Pharmacognostical Studies On Stem Bark Of Acacia Ferruginea DC

Abstract

Acacia ferruginea DC. (Family: Mimosaceae) is an important Ayurvedic drug. Traditionally, the stem bark of this plant are used for treating various human ailments like leucoderma, ulcers, piles, inflammation, helminthiasis, dysentery, diabetes etc. In spite of having several medicinal properties, no standardization parameters have been laid down for the stem bark in the literature. Therefore, in the present paper, we report the macroscopical and microscopical characters, physicochemical parameters such as moisture content, ash value, extractive values, fluorescence analysis and preliminary phytochemical analysis of the stem bark. Transverse section of the bark shows presence of cork, phellogen, phelloderm, sclerenchymatous tissue and secondary phloem region. The powder microscopy revealed presence of pieces of cork, parenchyma, xylem vessels, phloem fibres, stone cells, calcium oxalate crystals and starch grains. The preliminary phytochemical screening of different extracts revealed presence of alkaloids, steroids, triterpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and phenolic compounds, carbohydrates, gums and mucilages, proteins and amino acids respectively in the bark. These findings will be useful towards establishing pharmacognostic standards on identification, purity and quality of the plant.