As we know that the demand for Ayush medicines is increasing day by day. Which, Ayurvedic medicines have their own major
popularities due to their immediate and safe action over the patients. The
therapeutic quality of medicine is totally depending upon the authentic crude
drugs used in the preparation of the medicines. Though many authentic books,
research publications, and Pharmacopoeial monograms are made available for ready
references but still the collection is mostly made by the local people of the
particular area, zone, or state based on the vernacular name. It is often seen
that the language may vary from one state to another but most of the time the
vernacular name is observed commonly in the neighboring state at the same time the
scientific name and family of the crude drugs are entirely different.
This type of confusion becomes more serious
when both plants have similar morphological appearances. A small precaution
can resolve the problems if considered in time by employing a Pharmacognosist
or Taxonomist along with the plant collector’s team. This is true that the local or
vernacular name gives good help to local people to collect plants but sometimes
it may allow the practice of substitutions due to similar appearance but
therapeutically different and thus, while enlisting the indent or demand of the
crude drugs, the scientific name must be mentioned along with the species and
the plant family. A binomial system of plant nomenclature should be adopted for a more authentic collection. The taxonomist may help the plant collector by
identifying the similar-looking plant to avoid adulteration in the bulk
collection.
We
should remember that the
adulteration or substitution may alter the quality, efficacy, and therapeutic properties of the medicines. This may be minimized by adopting
good collection practices. Due to inadequate knowledge of the villagers or plant
collectors, if the genuine and other plant material mixed together and if it is
in similar appearances, it may create more difficulties in segregation
especially when it becomes dry.
There
are many crude drugs
found mixed with each other and treated as sub-standard
quality, also getting fails in the estimation of quality with the parameters
mentioned in relevant Pharmacopoeias. For instance, “Shalaparni” (Sanskrit),
Sarivan (Hindi), Pulladi, Orila, moovilai (Tamil), and Pullati (Malayalam) vernacular
name given for the Desmodium gangeticum;
family Leguminosae- Papilionasae is found severely mixed with almost similar
looking plant Pseudarthria viscida;
family – Leguminosae –Papilionaceae. This plant is locally known as Sanaparni (Sanskrit),
Neermalli (Tamil), and Muvila (Malayalam). Botanically, the aforesaid plants
belong to the same family but both have different generic and species names and are separate
plants but more or less similar looking appearances but therapeutic properties
are entirely different. While collected in bulk by local people or villagers. P. viscida is unknowingly being mixed
with D. gangeticum. Apart from that, the Kerala state is very close with Tamil Nadu state of the south part of
India. The local names muvila (Malayalam)
for P.viscida
and moovilai (Tamil) for D.
gangeticum have almost the same pronunciation i.e. moovilai. So, while
asking for material using the local name, it creates a lot of confusion. If plant D. gangeticum requires and demand of the
plant raised with local name moovilai, there is no assurance as to what material
we will get whether D. gangeticum or P. viscida. The leaves of both the plant
are partly deciduous in nature and easily detached from the plant on its dryness
and then it is too difficult to identify the plant material in the form of dried
crude drugs, especially to the new person of Pharmacognosy or Botany interest.
In
pharmaceutical industries where the
Ayurvedic medicines are being prepared at the commercial level, there will always be
urgent demand for crude drugs for the production of the medicines to cope with
the market demand. Generally, to identify the plant material anatomically, it will
take a minimum couple of days and pressure to the quality personnel to get
material identified within the stipulated time and if passed in Physico-chemical
parameters, then, no issue but if these consignments get failed due to
adulteration or sub-standard quality, or substitutions, it may take another
week of time to arrive the new material and ultimately delay in productions.
Now, the question is what can be done to an immediate solution to
identify the plant materials on spot to assure their authenticity first? In this situation, a Botanist or
Pharmacognosist should try to find out some dried and entire leaves of the
plant from the bags where he or she going to collect samples and then identify
the plant material based on their leaves. Here, I am going to give a leaf
description of both plants only because leaves possibly be present in the material,
collected in any season. If identification was done based on other parts of the aforesaid crude drugs, it will not be fruitful.
Let us give you a brief description of the D. gangeticum and P. viscida plant for easy identification-
1. D.
gangeticum leaves- Leaves are unifoliate, petiolate, stipulate, linear, oblong,
acute or slightly acuminate, striate at the base about 6-13 cm long and 3.5-7.0
cm broad, margin somewhat wavy, upper surface glabrous and greenish-brown on the dried sample and lower surface slight whitish and clothed with dense, soft
appressed hairs.
 |
| [Desmodium gangeticum - leaf twig] |
2. P.viscida
leaves- Leaves are pinnately
3- foliate; leaflets rhomboid- ovate variable in sizes; the color of leaflets at the upper surface is grayish-brown to brown while on lower surface creamish or pale
white. Surface glabrous and margin entire.
 |
| [Pseudarthria viscida - a twig] |
I hope, the above said description may help to
easy identification of the plant material in order to avoid sub-standard
quality, substituted or adulterated materials.
I will come back soon with some more new research or
technologies very soon, till then, Take care…
Stay healthy, stay safe…
Regards,
Dr.
Prem Dutt Dwivedi, Ph.D., Pharmacognosy,
(Researcher, Innovator, Healer, and Humanist)
