REVIEW ARTICLE www.tufsteam.com Innovations in STEAM: Research & Education ISSN (print): 3105-7071; ISSN (online): 3105-708X Volume 1; Issue 2; Article No. 23010205 https://doi.org/10.63793/ISRE/0010 Medicinal Significance and Uses of Orchid Tree (Bauhinia variegata) Aqsa Azhar, Iqra Saleem, Fatma Hussain Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38900, Pakistan METADATA Paper history Received: 20 March 2023 Revised: 10 June 2023 Accepted: 20 August 2023 Published online: 10 October 2023 Corresponding author Email: fatmauaf@yahoo.com (Fatma Hussain) Keywords Bauhinia variegata Antioxidant Antidiabetic Antimicrobial, Phytoconstituents Citation Azhar A, Saleem I, Hussain F (2023) Medicinal significance and uses of orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata). Innovations in STEAM: Research & Education 1: 23010205. https://doi.org/10.63793/ISRE/0010 ABSTRACT Background: Plants extracts are traditionally used in the treatment of quite a large number of ailments. Orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata L.) is traditionally used for the treatment of several diseases. Objective: The aim of this review was to highlights some therapeutic effects of the products obtained from the extracts of orchid tree with their potential therapeutic properties. Methodology: Review of literature to summarize the role of B. variegata in treatment and management of numerous diseases was performed. Search engines such as Google Scholar, Pub med, Web of Science etc. were used. The keywords B. variegata, diseases, medicinal, therapeutic, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial were used. Results: Different phytochemicals such as tannin, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, kaempferol and reducing sugars are present in several parts of the plant. Quercetin, rutin, apigenin and glucoside are flavonoids that are present in different parts of B. variegata. It has immune-modulatory, anti-bacterial, anti- carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Conclusion: Orchid tree (B. variegata) is a source of quite a large number of phytochemicals with great therapeutical properties and effects. The root extract has cholesterol and lipoproteins lowering properties. Stem and root extracts are also rich in flavonoids and effective in blocking HMG-CoA. With these properties, the orchid tree is a target plant for future research for exploring a greater number of phytochemicals with their health improving properties and effects. INTRODUCTION All over the world several plants are used to heal a variety of human disorders. Bauhinia variegata L., commonly known as Orchid tree or Mountain ebony, is also included among these thousands of medicinal plants. It belongs to the family Fabaceae and is native to Asia. Each part of B. variegata has its own set of therapeutic properties. The presence of several vigorous components such as proteins, steroids, tannins, flavonoids, resins, carbohydrates and cardiac glycosides is confirmed with phytochemical screening in B. variegata leaves, stem, flower and bark extracts. Pharmacological studies revealed that B. variegata has antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer and hepatoprotective activities (Tshidino and Montsho 2017; Kumar et al. 2019). This review highlights some medicinal properties of B. variegata. ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY Antimicrobial compounds play critical role in lowering the worldwide problem of infectious disorders. The growth and spread of multidrug resistant strains among some pathogenic bacteria, on the other hand, is rise as a major public health concern. Still, only a few effective antimicrobial compounds are present. In health care services fungal and bacterial infections make up the majority of illnesses. Though, 90% of these diseases are caused only by the bacterial infection. A large variety of therapeutic plants have been acknowledged as significant suppliers of natural antibacterial substances. Different phytochemicals are produced in the plant’s secondary metabolism that makes the plants effective against microbial resistance and diseases. Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli are resistant to synthetic antimicrobial agents, however these microbes © 2023 The Authors. Innovations in STEAM: Research & Education published by The University of Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited