 Abstract | | |
The leaves of Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser (Rubiaceae) are reported to have good medicinal values in traditional system of medicines. The present study deals with pharmacognostical examination of morphological and microscopical characters of Neolamarckia cadamba leaves including determination of leaf constants, ash values, foaming index and extractive values. Keywords: Neolamarckia cadamba, kadam, leaf microscopy
How to cite this article:
Patel D, Kumar V. Pharmacognostical studies of Neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) Bosser leaf. Int J Green Pharm 2008;2:26-7 |
| Introduction | |  |
The plant Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser (Rubiaceae) (Naithani and Sahni, 1997; Yoganarsimhan, 2000) is commonly known as Kadam. The bark and leaves of the plant is reported to possess various medicinal uses such as astringent anti-hepatotoxic (Kapil et al. , 1995), antidiuretic, wound healing, antiseptic (Anonymous, The Wealth of India, 1992) and anthelmintic (Gunasekharan et al. , 2006). The pharmacognostical studies of leaf of this plant have not been reported. Therefore, the present investigation was planned to study the pharmacognostical aspects of Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser.
| Materials and Methods | | |
Plant Material
The leaves of Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser were collected from Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) and positively identified and authenticated by Prof. P. Jayaraman, Plant Anatomy Research Centre, Chennai.
Pharmacognostical Studies
Morphological studies, such as shape, size, apex, surface, base, margin, venation, taste and odour of leaves, were carried out. Microscopical studies were also carried out using Nikon Labphot-2 instrument (Japan). The transverse sections were taken with the help of rotary microtome. The average thickness of the sections was 10-12 mm. Dewaxing of the sections was done by customary procedure. The sections were stained with toluidine blue. Some phytochemical reactions were also carried out. It rendered pink colour to the cellulose walls, blue to the lignified cells, dark green to suberin, violet to the mucilage, blue to the protein bodies, etc., some of the leaf sections were also stained with safranin and iodine solution for the detection of starch (Khandelwal, 2004; Kokate, 2005).
As a part of quantitative microscopy, stomatal number, stomatal index, vein islet number and vein termination number were determined by using fresh leaves of the plant. The total ash, water-soluble ash, acid-insoluble ash, sulphated ash, alcohol- and water-soluble extractive value and foaming index were determined. The dried powdered material of leaves was also subjected to identification tests for the detection of various phytoconstituents (Anonymous, Indian Pharmacopoeia, 1996).
| Results and Discussion | | |
The shape of Neolamarckia cadamba leaves is broadly ovate, elliptic-oblong with entire margin, pulvinus base, bitter in taste, mucronate apex, glabrous surface, pinnate venation, length varying from 7.5 to 18 cm and breath is 4.5 to 16 cm. In the microscopic studies, leaf is dorsiventral with thick prominent midrib and uniformly thin lamina. The midrib is broadly conical adaxial side and broadly hemispherical abaxial side. Ground tissue of the midrib consists of a broad outer zone of collenchyma and inner and middle zone of parenchyma. Vascular bundle consists of a horseshoe shape inverted vascular strands and two small top-shaped strands placed at the ends of the 'U'-shaped strands. The epidermis of the midrib is distinct with squarish thick-walled cells and prominent cuticle. The short thick-walled unicellular trichomes are also seen on the epidermis layer and lamina consists of thicker adaxial epidermis and thinner abaxial epidermis [Figure - 1].
Microscopic study of Neolamarckia cadamba leaf powder showed the presence of unicellular, lignified trichomes, paracytic stomata, simple starch grains and sandy balls of calcium oxalate crystals. The stomatal values, vein islet number, vein termination number, total ash, water-soluble ash, acid-insoluble ash, sulphated ash, water- and alcohol-soluble extractive values and foaming index of leaves powder are given in [Table - 1].
The qualitative chemical tests revealed the presence of saponins, steroids, alkaloids and carbohydrates in the leaves powder of Neolamarckia cadamba. [8]
| References | | |
| 1. | Anonymous, Indian Pharmacopoeia, Vol. 2, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, Controller of publication, New Delhi, 1996, p. A-47, A-53, A-54.  |
| 2. | Anonymous, The Wealth of India, Raw materials, Vol-I, Publication and Information Directorate, CSRI, New Delhi,1992, p. 305-308. |
| 3. | Gunasekharan R, Divyakant A, et al , Anthelmntic activity of Leaf alcoholic extract of Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb) Bosser, Indian Journal of Natural Products, 22(1), 2006, 11-13. |
| 4. | Kapil A, Koul IB, Suri OP, Antihepatotoxic effects of chlorogenic acid from Anthocephalus cadamba , Phytotherapy Research, 9(3), 1995, 189. |
| 5. | Khandelwal KR, Practical Pharmacognosy, Techniques and experiments , Edn 12, Nirali Prakashan, 2004, 9, 149. |
| 6. | Kokate CK, Practical Pharmacognosy, Edn 4, Vallabh Prakashan, Delhi, 2005, 7, 14, 107. |
| 7. | Naithani HB, Sahni KC, Forest Flora of Goa, Edn 1, International Books distributors, Deharadun, 1997, 318. |
| 8. | Yoganarsimhan SN, Medicinal Plant of India, Tamil Nadu, Vol. II, Vedams Books (P) Ltd, Bangalore, 2000, 374. |
Correspondence Address:
Divyakant Patel
Department of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University of Science and Technology, S. G. Highway, Ahmedabad - 382 481, Gujarat
India
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DOI: 10.4103/0973-8258.39159
[Figure - 1]
[Table - 1] |
