Pharmacognostical studies on the bark ofalstonia scholaris R.Br. [Chatiun]

Alstonia scholaris R.Br. [Chatiun] is an important evergreen tree used in the disorders of heart and blood. Its bark is used in various ailments like asthma, leucoderma, ulcers, tumors and dysentery in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. Therefore, in the present communication the detailed pharmacognostical studies have been carried out for the standardization of the stem bark of this species. The study includes qualitative and quantitative microscopy of the stem bark; its powder analysis; moisture content determination; ash and total extractive values determination. The histochemical tests of the stem bark and preliminary phytochemical screening of different extracts have shown the presence of starch, lignins, alkaloids, flavonoids and proteins. In the successive extractive values determination, the maximum extract was observed in water and minimum in chloroform; in quantitative estimation of the organic components, 0.200% total alkaloids, 0.07% steroids and 0.44% resins have been determined in the studied bark. Thin layer chromatographic studies show maximum six spots in methanolic extract and minimum two spots in acetone extract. The above pharmacognostical parameters of the drug may be helpful in the identification of genuine sample, as there are increasing incidences of adulteration of this drug in the market samples