Current Updates on Pharmacological Profile, Chemical Constituents and Traditional Uses of Gymnema Sylvestre (Gurmar)

Background: Gymnema sylvestre (G. sylvestre) belongs to the Apocynaceae family that nurtures in Australia, Asia, and Africa. Traditionally, this plant is frequently used as a conventional treatment option for a variety of ailments. Objective: The current study highlights and provides a recent updates on pharmacological profile, chemical constituents and traditional uses of Gymnema Sylvestre (Gurmar) in various chronic disease in a very comprehensively. Methodology: An efficient literature search of the Midline, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science direct, Scopus, Web of Science and Sci Finder databases were performed.  The studies published till 2021 were included in the manuscript. Results: It has been shown that the G. sylvestre exhibits blood glucose decreasing properties and is thus commonly used in Ayurvedic and Conventional Medical systems. Because of the inclusion of chemical constituents such as gymnemic acid, gurmarin, and gymnemasaponins which has glucose-lowering action. G. sylvestrehas antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective, antiviral, lipid-lowering, hepatoprotective, anti-obesity, anti-arthritic, immunomodulatory, and anti-cancer properties. Conclusion: The extensive research on the pharmacological properties of G. sylvestre clearly warrants the importance of medicinal plants for the treatment of chronic disease and its use in the traditional medicine system. These effects may turn out to delay the disease progression and prevent the other complications. Gymnemic acid is the main ingredient responsible for the anti-diabetic activity of this plant. However, the other ingredients remain to be characterized.