Vol. 7(27), pp. 2019-2027, 17 July, 2013 DOI: 10.5897/JMPR12.1026 ISSN 1996-0875 ©2013 Academic Journals http://www.academicjournals.org/JMPR Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Full Length Research Paper Preliminary phytochemical screening of Quercus infectoria Oliv. for treatment of skin diseases Vaibhav Vaidya 1 *, C. B. Mahendrakumar 2 and Kiran Bhise 3 1 Pad. Dr. D.Y. Patil College of Pharmacy, Akurdi, Pune Maharashtra- 411 044, India. 2 St. Marry College of Pharmacy, Secunderabad Andhra Pradesh- 500 025, India. 3 MCE Socy’s Allana College of Pharmacy, Camp, Pune Maharashtra- 411 001, India. Accepted 3 July, 2013 In present work, fruits of Quercus infectoria are selected on the basis of traditional claim. Fingerprinting analysis for the said extract along with the biomarker, gallic acid was performed using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). The extract and biomarker were standardized with various instrumental techniques like Newton magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopies. Preliminary phytochemical screening was performed for establishing the profile of extract for its nature of chemical composition. The extracts showed the presence of tannins, mucilage and saponins. HPTLC fingerprinting showed better separation of the components. Planer chromatogram generated was used to determine existence of present phytoconstituents. The R f value was found to be 0.19. The extract exhibited good correlation with selected marker in different analytical techniques like NMR, FTIR and UV spectroscopies. UV- Spectroscopic analysis showed good correlation between plant extract and standard (gallic acid). The extract and biomarker exhibited 0.074, 0.0511 and 0.003, 0.0429 intercept and slope values, respectively. Key words: Quercus infectoria, gallic acid, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), Newton magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, tannins. INTRODUCTION The ancient literature of Ayurveda has served the wellbeing of mankind because of empirical knowledge of the observations and the experience of Ayurveda practitioner. Though traditional medicines offer a safe and inexpensive approach to treat many skin diseases, it has been neglected due to some reasons like shortcoming in treating chronic condition and unavailability of pathological data (Govindarajan, 2007; Al-Quran, 2008). In this work, fruits of Quercus infectoria Oliv. (Fagaceae) which is also traditionally known as Majuphal was selected on the basis of traditional claim (Khouzami, 2009; Kaur, 2008). The reported constituents of plant are tannins, saponins and mucilage. This study has been focused on phytochemical investigation of Q. infectoria which has been reported as potent candidate for treating skin diseases and inflammatory conditions (Umachigia, 2008; Leela, 2011). The existence of the aforementioned phytoconstituents is determined using proximate analysis, fingerprinting analysis of extract and biomarker using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and other instrumental techniques like Newton magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant collection and extraction The fresh fruits of Q. infectoria were selected for this study. Selected plant was collected from Pune region and authenticated *Corresponding author. E-mail: v.vaidya123@gmail.com. Tel: +91- 9423324249.