Phyto-Pharmacological Evaluation of Seeds of Swietenia Mahagoni : Pharmacological evaluation of Swietenia mahagoni seeds

Swietenia mahagoni commonly known as "mahogani", native to Neotropics from Southern Florida, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America. This timber tree is mainly cultivated in tropical zones, such as India, Malaysia and Southern China (Mulholland et al., 2000). Plant phytoconstituents include more than 45 limonoids belonging to the structural class's andirobin, gendunin, mexicanolide and phragmalin, triterpens, tetranortriterpenes and chlorogenic acid (Chen et al., 2007; Ekimoto et al., 1991). The extract of this plant showed ameliorative effects on diabetic mice (Li et al., 2005), antimicrobial (Guon et al., 2003), platelet aggregation inhibitory properties (Ekimoto et al., 1991) and anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activities (Otake et al., 1995). The oil showed the maximum degree of radial growth inhibition against Macrophomina plascolma while the minimum effect on Curvularia lunata. Seeds have been applied as folk medicine for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes and malaria (Nagalakshmi et al., 2001). The seeds have been reported for its medicinal value for the treatment of cancer, amoebiasis, cough, chest pain and intestinal parasitism.