Standardisation of Adenostemma lavenia (L.) Kuntze leaves: An unexplored folklore herb from Maharashtra

Abstract

The herb Adenostemma lavenia (L.) Kuntze belongs to the family Asteraceae and commonly known as ‘jangli jeera’. The leaves are traditionally used in the treatment of baldness and hair loss. Indigenous community of Dutch Indies has long employed the leaves in arresting baldness. They are also used in treatment of sunburn, ulcers and boils. Despite the traditional significance, this herb remains unexplored. The current study aims to introduce this less well-known medicinal herb to manifold. Pharmacognosy is the first step towards standardisation. The parameters investigated are macroscopy, microscopy, histochemical and powder study. The leaf powder was subjected to physicochemical, fluorescence and phytochemical analyses which yielded significant results. Microscopic investigation of leaf powder revealed key diagnostic features, including anisocytic stomata, palisade, spongy mesophyll cells, various types of trichomes, tannin, starch grains, prismatic calcium oxalate crystals, oil globules, etc. These diagnostic features go concurrent to the microscopy of whole leaf. Physicochemical parameters showed the following values, like total ash 09.69 ± 0.3, water soluble ash 2.27 ± 0.6, acid insoluble ash 7.66 ± 1.8, water soluble extractive value 17.81 ± 2.4, alcohol soluble extractive value 24.10 ± 1.8, etc. Preliminary phytochemical and histochemical analysis confirmed the presence of major phytoconstituents like alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, etc. The present study sets the groundwork for standardising the leaf of A. lavenia as medicinal herb.