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Wungsem Rungsung ¹, Sreya Dutta ¹, Dhirendra Nath Mondal ¹, Jayram Hazra ¹

Affiliations
1 National Research Institute for Ayurvedic Drug Development, Department of AYUSH, 4-CN Block, Sector-V, Salt Lake, Kolkata-91, IN

Abstract

People the world over are increasingly turning to indigenous systems of medicine, which are mainly derived from the plant materials. The use of plant drugs, however, demands correct identification and characterization because their efficacy and safety depend on the use of proper plant part and its biological potency. Zingiber officinale Rosc., commonly known as ginger, is recorded to have been used in the traditional healthcare system of India since time immemorial. Transverse section of its rhizome showed that starch accumulates in the cortical cells and stele; and also revealed the presence of numerous suberized oil cells. The cell contents of diagnostic value are suberized oil cells containing yellowish to reddish-brown oleoresins, ovate starch grains, reticulate vessels and septate fibres.

Keywords

Ginger, Rhizome, Oleoresin, Starch Grain, HPTLC Fingerprints.

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Wungsem Rungsung ¹, Sreya Dutta ², Jayram Hazra ²

Affiliations
1 National Research Institute for Ayurvedic Drug Development, Department of AYUSH, 4-CN Block, Sector-V, Bidhannagar, Kolkata-91, IN
2 National Research Institute for Ayurvedic Drug Development, Department of AYUSH, 4-CN Block, Sector-V, Bidhannagar, Kolkata-91, IN

Abstract

World Health Organization currently encourages, recommends and promotes traditional herbal medicines in National Healthcare Programmes as such drugs are easily available at low cost and inherently safer than the potent synthetic drugs. According to WHO, about 80% of the world population relies on traditional medicines, mostly on plant drugs. Adulteration, however, becomes a very serious problem with the crude drugs, and often occurs when a drug is not easily available or when its price is comparatively high. Adulteration, in many cases, may not be intentional and in many cases could occur due to mistaken identity of the plants. WHO acknowledged that pharmacognostical standards should be proposed as a protocol for the diagnosis of herbal drugs, and internationally-recognized guidelines for their quality assessment are necessary. The plant materials should be collected at an appropriate stage of their growth and thereafter well authenticated by detailed taxonomical study. The most convenient time of collection is the period during which the drug is highest in its contents of active principles. According to WHO guidelines, medicinal plant materials are categorized according to sensory, macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. An examination to determine these characteristics is the first step towards establishing the identity and degree of purity of such materials, and should be carried out before any further tests are undertaken.

Keywords

Pharmacognosy, Adulteration, Authentication, Quality Evaluation, Crude Drugs.

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