Abstract

Guggulu is an oleogum resin (oleo resin) that exudes spontaneously as a result of injury from the bark of Commiphora mukul Hook. ex Stocks is belongs to the family Burseraceae. It possesses a massive ethnomedical history and represents a phytochemical reservoir of heuristic medical values. Guggulu is one of the ingredients of many imperative formulations used in the Ayurveda most of which are named with suffix ‘guggulu’. Guggulsterone is a main active substance in gugulipid, an extract of the C. mukul, used to treat a variety of disorders in human.
In this review massive effort was made to compile the details of guggulu and its unexplored Ayurvedic formulations used in Ayurvedic System of Medicines.It is observed that purified guggulu is used in different guggulu formulations in various disease conditions with or without specificanupana.The formulation concept of guggulu in Ayurveda characterized for better pharmacokinetic and polyvalent effects with multiple mechanism of drug action. Hence, it is need of present era to conduct the preclinical and clinical trial to support the therapeutic efficacy of Guggulu formulations cited in the ancient literatures.

Key words: Anupana, Ayurveda, Commiphora mukul, guggulu, guggulusterone