Phytochemical and analytical evaluation of Jyotishmati (Celastrus paniculatus Willd.) leaf extracts

BACKGROUND: Jyotishmati (Celastrus paniculatus Willd.) is a woody climber belongs to the family Celastraceae; a well known herbal nootropic, distributed through the tropical and subtropical regions of India. Its leaves are used in eye disease and headache. Very low qualitative and quantitative information about leaves have been documented to establish its quality and purity. AIM: Present study was conducted to evaluate physicochemical, phyto-chemical and HPTLC analysis of different solvent extracts of the C. paniculatus leaves. RESULTS: Physico-chemical analysis revealed loss on drying 13.05% w/w, total ash value 16.08% w/w, acid insoluble ash 0.386% w/w, water-soluble extractive 14.22% w/w, alcohol-soluble extractive 9.91% w/w, chloroform-soluble extractive 7.75% w/w and ether-soluble extractive 4.74% w/w. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of steroid and terpenoid in the both pet. ether and ethyl acetate extracts while methanol extract possessed steroid, terpenoid, carbohydrate, alkaloid, saponin, and phenolic compounds. CONCLUSION: The observations made in this study may help to develop the standards of qualitative and quantitative parameters with regards to identification, quality and purity of C. paniculatus leaf.