Pharmacognostic standardization and qualitative analysis of Gymnosporia senegalensis

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the pharmacognostic parameters of different parts of Gymnosporia senegalensis (Lam.) Loes. These parameters play a vital role in the traditional medicine system for administering the drug and their therapeutic effects on various ailments. Standardization parameters include sequential extract preparation, physicochemical studies (ash value, moisture content, pH, fluorescence analysis), and phytochemical screening of the three parts of G. senegalensis. Various macro and microelements (in ppm) were estimated by using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Total ash content (3.04±0.02), water-soluble ash (2.63±0.01), and insoluble acid ash (0.72±0.01) were found to be the highest in the leaf. Foreign organic matter was observed higher in stem (0.07±0.04) followed by bark and leaf. The moisture content was found lowest in bark (2.02±0.01), preventing microbial growth. The pH of the crude drug of plant parts is weakly acidic, ranging from pH 5.33 to 5.96 at 1 % and 4.93 to 6.03 at 10 %. Fluorescence results were also helpful in detecting the substituents and adulterants and assessing the crude drugs qualitatively. The present study revealed the presence of various primary and secondary metabolites (terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, and saponin) in high and moderate amounts in the extracts of different parts of the plant. The stem and bark also showed a reasonable presence of macro and microelements (As, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Cu). The complete analysis provides valuable information for the quality assurance of G. senegalensis as a crude drug for preparing formulations of herbal medications.