PRELIMINARY PHARMACOGNOSTICAL, PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF CONVOLVULUS PLURICAULIS CHOISY.

Convolvulus, a genus of perennial wild herb commonly found on sandy and rocky areas under xerophytic conditions in northern India. Convolvulus pluricaulis is a member of family Convolvulaceae and is used as traditional medicine for variety of ailments. It is widely used in Unani medicine and is also mentioned as a rasayana in Ayurveda, an ancient system of Indian medicine. It has been reported as brain tonic, anticonvulsant, nervine tonic, aphrodisiac, anti-inflammatory, antitussive, eye tonic, blood purifier, etc. In present context, the adulteration has become a major problem due to unavailability of standards relating to genuineness of herbal drugs. The WHO has emphasized the need to certify the quality of herbal products by adopting various standard parameters. In this study efforts have been made to analyze the physicochemical and phytochemical parameters such as extractive values, ash values, loss on drying, pH, fluorescence analysis, thin layer chromatography of Convolvulus pluricaulis. This will serve as a standard reference for identification, authentication and distinguishing the plants from its adulterants.