Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig: Traditional Uses, Phytochemistry, Biological Activities and Future Aspects

Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, generally known as butterfly ginger, butterfly lily, cinnamon jasmine, garland flower and ginger lily. It is a medicinal plant grown throughout India, Southeast Asian countries, China, Japan, and Brazil. Traditionally, it is used as a febrifuge, tonic, anti-rheumatic, used to treat asthma, headache, arthritis, bronchitis, blood diseases, eye diseases, gastric diseases, and many other diseases. H. coronarium contains important secondary metabolites such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, oxides, phenolics, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, labdane diterpenes, and sesquiterpenes. Limonene, myrcene, p-cymene, camphene, γ-terpinene, β-pinene, 1,8-cineole, linalool, α-pinene, and 10-epi-γ-eudesmol have been identified as the main constituents of volatile oils of H. coronarium along with the key elements like trans-meta-mentha-2, 8-diene, linalool, α-terpineol, terpin-4-ol, α-pinene, γ-terpinene, and camphene. Phytochemical studies on various solvent extracts of H. coronarium revealed that the plant holds the diterpenes- coronarin-A-I, isocoronarin-D, pacovatin A; sesquiterpene- (+)-nerolidol, hedychiol A, hedychiol B 8,9-diacetate; sterols- daucosterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol and flavonoid- 5-hydroxy-3,7,4’-trimethoxyflavon, chrysin. Coronarin D, a bioactive compound, has been reported for anti-cancer activities of H. coronarium. Diterpenes isolated from H. coronarium extracts and essential have been reported as antioxidant, antitumor, antidiabetic, antiproliferative, antihelmintic, mosquitocidal, larvicidal, antilithiatic, chemopreventive, antiophidian, insecticide, antifungal, allelopathic, and antimicrobial agent. Based on the literature, the essential oils, extracts and isolated active compounds of H. coronarium could be used to develop as flavor and fragrance agents, food preservatives, botanical pesticide, neutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. This review paper aims to go over traditional uses, phytochemical analysis, pharmacological activities, scientific techniques for variety development, conservation, and proper utilization and identify future opportunities for H. coronarium.