ESTABLISHMENT OF QUALITY STANDARDS OF ABRUS PRECATORIUS L. (ROOT) BY PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND HPTLC METHOD

Standardization of herbal drugs is an essential aspect while considering the quality of the herbal drug, consistency in bioactive content and therapeutic efficacy. The roots, seeds and leaves of Abrus precatorius L. possesses a number of biological activities such as anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-fertility, nephroprotective and anti-seratonergic activity. The root of Abrus precatorius L. contains a special compound glycyrrhizin, which is an important bioactive compound widely used against cough in the Siddha, Unani and Ayurvedic system of medicines. In view of its medicinal importance, the present study was focused to standardize the Abrus precatorius L. root according to pharmacopoieal standard methods. Qualitative physicochemical studies and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) analysis were performed to identify and to assure the quality of the herbal drug.