Inventi Rapid: Planta Activa Vol. 2014, Issue 3 [ISSN 2278-411X] 2014 ppa 353, CCC: $10 © Inventi Journals (P) Ltd Published on Web 07/05/2014, www.inventi.in RESEARCH ARTICLE INTRODUCTION Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that uses approximately 1587 species of plants. [1] Among the Ayurvedic preparations, Dasamula is one of the most important traded raw drug formulations, with an annual turnover of >1000 MT. [1] It consists of roots of 10 plants, of which five are tree species (Brihat panchmulas) and five herbs and shrubs (Laghu panchmulas). The tree species includes Bilva (Aegle marmelos), Agnimantha (Clerodendrum phlomidis), Syonaka (Oroxylum indicum), Gambhari (Gmelina arborea) and Patala (Sterospermum suaveolens). The herb/shrub species include Salaparni (Desmodium gangeticum), Prsniparni (Uraria picta), Brhati (Solanum indicum), Kantakari (Solanum surattense) and Goksura (Tribulus terrestris). [2-6] Dasamula is mainly used in the preparation of Ayurvedic alcoholic preparation (Dasamularishtam) and decoction (Dasamula kashayam). The main therapeutic uses of Gambhari as mentioned in Anonymous 1990 are the curing of sotha (inflammation), daha (burning sensation), jvara (fever), trsna (thirst) and arsa (hemorrhoides). The traditional uses, phytochemical constituents, pharmacological activity and marketed formulations of Gambhari have been reviewed by Chothani and his co workers. [7] This review covers the uses of bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, stem, wood and root for various purposes such as diuretic, anti-inflammatory, tonic, aphrodisiac, heptoprotective, astringent, anthelmintic and antimicrobial as well as in the treatment of anaemia, leprosy, ulcers, vaginal discharge, alopecia, tumors etc. The review also records the presence of sesquiterpenoids, apiosylskimmin and gmelofuran from the roots of G. arborea. Subsequently Navreet et al. [8] had studied the pharmacognosy of leaves and stem bark of Gambhari. Some have studied the cardio- protective, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities of this species. [9-11] Gmelina arborea Roxb. (Verbenaceae) is mentioned as Gambhari. [2, 12] Aparna et al., [6] have presented a detailed 1 Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), Jarakabhande kaval, Attur Post, Via Yelahanka, Bangalore-560106, Karnataka, India. E-mail: padma.venkat@frlht.org *Corresponding author analysis of literature to show the correlates of plant sources of Dasamula drugs by different authors. Chunekar [13] and Balakrishnan et al., [14] have mentioned Trewia nudiflora as substitutes, while Aiyer and Kolammal mention G. asiatica. [15] No substitutes have been mentioned for G. arborea as Gambhari. [12] There are no studies to compare the distinguishing features of the original and substitute species. It is also not known if the traded species in the raw drug markets are any of the above species or from yet other unknown plant sources. This study aims to compare and contrast the pharmacognostic and phytochemical features of authenticated collections of G. arborea, G. asiatica and Trewia nudiflora. Features of raw drug samples collected from markets were also compared with the authentic samples. MATERIALS AND METHODS Collection and Authentication of Samples Fresh and mature roots were collected from various places throughout south India by our botanists, identified and authenticated. The collected samples were specifically marked with a unique ID. The details of market samples are also mentioned (Table 1). Morphology The collected root samples were subjected to morphological analysis when fresh. The colour changes during storage were also noted. However, the market samples were available only as dry specimens and hence colour changes, if any, could not be recorded. Microscopy 1. Transverse Sections The collected samples were preserved in formalin-acetic acid-alcohol (40% formalin -5ml, 50% Ethanol-90ml and Glacial acetic acid-5ml). The transverse sections were taken by using razor blade and were stained with Toluidine Blue O 0.05% in benzoate buffer (benzoic acid 0.25 g in 200 ml water pH 4.4). [16] The stained sections were washed with water, mounted in clean slide and observed under a microscope (Olympus BX 41). The images were captured using the digital camera (Olympus DP72) fixed to Comparative Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical Study of Medicinal Plant Species Used as Gambhari in Ayurveda S John Adams 1 , S Arun 1 , K V Krishnamurthy 1 , M Nagarajan 1 , Padma Venkatasubramanian 1* Abstract: Gmelina arborea Roxb. (Verbenaceae) is the authentic botanical entity correlated to Gambhari as per the ayurvedic pharmacopoeia of India. Root of Gambhari, is one of the ten ingredients of Dasamula, an important formulation in ayurveda. The increasing annual demand of >1000 MT of the raw drug and the decline in the availability of the authentic species have led to arbitrary substitution and adulteration in the raw drug market. This study provides comparative pharmacognostic and phytochemical characteristics of authentic Gmelina arborea and two of its substitutes namely Gmelina asiatica and Trewia nudiflora. Samples sold as Gambhari from six markets in India, were also studied. Of the two substitutes studied, T. nudiflora showed <40 % resemblance while G. asiatica, ~70% similarity to G. arborea. None of the market samples resembled G. arborea or the two substitutes either in anatomical structure or in phytochemical aspects. This study has developed quality standards for authentic species and highlighted the adulteration in the market with unknown species in the name of Gambhari. 1