Abstract
Solanum nigrum (black nightshade) is a medicinal plant member of the Solanaceae family of plants. This family comprises many genera, well known for their therapeutic properties. In addition to S. nigrum, this family includes fruits and vegetables such as potato (Solanum tuberosum), tomato, and peppers, ornamental plants such as petunia, and other medicinal plants such as Atropa belladonna L. (deadly nightshade), Datura stramonium L. (Jimson weed), and Hyoscyamus niger L. (black henbane). S. nigrum commonly known as Makoi or black nightshade, usually grows as a weed in moist habitats in different kinds of soils, including dry, stony, shallow, or deep soils, and can be cultivated in tropical and subtropical agro climatic regions by sowing the seeds during April-May in well-fertilized nursery beds; it can be used for reclaiming the degraded land as well.1 S. nigrum has been extensively used traditionally to treat various ailments such as pain, inflammation and fever.2,3 The plant is also used in the Oriental systems of medicine for various purposes – as an antitumorigenic, antioxidant,4 anti-inflammatory,3 hepatoprotective,5 diuretic,3 and antipyretic agent.3 Various compounds have been identified which are responsible for diverse activities. S. nigrum is widely used in many traditional systems of medicine worldwide for disparate ailments (Table 1), but has not garnered attention for modern therapeutic use.