Pharmacognostic evaluation of leaf of Cordia macleodii Hook., An ethnomedicinally important plant

Plants of ethnomedicinal importance have contributed for the development of many new pharmacologically effective molecules/chemical entities to modern medicine. India, the country having one of the richest biodiversity of its flora in its forest, with numerous tribal inhabitants, is able to contribute a lot from ethnomedicine to the ailing humanity. Cordia macleodii Hook. (Boraginaceae), an ethnomedicinal plant has been highlighted for its wound healing, aphrodisiac and hepatoprotective activities. It is a medium-sized tree, known as Panki/Shikari by the tribals, rarely found in the forests of Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. So far, the plant has been studied neither for its pharmacognostical characters nor for its pharmacological actions except its hepatoprotective activity. Hence, it has been selected for a detailed investigation which includes pharmacognostic study of its leaf to find out the diagnostic characters and preliminary physicochemical analysis. Results of the study will help in identifying the plant pharmacognostically. Presence of alkaloids, glycosides and tannins were found during the study.