Abstract
A Pharmacognostical Report on Careya arborea Roxb. (Lecythidaceae) Fruits
Hygeia.J.D.Med.7 (1) April 2015; 10-17
P. Ragavendran, Radha A., Mariya Paul and D. Suresh Kumar*
R&D Lab, CARe Keralam Ltd, KINFRA Small industries Park, KINFRA Park P.O., Koratty- 680 309, Thrissur District, Kerala.
Plan: Careya arborea is a medicinal plant used in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. The bark, leaves and fruits are used in these systems for the treatment of ulcers, haemorrhoids and tumours. Several reports are available on the pharmacognosy of the leaf and bark of this medicinal tree. However, there is complete lack of information on the pharmacognosy of the fruit. The present paper is the first report on this subject.
Methodology: Histology of the fruit and microscopy of the fruit powder were studied. Tests for identification of phytochemical compound classes were carried out on methanol extract of the fresh fruit. The chemical constitution of the fruits was studied using HPTLC and HPLC.
Outcome: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, sterols and fixed oils. The fruit contains high amount of phenols, of which, gallic acid is present at the rate of 0.92 ± 0.03%. The high content of gallic acid and reported antibacterial activities of the extract quality the fruit for further investigations.
Key words: Careya arborea, Pharmacognosy, Gallic acid, HPTLC
Article citation
Figures2-5. 2 Fresh fruit of Careya arborea, 3 Section of fruit (Col=collenchyma, Sc = stone cell, P = parenchyma), 4. Powder microscopy of fruit (Sc= stone cell, P = parenchyma), 5.Cross section of fruit showing locules.
Chromatogram of quantification of gallic acid in methanolicextract of Careya arborea usinggallic acid standard and VWD detector at 272nm