Pharmacognostical studies on <em>Dalbergia spinosa</em> root

Abstract

Dalbergia spinosa Roxb. (Family: Leguminosae-Papilionoideae), a large climbing shrub commonly found in mangroves along the Coromandel coasts of south India. Root is bitter taste, used to treat inflammations, urinary problems, pain and fever and also reported for various pharmacological properties such as hypothermic, spermicidal, semen coagulant, hypoglycemic, cardio vascular, antimicrobial, diuretic and analgesic. In the present study, pharmacognostical investigation on roots was carried out by determining the morphological, micro scopical and physicochemical parameters. It was found that the root is cylindrical, elongated, tuberous in nature with lateral branches, yellowish brown in colour, slightly sweet taste with aromatic odour. Microscopical evaluation reveals that the presence of brown coloured cork cells and the periderm is distinguished into phellum, phellogen and phelloderm, made up of parenchyma followed by secondary phloem and xylem consists of vessels, fibres and lignified parenchyma. Histochemical studies of the root exhibits the presence of polyphenols, lignins and total proteins in the cortical cells, vessels and phloem respectively.