Standardization
of the dried aerial parts of Bidens pilosa
Hayat M. Mukhtar*, Manwinder Singh, Deepika Vashishth, Sandeep Singh, Harjas Kaur
Natural Product Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, Shaheed Bhagat
Singh College of Pharmacy, Patti, Amritsar, Punjab 143416
ABSTRACT:
This specification covers the standardization
of the plant Bidens pilosa
(Asteraceae). It is widely used as
anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxant, anti-alergic,
pain-relieving, anti-bacterial, hepatoprotective. The
plant material was subjected to pharmacognostical
studies and physiochemical parameters. Dried plant material was subjected to
various physiochemical parameters like extractive values, ash values, cold
maceration, chromatographic methods, loss on drying,
successive extraction and heavy metal analysis. These parameters can be
utilized for quick identification of the Bidens
pilosa and are particularly useful in powdered
form.
KEYWORDS: Asteraceae, Bidens
pilosa, aerial part, standardization
INTRODUCTION
Bidens is a
member of the Asteraceae (formerly called Compositae) family, the species of bidens
is best known to botanists, horticulturests and
herbalists is Bidens pilosa (pilose
means covered with fine soft hair), which is a tropical weed1. Bidens pilosa is commonly
found growing along roadside, railroad tracks, vacant lots and other places
where the ground has been disturbed, including the shores of river of ponds2.
The methanolic extract of the whole plant of Bidens pilosa
contains the new
beta-D-glycopyranosyloxy-3-hydroxy-6(E)-tetradecen-8-10-12-triyne besides a
known polyine, has been isolated and identified mainly
by IR and NMR methods. The new compound showed overgrowing action against
normal and transformed human cell lines in culture3. It is widely
used as anti-inflammatory4, muscle relaxant5, anti-allergic6,
anti-bacterial7, hepatoprotective8 and antimicrobial9.
It is used as an herbal medicine in many parts of the world, including southern
China, Africa and Central America. This herb has been used since ancient times
in China and especially in Taiwan, which has a tropical climate. Bidens pilosa is
sometimes specified in China as sanye guizhencao because its leaves are in groups of three
leaflet10.
MATERIAL
AND METHODS:
Plant
material:
The aerial parts of Bidens pilosa were collected from IIIM, Jammu Herbal Garden. The plant was
identified and authenticated by botanist, Dr. S. N. Sharma, Department of
Taxonomy, IIIM, Jammu, India.
Processing
of Plant material:
After authentication, aerial parts were dried
at room temperature until they were free from the moisture and subjected to
physical evaluation for different parameters.
Reagents:
All the reagents were of Analytical grade and
purchased from S.D Fine- Chem. Ltd., Mumbai, India.
Methods:
The dried aerial parts were standardized on the basis
of quality parameters as per the WHO guidelines11. The organoleptic characters including colour, odour, taste and
external features of aerial part were observed and the results were
recorded. The extractive values were determined by successively starting from
petroleum ether using soxhlet extraction apparatus.
The dried extractive values were obtained after evaporation of solvent under
reduced pressure using vaccum rotary evaporator.
RESULTS:
The dried aerial parts of Bidens
pilosa were subjected to standard pharmacognostical procedures according to WHO guidelines for the determination of various physicohemical parameters and parameters included:
Macroscopic characters:
This included morphological studies of aerial parts
(Fig: 1) such as colour, size, odour, taste, surface (Table1).
Extractive Values
This method determines the amount of active
constituents extracted with solvents from a given amount of medicinal plant
material. It is employed for materials for which as yet no suitable chemical or
biological assay exists. The air dried, accurately weighed drug was treated
with solvents: petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate and
methanol. The values were recorded in (Table 2).
Ash Values
The determination of ash value is meant for detecting
low-grade drugs, exhausted drugs, sandy or earthy matter. The results of ash
values were recorded in (Table 3).
Moisture content
Karl Fisher and loss on drying methods were used to
determine the moisture content of aerial parts.
Moisture content level helps to reduce the chances of microbial
contamination (Table 4).
Heavy metal analysis
Contamination of medicinal plants materials with
arsenic and heavy metals can be attributed to many causes including environment
pollution and traces of pesticides. Heavy metal analysis of Bidens
pilosa was recorded in (Table 5).
Table: 1 Macroscopical characters of the
aerial parts of Bidens pilosa
|
Organoleptic
Characters |
Observations
|
|
Colour |
Dark brown |
|
Odour |
Odourless |
|
Taste |
Sweet
and acrid |
|
Nature |
Dark
scabrous |
Fig: 1
Aerial parts of Bidens pilosa
Table: 2 Extractive values of aerial parts of Bidens pilosa
|
Solvents |
Value
obtained (% w/w) |
|
Water |
19.60 |
|
Hydroalcohlic |
22.80 |
Table:
3 Ash values of aerial parts of Bidens pilosa
|
Parameters |
Values obtained (% w/w) |
|
Total ash |
11.24 |
|
Water soluble ash |
4.66 |
|
Acid insoluble ash |
2.32 |
Table: 4 Moisture content of aerial
parts of Bidens pilosa
|
Method |
Moisture
content (%) |
|
Loss on
drying |
9.84 |
Table: 5 Heavy metal analysis of aerial parts of Bidens pilosa
|
Heavy metals |
Value obtained (mg/Kg) |
|
Arsenic |
0.12 |
|
Lead |
0.3 |
|
Mercury |
2.67 |
|
Cadmium |
BDL of
0.001 |
DISCUSSION:
Bidens pilosa is an important medicinal plant.
The plant is widely used for the treatment of malaria, cough and liver
diseases. This data can be used for determining correct identity and purity of
plant parts and for the detection of adulteration. Botanical authentication and
physicochemical parameters will give an idea about the quality of drug. All
these parameters which are being reported could be useful in identification of
distinctive features of the drug. From the preliminary phytochemical
study, it was concluded that Bidens pilosa contains the reported phytoconstituents.
Hence, detailed screening may be done to isolate the active constituents so
that it may be scientifically proved to access the pharmacological responses of
the plant to ascertain its folklore uses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The authors wish to thank SBS College Pharmacy, Patti
and IIIM, Jammu for providing necessary facilities for research work.
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Received on 21.06.2012
Modified on 10.07.2012
Accepted on 14.07.2012
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Research
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry. 5(2): March-April 2013,
84-86