COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PHARMACOGNOSTICAL, PHYTOCHEMICAL & BIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RHIZOME & LEAVES OF “CURCUMA CAESIA”

Abstract

In the current work, Pharmocognostic standards are attempted to be established in order to assess the plant material of C. caesia Roxb (family: Zingiberaceae), also known as Kali haldi. Numerous factors were examined, including Morphology, Microscopy, Physicochemical constants, Phytochemical, and Antioxidant efficacy profiles of the plant's rhizome and leaf, and the key diagnostic characteristics were recorded. With the aid of alcoholic (ethanol), and hydroalcoholic (water + ethanol) solvents, the rhizome and leaves of Curcuma caesia were gradually extracted.

This work used the DPPH free radical scavenging assay to investigate the antioxidant activity of the ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extract of Curcuma caesia rhizomes and leaves. By calculating the inhibitory concentration IC50 (The concentration of sample needed to scavenge 50% of DPPH free radical), a graph between % Inhibition and Concentration was created. Ascorbic acid was employed as a conventional antioxidant instead of Curcuma caesia's ethanolic and hydroalcoholic extract. The Inhibitory concentration IC50 value ranges in the order of 272.09 µg/ml (Standard Ascorbic acid) > 551.43 µg/ml (EE of C.caesia Rhizome) > 936.84 µg/ml (HAE of C. Caesia Rhizome) > 1320 µg/ml (EE of C. Caesia leaves ), > 2950.77 µg/ml (HAE of C. Caesia leaves ) the lowest being the highest antioxidant activity. This suggests that ethanolic & hydroalcoholic extract of rhizomes of Curcuma caesia had moderate IC50 value as compared to standard Ascorbic acid. But higher antioxidant activity as compared to the ethanolic & hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves of Curcuma caesia.