Abstracto

LITERATURE REVIEW OF TAGETUS PATULA

Ankitha Reddy. Gongalla

Tagetes patula L., Asteraceae, popularly known as French marigold, originated in Mexico. It is widely used as an ornamental plant and is sold freely in open markets and garden shop. In folk medicine the flowers and leaves are used for his or her antiseptic, diuretic, depurative and bug repellent activities. Chemical studies with flowers and leaves of T. patula identified terpenes, alkaloids, carotenoids, thiophenes, fatty acids, and flavonoids, as constituents, some of which may elicit the biological activities; these include insecticidal, nematicidal, larvicidal, antifungal, anti-inflammatory activities. As Piccaglia and collaborators (1998) found, the flowers of T. patula are a rich source of lutein and its esters. For this reason the genus is widely cultivated in Central America as food coloring, which is approved by the European Union. However, after carotenoids are extracted, the residue is discarded or only used as animal feed or fertilizer.