Pharmacognostic Studies on the Leaves of Dyschoriste Perottetii Nees

To ensure reproducible quality of herbal products, proper control of starting material is important. The first step towards ensuring quality of starting material is authentication. Thus, in recent years there has been a rapid increase in the standardization of selected medicinal plants of potential therapeutic significance. Despite the modern techniques, identification of plant drugs by pharmacognostic studies is more reliable. Dyschoriste perrottetii Nees (Family-Acanthaceae) is an important medicinal plant used in various ways in the treatment of microbial infections, fever, measles and pains. Macroscopic, microscopic and chemo-microscopic studies of powdered and anatomical sections of the leaf were carried out using standard methods. This is necessary, for the purpose of identification and monograph preparation. The result shows diacytic stomata on the lower and upper surface, surrounded by wavy walled epidermal cells, unicellular covering trichomes, calcium oxalate crystal, which are mostly single and prismatic, lignified fibres and a characteristic collenchyma cells below the epidermis. Chemo-microscopic examination revealed the presence of starch, tannin, mucilage and cellulose. Quantitative evaluation of the powdered leaves gave moisture content of 7.5 %, total ash 12.5 %, water soluble ash 5.3 %, acid insoluble ash of 4.0 %, and alcohol extractive and water soluble extractive of 31.2 and 21 .08 % respectively. These findings are of importance in the establishing diagnostic indices for the identification, Result could be used for identification and preparation of monograph on the plant.