Comparative Pharmacognostical Studies Of Three Mahonia Species: Exploring The Possibilities As A Substitute Of Ayurvedic Drug “Daruharidra”

Mahonia species (Family: Berberidaceae) is well known plant used in traditional systems of medicine for the treatment of fever, cold, jaundice, diarrhea, dysentery, dermatitis, eczema and postnatal treatment. The present communication deals with comparative pharmacognostical studies and HPTLC quantification of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid berberine of three Mahonia species viz. Mahonia leschenaultii (Wallich ex Wight & Arn.) Takeda (ML), Mahonia nepaulensis DC. (MN) and Mahonia borealis Takeda (MB). The macroscopic examination showed characteristic differences in leaf, inflorescence and fruit of the three species. The pharmacognostical parameters viz. moisture content, ash and extractive values of samples was found to be within the limits of standard. The phytochemical evaluation of metabolites through spectroscopy reveals the presence of flavonoid, phenolics, starch, sugar and tannin, former was found to be the highest (0.45%) among all. HPTLC quantification showed that the maximum content of berberine was found in Mahonia leschenaultii i.e. 0.197% ± 0.01 dry wt. basis. The study explores the possibilities of Mahonia species as a substitute of Ayurvedic drug “Daruharidra” i.e. Berberis aristata and will also aid in quality control of products containing “Daruharidra” in herbal drug industry

Comparative pharmacognostical studies of three Mahonia species: Exploring the possibilities as a substitute for the Ayurvedic drug “Daruharidra”

774-781Mahonia species (Family: Berberidaceae) is a well-known plant used in traditional systems of medicine for the treatment of fever, cold, jaundice, diarrhoea, dysentery, dermatitis and eczema and for postnatal treatment. The present communication deals with comparative pharmacognostical studies and HPTLC quantification of a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, berberine, of three Mahonia species, viz., Mahonia leschenaultii (Wallich ex Wight & Arn.) Takeda (ML), Mahonia napaulensis DC. (MN) and Mahonia borealis Takeda (MB). The macroscopic examination showed characteristic differences in leaf, inflorescence and fruit of the three species. The pharmacognostical parameters, viz., moisture content, ash and extractive values of samples were found to be within the limits of standard. The phytochemical evaluation of metabolites through spectroscopy reveals the presence of flavonoids, phenolics, starch, sugar and tannin and the former was found to be the highest (0.45%) among all. HPTLC quantification showed that the maximum content of berberine was found in Mahonia leschenaultia i.e., 0.197%±0.01 dry wt. basis. The study explores the possibilities of Mahonia species as a substitute of the Ayurvedic drug “Daruharidra” i.e., Berberis aristata and will also aid in quality control of products containing “Daruharidra”

Evaluation of <i>iso</i>-quinoline alkaloids by RP-HPLC-PDA in different <i>Berberis</i> species collected from Western Himalayan Region

The genus Berberis has high significance in Indian and other traditional systems of medicine due to the presence of iso-quinoline alkaloids. This study was conducted to record the metabolic variation in eight Berberis spp. collected from the Western Himalayan region. The RP-HPLC-PDA chromatogram separates the markers jatrorrhizine, palmatine and berberine at specific retention time, 11.45, 16.41 and 18.15 min respectively. The method was validated on linearity, precision and recovery indices as per International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. The maximum content of berberine, palmatine and jatrorrhizine was found in Berberis asiatica (1.74% ± 0.032, 1.63% ± 0.028 and 0.264% ± 0.012, respectively) on % dry weight basis. This study will help in phyto-marker-based identification and differentiation of various Berberis species, which can be used as an alternative to the official drug Daruharidra i.e. Berberis aristata.</p

Nutritional characteristics of Stereospermum chelonoides (L.f.) DC., an underutilized edible wild fruit of dietary interest

Malnutrition and hunger is a serious global issue, however, wild fruits possess the potential of combatting it being rich in nutrients. Stereospermum chelonoides (L.f.) DC., commonly known as “Patala” in Ayurvedic text, is a large wild tree bearing edible, yet, underutilized fruits consumed by the locals in Western parts of India and neighboring countries. The present study focuses on the nutritional profile of S. chelonoides fruit along with quantification of bioactive constituents using RP-HPLC-PDA and evaluation of in-vitro anti-oxidant and, anti-microbial activity. The fruit was found rich in nutritional composition having protein (2.41 % ± 0.007), fibre (3.46 % ± 0.02) and carbohydrate (90.19 % ± 1.73) with energy value of 368.2 ± 3.94 Kcal/100g. The elemental analysis of fruit resulted in macronutrients Ca, Mg and Na and micronutrients Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu in amounts comparable to common marketed fruits. The RP-HPLC-PDA analysis revealed the presence of six phenolic compounds in all 3 extracts made from the fruit in which highest amount are present in hydro-alcoholic extract. All the extracts exhibited potent antioxidant activity evaluated through DPPH assay and oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC), with highest activity in hydro-alcoholic extract. All the analyzed extracts also exhibited potent inhibition, against four human pathogens namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli, and Shigella flexneri. Therefore, it is evident from the study that the fruit of S. chelonoides has immense potential as a nutraceutical supplement and may help in the management of nutrient deficiency and malnutrition among rural and tribal communities