Pharmacognostical and Physicochemical Evaluation on the Flowers of Justicia adhatoda L.

The present communication attempts to evaluate the macroscopy, microscopy, physico-chemical, preliminary phytochemical and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) fingerprint studies of different extracts on the flowers of Justicia adhatoda L. (Adhatoda zeylanica Medicus, A. vasica Nees). Microscopical studies revealed that flowers possess abundant uniseriate, biseriate and multiseriate elongated trichomes, glandular trichomes with bicelled heads, cystoliths in calyx region, light brown tannin content, papillae like out growth, and well developed spongy and palisade parenchyma in corolla region. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoides, phenols, proteins, saponins and tannins. These parameters will be useful in the identification and standardization of the flower drug of Vasa and also to identify other species of Adhatoda.