Pharmacognostic and Preliminary Phytochemical Investigations on Pterospermum Acerifolium Wood

Pterospermum acerifolium plant is considered to be laxative, anthelmintic, stomachic and used in inflammation, blood disorders, ulcers and leprosy. The wood was studied for pharmaconostic evaluations, including examination of morphological and microscopic characters, determination of ash values and extractive values. The morphological studies revealed that the wood is yellowish in color with smooth texture and characteristic odour. Qualitative studies indicated the presence of uni to biseriate medullary rays, pitted xylem fibers, big vessels in groups, xylem parenchyma, pith, calcium oxalate crystals, starch grains, lignified fibers. The total ash, acid insoluble ash and water-soluble ash values were observed to be 3.3%, 1.9 % and 1.1 % respectively. The wood was successively extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol in increasing order of polarity. Preliminary phytochemical investigation showed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, triterpenoids, carbohydrates and flavonoids. Total phenolic content was determined using a spectrophotometric technique, based on the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent, and calculated as gallic acid equivalents GAE/g. These findings will be useful towards establishing pharmacognostic standards on identification, purity, quality and classification of the plant, which is gaining relevance in plant drug research.