Abstract

PHARMACOGNOSTIC STUDIES AND PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF AERIAL AND ROOT PARTS OF CYANOTIS TUBEROSA (ROXB.) SCHULT. & SCHULT.F. - AN ETHNOMEDICINAL HERB

Partha Ghosh and Chowdhury Habibur Rahaman*

Abstract

Cyanotis tuberosa (Roxb.) Schult. & Schult.f is traditionally used as ethnomedicine for curing several health problems in India. Objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the pharmacognostic, preliminary phytochemical and physicochemical properties between the crude drugs obtained from aerial and root parts of this herb. Leaf epidermal cells are polygonal in shape, cell wall outline straight. Stomata are of tetracytic type. Stomatal index is 18.56. Palisade ratio is 15.79. Only non-glandular, unicellular trichomes were found in both surfaces of the leaf. Phytochemical groups like alkaloids, anthraquinones, tannins, glycosides, etc. have been detected in both parts of the herb. Histochemical localization test revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, glycosides, lignin, etc. in different tissue zones of root. In aerial part, moisture content, total ash and acid insoluble ash are of 11.70±0.17%, 14.72±0.53% and 97±0.017%, respectively. In root part, values of moisture content, total ash and acid insoluble ash are 9.08±0.33%, 15.79±0.25% and 6.56±0.22%, respectively. Extractive values of root part in different solvents like water, methanol, ethanol, benzene and petroleum ether are 17.44±2.62%, 7.61±0.95%, 5.33±0.44%, 1.88±0.21% and 1.33±0.33%, respectively. In aerial part, extractive values for those solvents are 7.04±0.36%, 5.83±0.16%, 5.33±0.16%, 2.5±0.50%, 1.66±0.66%, respectively. Foaming index of powdered drugs of root and aerial parts is 250 and 200, respectively. Swelling index is 6.67±0.16ml for root and it is 6.16±0.16ml in case of aerial portion. The diagnostic features recorded here in this study will help in proper identification of this ethnomedicinal herb in its fresh as well as dried form.

Keywords: Cyanotis tuberosa, Foliar micromorphology, Phytochemical screening, Physicochemical analysis.