PHARMACOGNOSTIC EVALUATION OF CYNANCHUM TUNICATUM (RETZ.) ALST. -A RARE MEDICINAL PLANT

Medicinal plants play an important role for primary health care as a preventive and curative measure in different ailments. Ethnic peoples are the raw resources for innovation of new drugs for Indian system of medicine as well as a western system of medicine. Present study is on Cynanchum tunicatum (Retz.) Alst, belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae, a rare medicinal plant used to treat the maggot infected wounds by few ethnic peoples of Tumkur district of Karnataka. During literature survey found scanty scientific information about this plant. Therefore, attempts   were made for pharmacognostic standardization of medicinally potential plant as a natural drug. The pharmacognostic approach towards the leaf constituent’s parameters such as stomatal index, palisade ratio; vein islets numbers. Anatomy of officinal parts, powder microscopy and phytochemical analysis was conducted. Stomatal index of upper surface is 13.51 No/sq.mm and lower surface is 18.13 No/sq.mm, vein islets number is 5.76/mm², average palisade ratio is 1:6.5 No/unit areas. Pollinia are multicelluar with cellular caudicles and corpuscules. The anatomical structure of stem of this plant showed unique character, two broad vessels attached to the pericycle and lie opposite to each other. The powder microscopy reveals presence of reticulate vessels, latex cells and scleroids. These are the important characters for identification and authentication of drug. Presence of alkaloids, terpenes, steroids and other phytochemicals in the plants may be the potential source for healing chronic wound. These quantitative and qualitative pharmacognostic data are first step towards the establishing the identity and purity of botanical, to which are used as a natural drugs. So these parameters can be used as a quality control standard of this potential medicinal plant.