ABSTRACT
Northeast India represents a rich floristic wealth of India. Orchids form a very noticeable feature of this vegetation. Amongst orchids, the genus Dendrobium forms a very important group of plants which are used by the locals for the treatment of various ailments. A through literature survey revealed that there is a paucity of data on the phytochemical evaluation of Dendrobium species using analytical methods. The chromatographic technique such as HPTLC is reported to be useful for standardization of plant materials in terms of phytochemical markers and evaluation of their quality. Therefore, in this study, five different Dendrobium species have been evaluated and compared in terms of their marker content using validated HPTLC methods. All the samples analyzed were found to be a good source of β-sitosterol with maximum content in D. fimbriatum stem and minimum content in D. chrysanthum roots. D. nobile (roots and stem) and D. moschatum (stem) were also found to be a source of ursolic acid and lupeol, respectively. Thus, this work will contribute in the identification, quality evaluation and standardization of different Dendrobium species. On the basis of maximum bioactive marker content, specific part of Dendrobium species can be selected which may be supported by its efficacy.
ABSTRACT
Many plants have been claimed to possess liver protecting activity. But, due to scarcity of potent modern medicine to treat severe liver diseases, many folk remedies of plant origin have been scientifically evaluated for their potential hepatoprotective activity in experimental animal models. Parmelia perlata (Huds.) Ach. (lichen, Parmeliaceae), commonly known as Dagad phool or stone flower in India, is mentioned in Indian Materia Medica as useful in treating a number of ailments. In the present study, hepatoprotective activity of aqueous slurry of P. perlata was investigated in CCl4 intoxicated Albino Wistar rats and the results were compared with, Silymarin. Intraperitoneal injection of CCl4, produced a marked elevation in the level of biochemical markers such as Serum Glutamate Oxaloacetate Transaminase (SGOT), Serum Glutamate Pyruvate Transaminase (SGPT), bilirubin, cholesterol and triglycerides. Oral administration of P. perlata aqueous slurry at 0.7 g / kg and 1.0 g / kg in CCl4 intoxicated rats showed marked decrease in the level of biochemical markers and results were at par with the effect shown by Silymarin. The results of histopathological analysis were in compliance with the findings of blood biochemical parameter analysis. This study confirms that P. perlata aqueous slurry has phytocomponents with hepatoprotective potential.