NEUTRACUETICAL EVALUATION OF BOERHAVIA DIFFUSA L. Original Article JUNA BEEGUM G. R. 1 , SUGUNAN V. S. 2* S. SUHARA BEEVY 1 1 Department of Botany, University of Kerala, Kariavattom, 2 Received: 25 Sep 2016, Revised and Accepted: 25 Nov 2016 Department of Zoology, University College, Thiruvananthapuram Email: junagr@gmail.com ABSTRACT Objective: Boerhavia diffusa a tropical herb has been a subject of keen interest in phytochemical and pharmacological research due to its excellent medicinal values. The stress and need for quality control and standardisation of medicinal preparations from plants is gaining more importance today in view of the commercialization of drug formulations. Methods: WHO recommends various physicochemical, proximate and nutritive standards so that uniformity in composition and effectiveness is maintained. All the analysis was done using standard protocols. Results: The nutraceutical evaluation of the plant gives an insight into its value as a medicinal as well as highly nutritious one, safe for consumption both as a medicine and as a natural source for antioxidant activities. Conclusion: Thus the present finding suggests that B. diffusa have a promising potential not only to cure ailments but to maintain a healthy life. Keywords: Boerhavia diffusa, Commercialization, Physicochemical, Proximate, Standardization © 2016 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijcpr.2017v9i1.16626 INTRODUCTION Medicinal plants are part and parcel of human society to combat diseases, from the dawn of civilisation. Before the advent of modern medical practices plants were the only source of intervention in treating diseases. The main issue associated with the manufacture and utilization of herbal products is the lack of standards in the preparation based on such plants. When a plant extract is to be considered as a nutraceutical, the bioactive principles responsible for the effect should be present in the right amount and proportions. Continuous research and feedback helps in prescribing standards. Standardisation ensures that the process of production of natural medicines or extracts is guaranteed for consistency of active compound at a satisfied level for its quality control yardstick [1]. The most important step in the standardisation of herbal drugs is the correct taxonomic identification of the plant, whether in fresh, dried or powdered state [2]. Yelne et al. , (2000) and Goyal et al. , (2010) [3, 4] reported the use of the species Trianthema portulacastrum L as an adulterant of B. diffusa for ayurvedic preparations, this type of adulterations can be avoided by the pharmacological studies of the plant. As various medicinal plants are used as food as well as medicine, the worth of the plant can be evaluated by the nutritional significance and is an added advantage during its consumption [5]. In addition to it being used as an herbal medicine, B. diffusa is consumed as a [6]. Various ethnopharmacological reports emphasise its role in disorders of the reproductive, gastrointestinal, respiratory, urinary, hepatic and cardiovascular system as well as in the treatment of cancer. The survey of the literature indicated that no serious evaluation of pharmacological and phytochemical parameters of B. diffusa had been carried out [7, 8, 4]. Thus a detailed evaluation becomes necessary for further research on this plant particularly in the field of pharmacognosy, not only because of their widespread uses but also to evaluate whether these components that may cause toxic reactions or other adverse interactions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Collection of plant material and preparation of extract Fresh whole plants of B. diffusa were collected from the Kariavattom campus, University of Kerala, Trivandrum. The specimen was scientifically identified, and a voucher specimen (No: KUBH 5856) has been deposited at the Department of Botany, University of Kerala. The materials were washed with distilled water and air dried in the shade for two weeks at room temperature. Dried sample was milled into powder using an electric blender. The powder was stored in airtight container in a refrigerator until further analysis. 100 gm of dried powdered sample was extracted with 1000 ml of ethanol for 12 h in a Soxhlet extraction apparatus. Filtered extract was evaporated using a rotary evaporator at 40-50 °C, under reduced pressure. Organoleptic analysis The physical state, colour, taste and odour of the fresh plant, as well as the powder of B. diffusa, were noted in the organoleptic analysis [9]. Physicochemical characterization The different physicochemical parameters used to assess the quality of medicinal plant material as a drug include loss on drying [10], dry matter [11], total ash, acid insoluble/soluble ash [12], water soluble ash, water insoluble ash, sulphated ash [13], water soluble extractives, alcohol soluble extractives [14], foaming index and swelling index [10]. Determination of micrometric properties The Micrometric analysis includes the determination of bulk density, tapped density ([14], Hausner ratio [15] and compressibility index [16]. Proximate analyses In Proximate analyses, moisture content [10], crude fibre [17], total carbohydrate [18], reducing sugar [19], total protein [20], total lipids [21], fatty acid [22], vitamin A [23], thiamine, riboflavin [24], niacin [25], vitamin C [23], vitamin E [26], amino acids [27] and energy value [28] were determined. Analysis for quantifying minerals Mineral profiling was used to determine the macro elements (Mg, Na, Ca, K), microelements (Zn, Mn, Fe) and heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Cd) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) (perkin Elmer India Pvt Ltd. Model: Pinnacle 900H) [29]. Determination of antinutrients Antinutrient analysis includes estimation of tannins, saponins, oxalates and phytic acid [30]. International Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Research ISSN- 0975-7066 Vol 9, Issue 1, 2017