Physicochemical Investigation of Prosopis spicigera fruits (Linn.) from Khandesh region of Maharashtra, India

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DOI: 10.4103/2231-4040.197331

The evaluation of crude drug is an important task to get an idea about quality, purity of herbal crude drugs so pharmacognostical and phytochemical investigations are considered as valuable parameters for determination of quality, purity and correct identity of medicinal plants. The Khandesh region of Maharashtra, densely populated by various tribe’s communities like Pawara, Kokani, Bhils, Mavach, and Vasave etc. The tribes reside isolated form from each other so, illiteracy ratio is quite high and unfortunately less number of modern medical facilities are available for treatment of public health so tribes strongly believe in herbal treatment given by local traditional healers. The healers used Prosopis spicigera as a medicine in liver disorders. The Prosopis spicigera (Linn.) Druce is a traditional multipurpose plant used by tribes in the treatment of various diseases without any scientific rational data. For the rationalization of Prosopis spicigera in a scientific way, the fruits were investigated pharmacognostically and phytochemically and outcomes confirmed the presence of various inorganic elements within proper range. The fruit extracts were screened for conventional phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, sterols and carbohydrates. Thus the present study provides scientific, rational data on the basis of pharmacognostical and phytochemical findings, which can be supported to plant to get a valuable place in modern herbal medicines and in the proposed Pharmacopoeia of Indian medicinal plants.

Keywords: King of desert, Nutritional plant, khandesh plant, Prosopis spicigera