Pharmacognostic evaluation of the stem bark of balanites aegyptiaca delile "Hingot"

Balanites aegyptiaca [Hingot] is one of the important Kasthausadhi of Indian System of medicine, which is botanically identified as Balanites aegyptiaca of family Simaroubaceae. All the parts of this plant as well as its extracts are particularly useful to mankind. According to Ayurvedic concept it is pungent bitter, purgative, anthelmintic and is useful in cough and colic, ulcer as well as in hypertension. Chemically it contains a lot of saponins whose concentration varies in different parts of the plant. The present paper deals with its literature survey regarding distribution, cultivation, chemical information, and medicinal importance. The detailed botanical and pharmacognostical parameters have been performed on the stem bark, for the identification of the genuine sample, detection of the adulteration in the market sample and study of the quality control parameters of the drug

Pharmacognostical, phytochemical and biological evaluations of the stem bark of bombax ceiba linn. [semul]

Bombax ceiba Linn. [Semul], a tall deciduous tree is a very common medicinal plant used for the treatment of various ailments. The present paper deals with the standardization of its stem bark on the basis of various pharmacognostical parameters. A new compound BC-1 has been isolated as colourless crystals from the ethanolic extract of the air-dried stem bark of Bombax ceiba Linn. Its structure has been elucidated as lup-20 [29] cn-beta-ol through extensive spectroscopic methods [IR, UV, MS, [1]H-NMR and [13]C-NMR]. The aqueous extract of this bark showed antimicrobial and antifungal activity

Common ethnomedicinal uses of leaves of some less known plants occurring in South Delhi, India

The present study takes into account the medicinal value of leaves of forty two plant species belonging to thirty families of angiosperms. Plants are listed in the alphabetical order alongwith the significant macroscopic characters of leaves, prominent therapeutic uses and their mode of administration

Pharmacognostical studies on the bark ofalstonia scholaris R.Br. [Chatiun]

Alstonia scholaris R.Br. [Chatiun] is an important evergreen tree used in the disorders of heart and blood. Its bark is used in various ailments like asthma, leucoderma, ulcers, tumors and dysentery in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. Therefore, in the present communication the detailed pharmacognostical studies have been carried out for the standardization of the stem bark of this species. The study includes qualitative and quantitative microscopy of the stem bark; its powder analysis; moisture content determination; ash and total extractive values determination. The histochemical tests of the stem bark and preliminary phytochemical screening of different extracts have shown the presence of starch, lignins, alkaloids, flavonoids and proteins. In the successive extractive values determination, the maximum extract was observed in water and minimum in chloroform; in quantitative estimation of the organic components, 0.200% total alkaloids, 0.07% steroids and 0.44% resins have been determined in the studied bark. Thin layer chromatographic studies show maximum six spots in methanolic extract and minimum two spots in acetone extract. The above pharmacognostical parameters of the drug may be helpful in the identification of genuine sample, as there are increasing incidences of adulteration of this drug in the market samples

Traditional wound healing plant drugs

Various aspects of the treatment of human wounds are presented and the different approaches to wound healing have been described in this paper. The part of naturals [Leaf, Stem, Root, Flower, Seed, Fruits, etc.] to fight against wound is elaborated and isolation of novel wound healing agents from the natural sources has been presented. In Unani System of Medicine most of the drugs are obtained from herbs and used either in single or compound form, used locally or orally. Argyreia nervosa, Centella asiatica, Euphorbia neriifolia and Rubia cordifolia are some of the important wound healing drugs. In addition to wound healing, these are also used as diuretic, laxative, for dysentery, bronchitis, leucoderma, and in different tumors in Unani System of Medicine

Alstonia scholaris [L.] R. Br. A review on its chemistry and biological activities

Aistonia scholaris [L.] R. Br., locally known as Saitan ka jhad, is a traditional medicinal plant and is widely used by our traditional healers. The literature on the chemical constituents and the biological activities of A. scholaris bark, leaves, root, latex and flowers have been reviewed. Chemical studies show the presence of many compounds belonging mainly to the groups of alkaloids, glycosides, hydrocarbons and amino acids. Biological studies reveal significant antimalarial, anti-diarrhoeal, antifilarial, antileishmanial and protective effects against cell necrosis and inflammatory cell filtration and support the use of the leaves and bark in the folk medicine