BACKGROUND: Tribals have developed their tradition of the food system by using native plants having nutritional as well as medicinal values. Different parts of wild edible plants are consumed by them in various forms such as curry, pickles, fried, etc. Such knowledge is applied to cope with starvation and survive in unfavorable conditions. But this valuable information is not preserved well by the next generation. Therefore, there is a need to systematically record such unexplored traditional knowledge for further detailed study. Present study aimed to document and record wild edible plants and details of the recipes prepared by the tribal of Jawhar and Shahapur forest division. METHODS: A Medico-Ethno Botanical Survey was carried out in Jawhar and Shahapur forest divisions of Maharashtra during the year 2018–19. The study includes the documentation of the traditionally used edible plants by the ethnic group of people in the studied area and is presented systematically. RESULT: A total of 34 recipes prepared from 32 different species were described in detail. Out of 32 species, 28 species are wild and only four species are cultivated on the farm or yard. Ten recipes using leaves (fresh and dried), six using fruits, five using flowers, six using tubers (dry and curry of Dioscorea bulbifera L.), four using pods, two using seeds, and one recipe using shoot are reported, which are not familiar in the urban areas. The use of ash for the processing of Dioscorea species to make it more palatable was found as a unique method. CONCLUSION: Vegetable recipes of nine species were reported as noteworthy after validating from the available literature. Further investigation of collected data from the perspective of their phytochemical and nutraceutical studies may provide better nutritional and medicinal sources for the future.

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Ashtanga Nighantu contains synonymous explanations of 257 drugs that are cited in Vagbhata Samhita. It also contains Viprakirnagana that incorporates 133 plants. The botanical identification of many of them seems to be doubtful and unconfirmed due to misconceptions, mixing and exchange of synonyms with other species, and changes in nomenclature in subsequent lexicons like Dhanvantari Nighantu and others, which further put down a plethora of controversies. As a result, botanical sources of these plants are to be identified. The Ahimara is one of these lesser-known plants. This review aims to botanically identify the plant Ahimara. The lexicon of Ashtanga Nighantu edited by Acharya Priyavrata Sharma was taken as the main source of analysis. Other texts considered were Ashtanga Nighantu by K.S. Viswanathana, Sanskrit to Hindi translation dictionaries, Vedon mai Ayurveda, Brihatrayi, Laghutrayi; 27 lexicons, medicinal databases, and indexed journals accessed through Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus. The evidences obtained in these are support as evidence for determining Ahimara (Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsale). This plant is as mentioned an antidote to snake poison and having yellow wood, as mentioned in Ashtanga Nighantu. Identity of this plant became a subject of controversy since the name Aribheda is also the synonym of Arimeda. Another synonym suggested by the author was Haridruma, which may later become Haridru/Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsale. However, it may be deemed as Ahimara rather than Irimeda, based on supporting literature. Although the plant Haridru possesses yellow wood, as indicated in the synonyms mentioned in the lexicon, but no supporting evidence is found for its therapeutic use in snake bite. The present review suggests that there is further need of comprehensive phytochemical and clinical studies to affirm this botanical identity.

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BACKGROUND: Goghrita has a wide spectrum of medicinal properties for external as well as internal applications. Shatadhout ghrita (SDG) is a samskarita ghrita, derived when washed in cold water a hundred times. In this study, an attempt has been made to standardize the pharmaco-analytical parameters for SDG using modern tools. The aim of this study is to develop the pharmaceutical standards of SDG and to establish the analytical parameters of SDG. METHODS: Ghrita is procured from the GMP-certified KLE Ayurveda Pharmacy, Belgaum, Karnataka, India. Three samples of SDG were prepared as per classical method. Goghrita and all three samples of SDG were subjected to the analysis of organoleptic characters and physicochemical parameters such as pH, moisture content, acid value, iodine value, saponification value, unsaponification value, microbial load, according to the Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia of India, in Ayush-Approved ASU Drug Testing Laboratory, KAHER’s Shri B.M. Kankanwadi Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya, Shahpur, Belgaum, Karnataka, India. RESULTS: Ghrita transformed into a semisolid, pale yellow, creamy texture, smooth to the touch with a pleasant odor. The final quantity of ghrita after 100 washes was increased, and all the analytical results for ghrita and three samples of Shatdhout ghrita were explained. CONCLUSION: The ghrita achieves a non-granular form from granular texture. Analytical parameters such as pH, moisture content, acid value, iodine value, saponification value, and unsaponification value of all the three samples of SDG showed significant changes in comparison to ghrita.

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BACKGROUND: The seed of famous Indian spice Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Methi) of family Fabaceae is the source of a large number of chemical components and used in a number of herbal formulations as an extract. For the separation of these chemical components from the complex plant matrix, the development of an effective extraction method is necessary. The present study aimed to identify major chemical constituents in the fingerprint developed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and to design an optimized extraction process for the enrichment of Methi seed extract with the selected constituents. METHODS: TLC fingerprint along with the image analysis was used to find the major components depending upon the area under the curve. The independent variables and their range were identified by one-factor-at-a-time experiments. The selected range of variables was further optimized by response surface methodology using the design of experiment (DoE) study to develop an extraction method for the maximum recovery of the selected components. The analysis of variance was utilized to check the fit of the developed model on the basis of quality assessment parameters. RESULTS: The information generated in this study recommends the use of reflux method with 70.57 mL/g of 80% ethanol for 31.19 min at 69.76°C for the maximum extraction of major components from seeds. CONCLUSION: The developed extraction method can be used for lab scale extractions in plant drug standardization and scale-up extractions in herbal industries for the manufacturing of Methi seed formulations.

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BACKGROUND: Leaves of Atalantia monophylla DC. (Syn. Limonia monophylla L.), family Rutaceae, are traditionally used to treat rheumatoid pain, hemiplegia, itch and cutaneous complaints, cough, and as an antidote to snake bite, etc. The present study reports the detailed morphology, anatomy, genetic barcoding, physiochemical, and phytochemical aspects of A. monophylla leaves. METHODS: The sample of leaves of the plant were collected from one of its natural habitat, Athagarh forest, Odisha, India. The detailed macroscopic observations were made with naked eyes, and microscopy characters of leaf, stomatal index, and powder microscopy were done as per standard protocol. Physicochemical and qualitative preliminary phytochemical analysis, high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), and DNA bar-coding studies were carried out as per Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India methods and other standard guidelines. RESULTS: Leaves were opposite, unifoliate, ovate-elliptic, entire, emarginate, and glabrous. Transverse section (TS) through petiole showed epidermis, cortex, pericyclic fibers, and vascular bundles along with trichome. TS of lamina passing through midrib shows lamina with upper and lower epidermis, lignified elements, interrupted by stomata and unicellular trichome. Microscopic characteristics of the leaves powder show the presence of oil globule, rhomboidal crystal, prismatic crystal, and fragment of paracytic stomata. The result of loss on drying, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, water, methanol-soluble extractive, and the obtained pH values were about 10.47 ± 0.40%, 6.94 ± 0.95%, 1.00 ± 0.00%, 30.41 ± 2.26%, 7.64 ± 0.56%, and 6.6, respectively. Qualitative phytochemical analysis shows the presence of carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, tannins, and flavonoids and the HPTLC study revealed 29 spots at both short (254 nm) and long (366 nm) ultraviolet rays. CONCLUSION: Epidermal cells, oil globule, rhomboidal crystal, prismatic crystal, paracytic stomata, and simple unicellular trichome are key characters for identification of its leaves. The results obtained from pharmacognostical, phytochemical, physicochemical, and DNA bar-coding studies may serve as the diagnostic tool of A. monophylla toward its authentication and identification and also in maintaining of quality, strength, purity, and efficacy of the leaves.

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BACKGROUND: Shelf-life is an important aspect of raw as well as finished drugs. Recently, shelf-life parameters have been included in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia of India (API). The aim of this study to evaluate the comparative long-term shelf-life study of Raw Vetas (Salix alba stem bark) and Vetas Ghana (a semisolid form of Salix alba Stem bark aqueous extract). METHODS: A stability chamber with environmental conditions 30°C ± 2°C/60% RH ± 5% was used for the long-term shelf-life study of Raw Vetas and Vetas Ghana. Physicochemical parameters like loss on drying, pH, total ash, acid insoluble ash, water extractive value, and alcohol extractive value were evaluated at a regular frequency (0th, 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 12th months). RESULTS: There are significant changes that have been observed w.r.t. physicochemical parameters analysis. Physicochemical parameters revealed that the shelf-life of Raw Vetas ranged from 31 to 66 months and the shelf-life of Vetas Ghana ranged from 38 to 62 months. CONCLUSIONS: The average shelf-life of Raw Vetas and Vetas Ghana was 41.83 and 47.50 months, respectively. This study may help to understand the shelf-life of various Ayurvedic formulations consisting of Raw Vetas and Vetas Ghana.

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