Effect of season on quantity and quality of latex of rakta snuhi (Euphorbia caducifolia Haines): An analytical study

Abstract

Introduction: Ayurveda recommends standardization of different useful parts of herbal drug, either organized or unorganized, starting from its collection. The latex of snuhi is said to be collected at the end of Shishira ritu. This article highlights the result of scientific study on effect of season on collection of latex of Euphorbia caducifolia Haines. (EC), one of the botanicl source of Snuhi. Materials and Methods: The fresh crude latex of EC was collected in clean glass vials in all the six ritu, i.e. Hemanta-S1 (November–December), Shishira-S2 (January–February), Vasanta-S3 (March–April), Grishma-S4 (May–June), Varsha-S5 (July–August), and Sharada-S6 (September–October). The collection was done for 4 days in each ritu and 3 times in a day, i.e. before sunrise, 3 h after sunrise, and 6 h after sunrise (6AS), by incision of branch, incision of main stem, and Plucking of branch. The observations regarding volume, girth of plant parts, pH, viscosity, and specific gravity along with preliminary phytochemical analysis of latex were carried out in samples of crude latex collected in six seasons. The seasonal similarity and diversity was assessed by applying principal component analysis using Unscrambler software 9.7 version. Results and Conclusion: Rakta Snuhi latex collected during Hemanta ritu (November–December) was well differentiated from other ritu, with regard to volume and girth. Highest volume of latex was collected by plucking of branch. Data shows that the latex is having highest pH (5.29) in Varsha ritu (July–August), specific gravity (1.034) in Vasanta ritu (March–April), and the relative viscosity (2.444) in Shishira ritu (January–February)