ABSTRACT
Aconitum napellus L. is a perennial herb with attractive blue flowers, and it belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. A. napellus is European native species, and it is also reported in Asia and Oceania. A. napellus was traditionally well known for arrow-head poison for hunting and was often used to poison imprisoned criminals in Europe. The whole plant is associated with toxic and medicinal properties, and it is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine, Japanese herbal preparations, Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and European homoeopathic preparations. It is used for various diseases and ailments, including facial paralysis, musculoskeletal pains, inflammation, gout, pyrexia, pericarditis for sciatica, and rheumatism. The plant contains cardiotoxins, chiefly ‘aconitine’; thus, any plant parts should be appropriately detoxified prior to usage. A rigorous boiling for an extended period or treatment with cow or goat milk can help to reduce aconitine content. Numerous phytochemicals are isolated from different parts of A. napellus, and they are mostly diterpenoid alkaloids and flavonol glycosides. Isolated compounds and crude extracts have shown few promising biological activities demonstrating the potential application of A. napellus for antipyretic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, and neuroprotective therapeutic purposes.
