Microscopical and Physico-chemical Investigations of the Leaves of Putranjiva Roxburghii Wall

World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva) has appreciated the importance of medicinal plants for public health care for use in developing nations. Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. is having important role in the traditional Ayurvedic and Unani systems of holistic health and herbal medicine of the East. The leaves of Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. are reported to have good medicinal values in traditional system of medicine. The present study highlights the pharmacognostical studies including parameters such as powder analysis by microscopical evaluation, color reaction, and study of physicochemical parameters of the Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. leaves. These observations will help in the pharmacognostical identification and standardization of the drug in the crude form and can be used to distinguish the drug from its adulteration. INTRODUCTION: After decades of serious obsession with the modern medicinal system, people have started looking at the ancient healing systems like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. This is because of the adverse effects associated with the synthetic drugs. Herbal drugs play an important role in health care programs especially in developing countries . However a key obstacle, which has hindered the acceptance of the alternative medicines in the developed countries, is the lack of documentation and stringent quality control methods. There is a need for documentation of research work carried out on traditional medicines . With this backdrop, it becomes extremely important to make an effort towards standardization of the plant material to be used as medicine. The process of standardization can be achieved by stepwise pharmacognostic and physicochemical studies. These studies help in identification and authentication of the plant material. Correct identification and quality assurance of the starting materials is an essential prerequisite to ensure reproducible quality of herbal medicines which will contribute to their safety and efficacy. Simple pharmacognostic techniques used in standardization of plant material include its morphological, anatomical and biochemical characteristics . Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. is a moderate sized evergreen tree. The height is up to 12m with pendent branches and dark grey bark having horizontal lenticels. Leaves are simple, alternate, dark green, shiny, elliptic-oblong. Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. is found wild or cultivated in almost all parts of India . Leaves of Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. are bitter, astringent, refrigerant and procreant. The leaves are useful in the treatment of catarrh, skin disease, fever and sterility. The leaves are given in decoction for cold and fever, and are also used in rheumatism .