Holistic Psychopharmacology of Fumaria indica (Fumitory)

Fumaria indica is a medicinal plant of the fumitory family wildly growing throughout India. Classical texts of Ayurveda, i.e. the oldest traditionally known health care and medical system originating in Indian subcontinent, mentions diverse medicinal uses of the plant. During more recent decades broad spectrums of therapeutically interesting pharmacological properties of its extracts and secondary metabolites have also been reported. Recent observations made during efforts to define its pharmacological activity profile according to the Ayurvedic concepts of mind body medicine have revealed exceptionally broad spectrums of psychopharmacological activity profiles of diverse types of hydro alcoholic extracts of the plant. These effects of the extracts become apparent after their repeated daily doses only. Taken together with prior preclinical knowledge on the plant, these observations strongly suggest that Fumaria indica could be an easily available source for discovering and developing phyto-pharmaceuticals or drugs potentially useful for treatments of mental health problems commonly associated with numerous physical disorders and chronic diseases. Since several psychoactive and other phytochemical of Fumaria indica are also encountered in other plants commonly used in Chinese and other traditionally known medical systems, observations made and the holistic strategy used for defining its psychopharmacological activity profile could be of interest of others involved in efforts necessary for proper understanding of therapeutic potentials of many plants containing Fumaria alkaloids and other bioactive phytochemicals present in Fumaria indica.