Abstract

PHYSICOCHEMICAL STANDARDIZATION AND METAL ANALYSIS OF DRYNARIA QUERCIFOLIA (L.) J. SM.

Vikas V. Vaidya, Saurabh H. Patil*, Deepal D. Ghadge and Hardik R. Shah

Abstract

Drynaria quercifolia (L.) J. Sm., commonly known as Oak-leaf fern is a medicinal pteridophyte belonging to the family Polypodiaceae. It is traditionally used by the tribal communities to treat various ailments. Several workers have reported its uses against body ache, headache, phthisis fever, dyspepsia, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, haemoptysis, gonorrhea, rheumatic pain and inflammatory disorders. In the present study, physicochemical parameters and metal content in the fronds and rhizome of D. quercifolia was analyzed. Physicochemical parameters in plants give valuable information and help to access quality of the sample. The ash values, extractive values, loss on drying, moisture content in the fronds and rhizome samples were determined as per the WHO guidelines. Heavy metals are a matter of concern in the herbal drugs, especially as certain plants have the tendency of storing heavy metals from the soil, polluted water and atmosphere. Micronutrients are very essential for plant growth and regulation. Hence the presence of heavy metals; cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and microelements; Copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) was determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The obtained results revealed that the content of heavy metals was within the permissible levels and hence the plant was safe to be utilized in herbal drug formulations.

Keywords: Drynaria quercifolia (L.) J. Sm., Polypodiaceae, Physicochemical standardization, Heavy metal content, Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).