Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical Investigation of Aerial Parts of Centella asiatica Linn

Abstract

In Indo-Pak subcontinent, the traditional systems of medicine, both Ayurvedic and Unani are primarily based on the use of herbs and herb based preparation for therapy. Therefore, the importance of herbs identification process still remains the key factor in achieving the desired and successful therapeutic effect. To support the manufacturers and practitioners of both the systems, a huge quantity of herbs are still collected from wild source, as the herbal farming is not very much developed in this part of the world. During a survey program conducted in different areas of Pakistan, significant lacking and gaps were noted to be present in the identification & characterization of herbs which needs to be addressed and fulfilled as many species look alike apparently or physically but have different biological or pharmacological activity. Based on this objective and approach Centella asiatica was selected for pharmacognostic and preliminary phytochemical investigation to establish a better correlation and to provide useful methods in its identification as use of Centella asiatica is very common in Pakistan and other South Asian countries for CNS disorders therapy. Therefore, purpose of this study was to develop & report some and rapid identification method for Centella asiatica. The present study includes physical, physicochemical, preliminary phytochemical and fluorescence analysis. For the first time, in the present study NIR and FT-IR spectrum of Centella asiatica have been reported for identification. Finding of the present study are quite promising which can be helpful for the manufacturers and researchers in the identification and development of Centella asiatica based new drugs or formulations.