Comparative Pharmacognostic Aspects of Rauvolfia Serpentina (L.) Benth. Ex Kurz and it's Substitute Rauvolfia Canescens L. (Apocynaceae)
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Date
2014
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Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz (Apocynaceae), a rare, therapeutically important medicinal plant, is often adulterated by materials of Rauvolfia canescens L. (Apocynaceae). However, adulteration of R. serpentina with R. canescens without scientifically proven data on important quality standards might adversely affect the therapeutic properties of the herbal drugs. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to establish a comparative quality standards on morphological, anatomical, phytochemical, physicochemical and cytotoxicity activity of R. serpentina and R. canescens by using established protocols.
Results demonstrated that R. serpentina could be distinguished from R. canescens by comparing polymorphological characters and anatomical characters. Major phytochemical groups were present in leaves, stems and roots of both plants. Results of Thin Layer Chromatogram (TLC) exhibited the highest number of common spots in leaf extracts followed by stem and root extracts of both R. serpentina and R. canescens. The presences of higher brine shrimp toxicity in root extracts of both plant species scientifically validate the use of root in medicinal purposes in Ayurveda and traditional systems of medicine in Sri Lanka. Information generated through the present study could be effectively used for the quality control and standardization process of different parts of Rauvolfia serpentina and Rauvolfia canescens in order to upgrade the Sri Lankan pharmacopeia. The presence of certain similarities in major phytochemical groups of R. serpentina and R. canescens justifies the use of R. canescens as a substitute for R. serpentina in traditional systems of medicine in Sri Lanka, which needs to be confirmed after further clinical trials.
Keywords: Apocynaceae, Rauvolfia serpentina, Rauvolfia canescens,
Polymorphological Characters, Phytochemical, Physicochemical
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Science and Technology Degree Programme (SCT)