Acorus calamus L. for Cognitive Enhancement: A Systematic Review of Its Ethnobotanical Practices and Scientific Evidence

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Acorus calamus L. is an important medicinal aromatic plant belonging to Acoraceae family. The current review article underscores the ethnobotanical significance along with scientific evidence on cognitive and neurological properties of A. calamus . Besides these, the article reports the morphology, phytochemistry and biological activities of A. calamus . Methods: Using PRISMA (2020) guidelines, an extensive literature review have been searched using PubChem, Google Scholar, Wiley online library, Sci‐Hub and ScienceDirect. Using key words such as A. calamus , phytochemistry, ethnobotany, pharmacology, cognitive enhancement information was collected from the above sites. Results: A. calamus possesses valuable phytochemicals having wide range of biological applications. The essential oil contains high levels of β ‐ asarone, camphene, β ocimene, camphor, calarene, α selinene, and cadinol. Pharmacologically, A. calamus possesses diverse medicinal property including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐diabetic potential which make the plant more valuable. Previously reported numerous studies related to in vitro , in vivo and in silico results showed the plant possesses significant efficacy on neurological and memory related aspects. Conclusion: The present review covers all the previous studies on neurological aspects as well as cognitive related studies.