Pharmacognostic Studies on Centella Asiatica (L) Urban
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Ancient Science of Life, Vol No. XII Nos. 3 & 4, January – April 1993, Pages 439 - 450 PHARMACOGNOSTIC STUDIES ON CENTELLA ASIATICA (L) URBAN S. JELANI, F. JABEEN, M. PRABHAKAR and P. LEELAVATHI Plant Anatomy and Taxonomy Laboratory, Department of Botany, Osmania University, Hyderabad 500 007, India. Received: 20 March, 1992 Accepted: 3 July, 1992 ABSTRACT: The paper deals with pharmacognosy of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, including its morphological, anatomical, chemical constituents and powder analysis. Stomata are mostly anisotricytic, isotricytic and few tetracytic. Sphaero-crystals of calcium oxalate are observed in palisade, spongy and ground parenchyma of leaf lamina, petiole and rhizome and absent in roots. Uniseriate flagellate conical hairs present only on abaxial surface of leaf and all over the petiole. The venation is palmatous actinodromous with six primary veins. Midrib consists of a single vascular bundle while petiole consists of 7 – 8, rhizome with numerous bundles are observed and root consists of tetrarch vascular bundle. Powder microscopically show fragment of epidermis, mesophyll, sphaero-crystals, trichomes, collenchyma and parenchyma of leaf, petiole, rhizome and root. Tracheary elements show annular helical and pitted types. INTRODUCTION Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, used as brain colour, youth, memory and long life (Kirtika tonic, diuretic, emmenogogue, stupefyer, & Basu, 1933; Anonymous,1966; Nadkarni, narcotic, spasmolytic and stimulant. It is a 1976). curative in several diseases viz., genyto- urinarytract, cutaneous system, urinary and Glycosides, sterols, tannins, sugars, ovarian irritation, itching, headache, alkaloids, inorganic salts, amino acids, viz. giddiness, coma, affections of cellular aspartic acid, glycine, glutamic acid 2 – tissues, bruises, inflamed and swollen parts alanine and phenyl-alanine ,flavones, dysentery, bowl complains, skin quercetin were recorded in the plant tuberculosis, eruptions due to heat or blood (Bhattacharya, 1956a,b; Datta and Basu, and mental weakness. It is an internal and 1962, 1967, 1968; Rastogi and Dhar, external remedy to various skin diseases, 1962,1963; Mukerjee and Dey, 1966; Singh ulcerations, chronic callus scrofulous, and Rastogi, 1968, 1969), while Rao and syphilitic with gummatous infiltration, Seshadri (1969) have determined some of chronic and obstinate eczema, psoriasis, the chemical structures of glycosides, leprosy, epilepsy, insanity, enlargement of asiaticosede, medicassocide, drahnocide (c.f. glands, abscess, chronic rhumetism, infantile Shah and Qadry, 1971), while diarrhoea, ozoena and amenorrhoea, in pharmacological and clinical properties have various sorts of fevers viz., intermittent, been determined by (Dhar et al, 1968; chronic, malarial, also in horseness of Ramaswamy et al., 1970; Appa Rao et al., phthisis, hypochondriasis. It is a nervine 1967, 1969, 1973). Though vegetative twig tonic and used as ghritham to improve body along with roots are used in drug Pages 439 - 450 preparation, the anatomical and Indian Penny wort, Thick leaved penny pharmacognostic analysis are scanty wort; French - Bevilaque, Cotyliole, (Solereder, 1908; Metcalfe and Chalk, 1950; asiatique, Hydrocote d’ Asie; German - Aiyer and Kolamal, 1964) and confined only Waaernabel; Gujarat – Barmi; Hindi – to lamina and petiole. Hence the present Brahmamanduke, Khulakhudi; Hova – study was taken by which includes Loviantsahonantanenty, Raviolesoka, morphology, anatomy, histochemistry and Vilantsahonantanenty; Indochina – Ban dai powder analysis to bring out the salient uyeh, Rau ma, Tich huyet thao; Kashmiri – features of the drug. Brahm bhuti; Kwang tung – Loui kong ken; La Reunion – Cochlearia du pays; Malaya – MATERIALS AND METHODS Pegaga; Malayalam – Kodagam, Kutakam, Muthal; Marathi - Brahmi; Mundari – Twigs of Centella asiatica were collected Cokeara; New Caldonia – Volari; Persian – from plants growing at Osmania University Sardeturkastan; Philipines – Rabasa; campus, Hyderabad, Andra Pradesh. The Sanskrit - Bhekaparni, Bheki, methodology and the terms used in this Brahmamanduki, Darduchada, Divya, study are after Prabhakar et al., (1984) Mahaushandi, Mandukaparni, Leelavathi et al (1981), Prabhakar and Mandukaparnika, Manduke, Supriya, Leelavathi (1989). Abbrevations used in the Tvashti; Sinhalese – Hingotukola; Tagalong text are Ab: abaxial surface of the leaf; Ad: – Taguipcuhol, Taguipsosa, Taquipcohol, adaxial surface of the leaf; D: diameter; Taquipsuso; Tamil – Babassa, Vallari; Dist: distribution; L/W: length and width; a: Telughu – Babasa. Bekaparnamu, Bokkudu; abutting type; f: free type and c:common Urdu – Barhmi, Visayan, Yahonyahon type of subsidiaries (Ramya and Rajagopal, (Kirthikar & Basu, 1933). 1980). Morphology OBSERVATIONS AND DISCUSSION Habit : A slender, prostrate or creeping The genus Centella is represented by 40 perennial aromatic herb with long creeping species (Airy Shaw, 1966) of which runners. Branches long, slender, slightly C.asiatica (Hydrocotyle asiatica L., succulent, greenish or dark reddish with H.wightiana willd.) is reputed for its long internodes and rooting at every node. medicinal uses. C.asistica is widely Root: Tap root, fleshy, a bunch of distributed throughout India from tropical to adventitious roots at each node. Leaf: sub-tropical regions, ranging from 0-2000 Simple, alternate, exstipulate, petiolate, all feet altitude, from Himalaya to Ceylone and leaves arising from rhizomes, 7 – 8 in Malaya (Hooker, 1879). number. Variable in size. Lamina reniform or orbuscular – reniform; marginal shallow Vernacular names: Arabic – crenate to denate, green in colour, 1.2 to 5.0 artaniyaehindi, Jharniba; Assam – cm in diameter, pubescent abaxially, Manimuni; Bengal – Brahamanduki, venation palmatous actinodromous with six Tholkuri; Bombay – Karinga, Karivana; primary veins. Petiole: Quite long, 3 to 5 Burma – Minkuabin; Cambodia – Trachiek cm with a sheathing base, cylindrical above, kranh; Canarese – Vondelaga; Dacca – adaxially groved, hairy, feebly hairy above. Bhikapurni; Deccan – Vallari; Dutch Indies Inflorescence: Axillary, umbel, each umbel – Antanon, Kakikoeda, pegagan; English – consists of 3 or 4 flowers; peduncle 1 to 1.5 Pages 439 - 450 cm long, pale green, glabrous. Flower: present in adaxial and abaxial of spidermal Incomplete bisexual, irregular and bracteate, cells and only in abaxial subsidiaries and pedicellate, pedicel short. Bract: Bracts 2, costal cells. ovate, apex acute, glabrous. Perianth: Five, united, green to pink in colour. Androcium: Trichome complex: Uniseriate flagellate Stamens 5, epiphyllous, anthers, bilobed, conical hair: Foot: One celled; walls thin, filaments short. Gynoecium: Ovary contents scanty. Body: Uniseriate, 2 to 8 – superior, bicarpellary syncarpus, locules 2, celled, flagellate, conical, tapering above, styles 2, terminal, stigma simple. Fruit: pointed at apex; cells quite longer than Cremocarp, longer than broad, 0.5 cm long, broad, mostly of equal lengths; contents hard. Flowering and Fruiting: Throughout dense, walls thin; surface smooth. Dist: the year. Abaxially allover, common more frequent on veins, mostly caduceus and adaxially Surface view of leaf lamina: Laminar absent (Fig. 10 & 11). epidermal cells were reported to be polygonal – anisodiametric with straight Transaction of leaf lamina: Flat, andticlinal walls (Datta and Mukerji, 1952). dorsiventral, abaxially ribbed at six major However in the present study the adaxial veins (Fig.4). Epidermis: One layered; and abaxial epidermal cells are recorded to epidermal cells mostly rectangular, some be mostly polygonal – anisodiametric, some barrel – shaped, adaxially radially 26-32-40 polygonal – linear and trapezoidal, µm long, tangentially 7-10-13 µm wide; anticlinical walls are mostly straight with walls thin; cytoplasm scanty, chloroplasts few straight to curved on both adaxial and absent; cuticle thin. Stomata on both sides, abaxial sides; walls thin, contents scanty, at the same level as epidermal cells, outer few cells with mucilage; surface striated. wall of the guard cells ledged. Trichomes 1 Adaxial / Abaxial cells 81,600/1, 20,000 per as described in surface view. Mesophyll: cm2. Dist: All over the leaf lamina except Consists of palidade and spongy cell; on primary, secondary and tertiary veins; palisade cells adaxial, 2 layered, cylindrical irregularly arranged; variously oriented. to rectangular, 20-31-41 µm long, 13-15-20 Costal cells: Cells are polygonal to linear, µm wide, with small intercellular spaces, few rectangular linear; contents scanty chloroplasts abundant, few cells in the surface striated. Dist: On primary, second layers with a single sphaero-crystal secondary and tertiary veins; irregularly of calcium oxalate; crystal 16-18-20 µm in arranged, parallel oriented. diameter. Spongy mesophyll 3 to 5 layered, of varied shapes, mostly oval, 4-15-20 µm in Stomatal Complex: Stomata are described diameter, parenchymatous with intercellular to be mostly rubeaceous (Dutta and spaces, chloroplasts few, few cells with a Mukherji, 1952). Presently they are found sphearo – crystals. to be mostly anisotricytic, isotricytic, some tetracytic and are monocyclic. Subsidiaries In the six primary veinular zones, indistinct, of ‘a’ – and ‘c’ – type on adaxial, hypodermis composed of 5 or 6 – layered mostly of ‘a’ – some of ‘c’ – and ‘f’ – type collenchyma adaxially, 1 or 2 – layered on abaxial. Dist: Allover, except on veins, abaxially; cells mostly angular, few lacunar, irregularly arranged, variously oriented;