian dishes. Not only in India, chillies are used all over the world in various dishes. We have primarily studies various investigatory reports available from all around the world to develop our insight into the medicinal potency of varieties of chillies grown in various parts of India. Several investigations have revealed the presence of various compounds in the chillies. Those compounds have been found to be of medicinal importance. Some of them have multiple medicinal applications. More of those are yet to be characterized. More and more structured and collaborative detailed investigations are required to recognize, characterize, and modify the various potent medicinal compounds from different types of chillies. In silico, experimental, and clinical studies are also essential. We may get some revolutionary compounds with potent medicinal properties for enriching our pharmaceutical ammunitions against fatal and deadly diseases from those hot green and red chillies. It can really be a beneficial milestone on the pharmaceutical world and a boon for mankind.