Pharmacognostic Evaluation and HPTLC Finger Printing of Rhizome of Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. and F. from Nepal

Introduction: Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. and F.; commonly known as Shveta Musali from the family Liliaceae is a perennial herb. It is used in Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani and in folklore practice as an aphrodisiac herb. Present study depicts pharmacognostic features of Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. and F. collected from Nepal. Methods: Macromicroscopic analyses, physico-chemical studies and HPTLC finger printing of rhizomes of Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. and F. were carried out according to pharmacopoeial procedures. Results: Microscopic analysis has shown presence of epidermis, cork, cortex, collenchymatous cells, starch grains, cluster crystals of calcium oxalate, idioblast, phloem, vascular bundles, pitted xylem parenchyma, sclereids, stone cells, fragment of epiblema, and acicular needles. Preliminary phytochemical analysis revealed presence of alkaloid, carbohydrate, carboxylic acid, resins and saponins. TLC photo-documentation revealed presence of many phyto-constituents with different Rf values and HPTLC densitometric scan of the plates showed numerous bands under short UV, long UV and 620 nm (after derivatisation). Conclusion: Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. and F. was evaluated for its pharmacognostic features and HPTLC. These specific identities will be useful in identification and authentication of the raw drug.