Abstract

Background: The dried roots of Andrographis macrobotrys Nees. (Family. Acanthaceae), is a reputed drug mentioned in the Siddha literature for treatment of stomach ache, jaundice. Objective: To standardize the dried root of A. macrobotrys. Methods: The present study focused on the root of the A. macrobotrys was subjected to macro-microscopic, powder microscopy, physio-chemical, fluorescence and HPTLC to fix quality standards for this drugs. Results: Morphological characteristic of root occurs at the internodes when in contact with soil. The roots are light brown in colour with secondary adventitious roots. The microscopic study have shown vascular bundle is radial; phloem elements are arranged in 5-6 layers and contain brown content and styloids. Powder is brown in colour with slightly granular in texture and having no characteristic odour and bitter taste. Plant powder shows the characters like cork cells, parenchymatous cells, calcium oxalate crystal, cystoliths, styloid, etc., Physio-chemical analysis was observed the water-soluble extractive and the alcohol-soluble extractive of accession 1 is higher compared to the other accessions. Thin-layer chromatography was carried out, the plate was developed to 70 mm from the base using the mobile phase: Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Formic acid. Conclusion: This study would be useful in the identification and authentication of the raw drugs.

Key words: Andrographis macrobotrys, Powder microscopy, Anatomy, Physico-chemical, HPTLC