Abstract
Hibiscus schizopetalus (Mast) Hook (Malvaceae) is a shrub with spreading or usually drooping branches, attaining a height up to 13 feet (4 m) and found in east of tropical Africa. It is also a common ornamental shrub cultivated in Pakistan. The pharmacognostic standards for the flower and leaves of H. schizopetalus were done for the first time and this could be useful as quality control parameter in future. The leaves and flower of the plant was studied for standardization, including examination of morphological, anatomical, microscopic characters, histochemical reactions, fluorescence characters and ash values. The morphological studies revealed that flowers are pink to red in color and leaves are green in color with characteristic odour and slight bitter taste. Pulverized samples of leaves and floral parts of the plant treated with different chemical reagents showed the presence of alkaloids, steroids and triterpenoids more prominently. The present investigation has stated important standardization parameters for H. schizopetalus which is a new entry as medicinal aid, providing immense help in authenticating the plant material. Key words: Hibiscus schizopetalus (Mast) Hook, pharmacognostic evaluations, fluorescence characters, ash values.
Highlights
Plants are utilized extensively as raw drugs for many formulations in traditional as well as modern systems of medicine
As the expansion for the exploration of new plant resources, herbal medicines are being manufactured on a large scale in mechanical units, where manufacturers are facing many problems such as availability of good quality raw material, authentication of raw material, availability of standards, proper standardization methodology of drugs and formulations and quality control parameters (Agrawal, 2000; Agrawal, 2005; Ali et al, 2005)
Organoleptic or macroscopic evaluation of crude drug is the technique of qualitative evaluation based on the morphological and sensory profile of whole drug
Summary
Plants are utilized extensively as raw drugs for many formulations in traditional as well as modern systems of medicine. To check the genuineness of the raw drugs and to detect adulteration of these materials, detailed pharmacognostic study of all materials used in formulation is required for authentication. In the last few decades there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal medicine. As the expansion for the exploration of new plant resources, herbal medicines are being manufactured on a large scale in mechanical units, where manufacturers are facing many problems such as availability of good quality raw material, authentication of raw material, availability of standards, proper standardization methodology of drugs and formulations and quality control parameters (Agrawal, 2000; Agrawal, 2005; Ali et al, 2005)
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