PHARMACOGNOSTIC EVALUATION AND ICP-MS BASED METAL DETECTION IN PERGULARIA DAEMIA (AERIAL PART)

Anitha John*, A. Sakkeena, K.C. Manju, B. Neethu Kannan, V.L. Reena, S. Selvarajan and
A. Kanagarajan

ABSTRACT

The quality control standards of various medicinal plants used in indigenous systems of medicine are significant nowadays in view of the commercialization of herbal formulations. The major limitation of herbal medicines is the lack of standardization. The present study attempts to evaluate the identity, degree of purity and authenticity of the medicinal plant, Pergularia daemia (Forssk.) Chiov. It is a perennial twinning vine belonging to the family, Apocynaceae. The plant material was collected from three different geographical areas. Various pharmacognostic tests like anatomy, powder microscopy, physico-chemical and chromatography were executed by standard methods to evaluate the plant materials. High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic (HPTLC) studies of the alcohol extracts were performed. Metal content present in these three accessions of the plant materials was also determined by employing ICP-MS. The evaluation of the physical constants of the drug is an essential parameter in detecting adulteration or improper handling of drugs. Pharmacogonstic parameters established the identity, purity and quality of the aerial part of Pergularia daemia. HPTLC fingerprint patterns unravelled the presence of various phytochemical constituents. These results help in the identification and standardization of the drug. The determined element concentrations were within the international safety limits. This makes the plant acceptable for human and animal consumption at nutritional as well as medicinal levels.

Keywords: Pergularia daemia, microscopy, physico-chemical analysis, HPTLC, ICP-MS.