PRELIMINARY PHARMACOGNOSTIC AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL EVALUATION OF ROOTBARK AND STEMBARK OF GMELINA ARBOREA ROXB. HORT. BENG(SAN.KASMARI)

Gmelina arborea Roxb. Hort. Beng. is a large deciduous tree belonging to the family Verbenaceae, having vast medicinal importance in Ayurveda. The plant is widely distributed throughout India. It is mentioned by the name Kasmari and is one among the ten drugs included under Dasamoola group in the Ayurvedic classics. Since the drug is being used extensively in Indian traditional medicinal systems the present work is taken up with an objective to laydown detailed pharmacognostical and preliminary phytochemical standards. The rootbark and stem bark of the plant were subjected to macroscopical and microscopical characterization, followed by preliminary physicochemical and phytochemical evaluations. The physical parameters studied included foreign matter, moisture content, volatile oil, total ash, acid insoluble ash, water soluble extractive, alcohol soluble extractive, fibre content and sugar content. The preliminary phytochemical analysis included qualitative chemical analysis, Thin Layer Chromatography, High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. The results of the study can serve as a valuable source of pharmacognostic information adequate to set standards for its identification.