Sharad Srivastava

A review on biological and chemical diversity in Berberis (Berberidaceae).

Berberis is an important genus and well known in the Indian as well as European systems of traditional medicine. It is used since ancient times for curing eye disease, fever, jaundice, rheumatism, vomiting during pregnancy, kidney and gall balder stones and various other ailments due to the presence of biologically active alkaloid berberine. Action of the root extracts of few species are believed to be as powerful as quinine in the treatment of malarial fever. A plethora of literature pertaining to the taxonomy, biology, chemistry, traditional and ethnic uses of Berberis in different countries and indigenous cultures was collected by both offline (library, journals, textbooks etc.) and online mode (electronic search of available databases). In addition to this, books on traditional medicine and ethno pharmacological knowledge were also referred to extract ancient uses of Berberis in different traditional medicine systems. Most of the folklore, traditional and ethno botanical claims about Berberis species were validated by broad spectrum in vitro and vivo pharmacological studies. The present article summarizes its usage in eye and liver disorder, fever, kidney and gall stones along with anticancer activity. This comprehensive review will not only help researchers for further evaluation but also provide substantial information for future exploitation of species to develop novel herbal formulations.

Simultaneous determination of bergenin and gallic acid in different Bergenia species

A simple, highly precise method has been established for the simultaneous determination of the bioactive molecules bergenin and gallic acid in three different species of Bergenia-B. ligulata (Wall) Eng., B. ciliata (Royle) Raizada, and B. stracheyi Engl. The assay combines separation and quantitative estimation of the analytes on silica gel 60GF254 HPTLC plates with visualization under UV light and scanning at 260 nm. This study has enabled simultaneous analysis of bergenin and gallic acid in all three species.

Evaluation of Successive Fractions for Optimum Quantification of Bergenin and Gallic Acid in Three Industrially Important Bergenia species by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) known as paashanbheda in Ayurveda is an evergreen perennial herb with about 30 species known worldwide. It is widely distributed in Central and East Asia. Bergenia ligulata Wall., Bergenia stracheyi Engl., and Bergenia ciliata Sternb. are well known species which are available in high altitude (7000–10,000 ft) of temperate Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan and in Khasia hills at 400 ft [1]. It is used for the treatment of pulmonary infection [2], as antioxidant [3, 4], in urolithiasis, anti-inflammatory, for treating boils, menorrhagia, and excessive hemorrhage [5, 6].

A validated quantitative HPTLC method for analysis of biomarkers in Ficus carica L.

Ficus carica L. (Moraceae), the ’fig tree’, is reported to help in the prevention of vein blockage. Its rich fiber content has a laxative effect and fig latex inhibits the growth of carcinoma cells. Despite the wide use in the Indian traditional system of medicine of, especially, the fruit as an antidiabetic drug, and pharmacological investigation of the leaves, very little investigation has been conducted on phytochemical properties of the plant. An HPTLC method has therefore been established for simultaneous quantification of four biomarkers bergapten, psoralen, rutin, and chlorogenic acid in different tissues of the plant. Levels of bergapten and psoralen were highest in the leaves and bark whereas amounts in the fruit were negligible. Levels of chlorogenic acid were highest in the fruit and the maximum concentrations of rutin were found in the leaves. It is therefore apparent that the part of the plant to be used as a drug should be decided on the basis of the activity desired. p ]This HPTLC method can also be used for quality control and standardization of different parts of F. carica.

Studies on chemotypic variation in Centella asiatica (L.) Urban from Nilgiri range of India

Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (Apiaceae) possesses various healing effects and antioxidant properties. However, there has been very less focus on the investigation of chemotypic variations of C. asiatica found in different geographical zones of the country. In order to conserve C. asiatica, as it is an industrially valuable herb and over-exploitation of this drug from wild is a common practice, different distinct accessions of C. asiatica from Nilgiri range (Deccan zones) of India were compared in relation to the levels of triterpenoid saponins. Physicochemical parameters were also evaluated in all the accessions. The metabolites investigated include madecassoside, asiaticoside, and its sapogenin, asiatic acid by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC). CA-45 showed the highest content of asiaticoside, CA-51 showed the highest content of madecassoside, and CA-47 showed the highest content of asiatic acid among other accessions of Nilgiri range. It can be concluded that the geographical conditions (soil type and altitude) of these accessions are comparatively favorable for the production of higher levels of triterpenoid saponins in C. asiatica. The reported data will contribute to the establishment of knowledge about the triterpenoid saponin composition of different chemotypes of C. asiatica found in Nilgiri range of India in comparison to other geographical areas, and lays a foundation for the conservation and commercial cultivation of this plant.

Phytochemical and Nutritional Evaluation of Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) Blume Corm

Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) Blume (Araceae) is commonly known as Elephant foot yam. Corms are used in India in curries and pickles and are ascribed in vitiated conditions of vata and kapha, arthralgia, elephantiasis, tumours, inflammations, haemorrhages, vomiting, cough, bronchitis, asthma, anorexia, dyspepsia, flatulence, colic constipation, helminthiasis hepatopathy, splenopathy, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, seminal weakness, fatigue, anaemia and general debility. The present communication deals with the detailed pharmacognostic evaluation of the corm sample using light microscopy, WHO recommended physico-chemical determinations and phytochemical procedures. The physico-chemical, morphological and histological parameters presented in this paper may be proposed as parameters to establish the authenticity of A. campanulatus corms. A detailed nutritional analysis has also been carried out for quantitative evaluation of active nutrient components to determine calorific value for edible usage. HPTLC analysis showed the presence of β-sitosterol as marker compound in different extracts and fractions.

Pharmacognostic evaluation of the roots of Berberis lycium royle

SUMMARY Berberis lycium (family Berberidaceae) has a close affinity with B. aristata, used in India TraditionalSystems of Medicine as a drug ‘ Daruharidra ’ for skin disease, jaundice, affection of eyes, andrheumatism. Various species of Berberis are being sold in India herbal drug market. During themarket surveillance of different herbal drug markets of India, it was observed that almost all themarkets either comprise of Berberis lycium or Berberis asiatica. Keeping this in view, in thepresent study attempts have been made to identify marker characters of this potent species.Key words: Berberis lyceum; HPTLC; Daruharidra; Substitute INTRODUCTION Some of the diagnostic features of the root arepatches of pericyclic fibre, pitted sclerieds andberberine containing cells and heterocyclic medullaryrays. Besides, the physicochemical characters suchas total ash; acid insoluble ash; alcohol and watersoluble extractive; tannins; sugar and starch percentageshas shown variations. The percentage of berberineas berberine hydrochloride was also calculatedthrough HPTLC densitometric method and it wasfound almost in similar range to B. aristata, B.asiatica and B. chitria i.e. 2.45%. Thus this data canbe utilized by the pharmacologist to explore thepossibilities of this species as substitute to Daruharidra.Berberis lycium Royle is an important medicinalplant belonging to family Berberidaceae. It is verycommon in different markets of India as anadulterant/substitute to ‘Daruharidra ’ i.e. B. aristata.The root are used for treating a variety of ailmentssuch as eye and ear diseases, rheumatism, jaundice,diabetes, fever, stomach disorders, skin disease,malarial fever and as tonic(Watt, 1883; Kirtikar andBasu, 1933; Chopra et al 1958; Anonymous, 1988).Its use in the management of infected wounds hasalso been described in Ayurvedic classical texts(Sushrut Samhita, 1963). Major alkaloid of the plant is berberine, which isknown for its activity against cholera (Dutta andPanse, 1962), acute diarrhea (Lahiri and Dutta, 1967),amoebiasis, latent malaria and for the treatment oforiental sore caused by Leishmania tropica (Anonymous,1988).Over exploitation of B. aristata by differentpharmaceutical industries created scarcity of thematerial that opened new vistas to identify apossible substitute for this species. During marketsurveillance of different herbal drug markets ofIndia, it was observed that almost all the marketseither comprise of Berberis lycium or Berberis asiatica.Although a detailed pharmacognostic study of B.aristata, B. asiatica and B. chitria is reported by

High-performance thin-layer chromatographic-densitometric quantification and recovery of bioactive compounds for identification of elite chemotypes of Gloriosa superba L. collected from Sikkim Himalayas (India)

Background: Gloriosa superba L. (Colchicaceae) is used as adjuvant therapy in gout for its potential antimitotic activity due to high colchicine(s) alkaloids. Objective: This study aimed to develop an easy, cheap, precise, and accurate high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) validated method for simultaneous quantification of bioactive alkaloids (colchicine and gloriosine) in G. superba L. and to identify its elite chemotype(s) from Sikkim Himalayas (India). Methods: The HPTLC chromatographic method was developed using mobile phase of chloroform: acetone: diethyl amine (5:4:1) at λ maxof 350 nm. Results: Five germplasms were collected from targeted region, and on morpho-anatomical inspection, no significant variation was observed among them. Quantification data reveal that content of colchicine (Rf: 0.72) and gloriosine (Rf: 0.61) varies from 0.035%–0.150% to 0.006%–0.032% (dry wt. basis). Linearity of method was obtained in the concentration range of 100–400 ng/spot of marker(s), exhibiting regression coefficient of 0.9987 (colchicine) and 0.9983 (gloriosine) with optimum recovery of 97.79 ± 3.86 and 100.023% ± 0.01%, respectively. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were analyzed, respectively, as 6.245, 18.926 and 8.024, 24.316 (ng). Two germplasms, namely NBG-27 and NBG-26, were found to be elite chemotype of both the markers. Conclusion: The developed method is validated in terms of accuracy, recovery, and precision studies as per the ICH guidelines (2005) and can be adopted for the simultaneous quantification of colchicine and gloriosine in phytopharmaceuticals. In addition, this study is relevant to explore the chemotypic variability in metabolite content for commercial and medicinal purposes.

Intra-specific chemotypic variability of forskolin content in Coleus forskohlii (Wild.) Briq. growing in Nilgiri hills of India

Plant metabolite varies with season and geographic conditions. The present study is aimed at the identification of the potential chemotypes of Coleus forskohlii, available in the natural habitat of Nilgiri hills and adjoining area, in order to provide a basic lead for the industry concerning commercial exploitability, including the location-Specific commercial cultivation of the plant. The effect of intra-Specific variability in the forskolin content among the populations was estimated using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)—densitometric method. The roots of fourteen naturally occurring populations from the entire hill range were collected, covering the wide topography from foot hills up to the highest peak. The method developed for the quantification of forskolin was validated and found to be linear, Specific, and accurate with precision and accuracy. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 1.04 and 3.16 ng spot−1. Precision studies (both inter-day and intra-day) were within the standard limit of relative standard deviation (RSD) (%) less than 3%. The quantification of forskolin within the population revealed that it varied from 0.0046 ± 0.0005 (NBC-36) to 1.156 ± 0.003% (NBC-46). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) suggested that there are significant differences in forskolin content among the populations. A positive correlation (Karl Pearson) was found between the altitude and the forskolin content. The cluster analysis of the population on forskolin content suspected the presence of two chemotypes. The study suggests the presence of chemotaxonomic variation among the populations which can be due to the change in phyto-geographical factors.

A validated reversed-phase over-pressured layer chromatography-ultraviolet method for the quantification and optimum recovery of gallic acid in Annona muricata L.

A validated online over-pressured layer chromatography (OPLC) method was developed for the rapid, cost-effective, and efficient separation of gallic acid. A reversed-phase (RP) ultraviolet (UV)—online OPLC analytical method was developed and validated as per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Methanolic extract of Annona muricata (fruit) was prepared by cold maceration. Separation of marker was achieved on RP-OPLC plates (5 × 20 cm) with isocratic solvent system of 0.1% acetic acid, water and methanol (30:70) at a flow rate of 0.15 mL min−1; detection was carried out at λmax 270 nm. The base peak of standard gallic acid was at 5.441 min with good linearity (r2 > 0.999), precision, and accuracy. The limit of detection (LOD) (521.84 mg mL−1) and limit of quantification (LOQ) (1581.336 mg mL−1) values reflect that the method is sensitive with high peak purity; the recoveries of analyte were 99 to 103%. The achievement of the method was the early retention time of gallic acid which in turn increased the efficiency of the quantification of the targeted marker in a short duration of time for even larger number of samples in plant extract as well as biological fluids for pharmacokinetic studies. The application of the method can be extended in regulatory guidelines for the quality control of herbal drugs/products and formulations. The method is rapid and economical in terms of solvent consumption and, hence, can be preferred over other high-performance thin-layer chromatographic or liquid chromatographic methods.