Pharmacognostic Studies on Leaves of Flacourtia ramontchi L.'Herit

Flacourtia ramontchi L.'Herit (Family: Flacourtiaceae), commonly called Vikankata in Sanskrit, Governor's Plum or Madaraskara Plum in English, is found in the Sub-Himalayan tract and Outer Himalayas in India. The leaves of this plant have different indications in Ayurveda and are used traditionally for several ailments. Considerable confusion exists regarding the identification of this species. Hence, the present work was undertaken to establish the requisite pharmacognostic standards for evaluating the plant material. Although some pharmacognostic characters were already reported in Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, present work re-investigates some of them and reports other necessary pharmacognostic parameters of leaves of Flacourtia ramontchi L.'Herit.