Abstract

The quality of the herbals is altered by various physical, chemical, and geographical aspects
which contribute to the quality of these materials. Apart from that, adulteration is also an
increasing concern when it comes to herbal material quality. Various chemical and
phytochemical test, analytical techniques, and hyphenated analytical techniques are used for
determining the quality aspects of the herbal materials in the herbal pharmaceuticals.
Standardization of drugs means confirmation of its identity and determination of its quality and
purity. The quality control standards of various medicinal plants, used in indigenous system of
medicine, are significant nowadays in view of commercialization of formulations based on
medicinal plants. The quality of herbal drugs is the sum of all factors, which contribute directly
or indirectly to the safety, effectiveness, and acceptability of the product. Lack of quality control
can affect the efficacy and safety of drugs that may lead to health problems in the consumers.
Standardization of drugs is needed to overcome the problems of adulteration and is most
developing field of research now. Therefore, there is an urgent need of standardized drugs having
consistent quality. Adenanthera pavonina L. is an important medicinal plant and its leaves and
barks are used in traditional medicine for treating different diseases. Quantitative
pharmacognostic analysis of the powder of the leaves of the plant revealed moisture content of
5.92 ± 0.23%, total ash of 3.76 ± 0.32%, acid-insoluble ash of 11.6 ± 0.09%, alcohol extractive
value of 9.84 ± 0.19%, and water extractive value of 24.8 ± 0.22%. The methanolic extracts of
A. pavonina showed that presence of various phytoconstituents like alkaloids, flavonoids,
terpenoids saponins, and tannins as major phytoconstituents. It has been shown that the plant A.
pavonina is unique for flavonoids and terpenoids contents. Powdered drug was treated with
different reagents and examined under UV light. Different reagents showed different colors of
the drug at 2 wavelengths.  Thin layer chromatography were carried out after organizing
appropriate solvent system in which maximum nine spots were distinguished. The percentage of
physiological active compounds viz. total phenolics, total flavonoids, saponins and alkaloids
content were also quantified. The HPTLC was developed to estimate to content of quercetin in
the leaves extract of plant. These techniques can be used as quality control tool in assessing the
quality of herbal materials and herbal pharmaceuticals.
Key words: Adenanthera pavonina, quality control, physiocochemical, phytochemical,, HPTLC,
antioxidant.