The extract from the rhizome of Costus spectabilis (Costaceae) has been used to treat many illnesses including eye infections and cataract. The present study aimed to establish the pharmacognostic features of the rhizome by evaluating its macro-morphological characteristics, micro-morphological features using its anatomical section, physicochemical constants and elemental profile of its powder according to standard methods. Macro-morphology revealed features typical of a rhizome. Microscopical examination shows vascular bundles scattered throughout the ground tissue of starch-filled cellulosic parenchyma, parenchymatous cortex, endodermis and Oleoresin cells. Chemomicroscopy of the powder showed cellulosic cell walls, lignified cell walls, starch grains, fats and oil. The powder was found to have a moisture content of 12.3%, Total ash of 4.3%, acid insoluble ash of 2.0%, water soluble ash of 1.2%, water soluble extractive of 11.0% and alcohol soluble extractive of 6.5%. Elemental analysis showed the presence of Zn, Cu, Mg, Fe, Pb, Ni, Mn and Cd at concentrations of 24.62, 2.63, 1449.21, 113.23, 36.50, 31.90, 86.93 and 1.23 mg/kg in the powder respectively. The study has established some pharmacognostic features and elemental composition of the rhizome of C. spectabilis. The information could serve useful in providing quality control parameters and standardization of the crude drug. Keywords: Macro-morphology; Microscopical; Physico-chemical; Standardization; Elemental analysis
Commiphora africana is a famous medicinal plant used traditionally in the treatment of various ailments such as inflammation, stomach disorders, diabetes, malaria, tumours, skin infections and as antidotes for venomous bites and stings in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. The present study aims to evaluate the molecular and chemical properties that could be of value in the standardization and quality assessment of the medicinal values of C. africana. The randomly amplified polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acidpolymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) analysis was carried out on the leaf sample. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was carried out on the leaf and barks of stem and root extracts. The RAPD-PCR amplified products generated fingerprint patterns ranging from 250 to 1600 base pairs. The oligoprimers (A, B and E) produced distinct banding patterns for C. africana, the number of well-defined and major bands for a single primer ranged from 2 to 7 with maximum number of well-defined bands observed with primer "a" (7 bands) and the minimum number with primer "e" (2 bands). The HPLC chromatograms of the extracts of leaf and barks of stem and root of C. africana showed some similarities and differences in the type, number and concentration of the compounds in the various morphological parts of the plant. The DNA and HPLC fingerprints obtained from this research can be useful in the identification and authentication of C. Africana and thus may be useful in the standardization of this plant.
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