Vol 10, Issue 7, 2017 Online - 2455-3891 Print - 0974-2441 A STUDY ON THE STANDARDIZATION PARAMETERS OF CASSIA ANGUSTIFOLIA PRAGATI KHARE 1 *, KAMAL KISHORE 2 , DINESH KUMAR SHARMA 3 1 Department of Pharmacy, Shri Ram Murti Smarak, C.E.T., Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2 Department of Pharmacy, M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. 3 Department of Pharmacy, Devsthali Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, India. Email: pragatikhare10@gmail.com Received: 09 March 2017, Revised and Accepted: 19 April 2017 ABSTRACT Objective: Now-a-days, the herbal medicines are much efficient for the treatment of various disorders as they have minimal side effects in comparison to the allopathic medicines. Cassia angustifolia, commonly called Senna belongs to the family Leguminosae and is a well-known laxative throughout the world. Senna is mostly found in Tirunelveli, Madurai, and Ramnathpuram districts of Tamil Nadu. Carbohydrates, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and amino acid are the important chemical constituents of C. angustifolia. The objectives of the present study are to investigate various pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties of C. angustifolia. Methods: The powdered drug was used for estimating the loss on drying, ash values, fluorescence studies, chemical tests, and extractive values. Macroscopic and microscopic studies were also performed. Results: The transverse section (T.S). of leaf showed isobilateral structure along with paracytic stomata, nonlignified unicellular trichomes with warty walls, and fibrovascular bundle. The fluorescence characteristics of leaf powder were studied both in visible light and ultraviolet (UV) light (254 nm and 365 nm) after treatment with various reagents. Senna is composed of carbohydrates, tannins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and amino acid. It was reported that the total ash value was 11.23±0.25 w/w. The acid insoluble ash value was 1.4±0.1% w/w. Water soluble, ethanol, methanol, petroleum ether, and chloroform extractive values were 16.6±0.26% w/w, 3.7±1.75% w/w, 0.83±0.05% w/w, 1.6±0.1% w/w, and 3.2±0.25% w/w, respectively. Conclusion: The main pharmacological activities of Bauhinia variegata are anthelmintic, antiulcer, antitumor, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti- inflammatory, antigoitrogenic, and hepatoprotective. The present investigation provides the information on its pharmacognostic, phytochemical analysis, and pharmacological properties. Keywords: Senna, Sennosides, Laxative, Flavonoids, Ash value. INTRODUCTION Cassia angustifolia (senna) and it belongs to Leguminosae family. Senna is used for the treatment of constipation mostly in Eastern and Western countries [1,2]. The laxative activity of senna is due to the presence of two anthraquinone glycosides, i.e., sennoside A and sennoside B. C. angustifolia is also composed of rhein-8-diglucoside, sennosides C and D, rhein, rhein-8-glucoside, aloe-emodin and anthrone diglucoside, and napthalene glycosides such as tinnevellin glycoside and 6-hydroxy musizin glycoside, flavonoid (kaempferol), phytosterols, resin, and calcium oxalate [3,4]. It was reported that the first variety of senna was found along the Nile River in Egypt and Sudan. Commercially, it is cultivated in Kutch (Gujarat) and Jodhpur (Rajasthan), India. It can be grown as a perennial crop for duration of about 2-3 years [2]. The Flowers and leaves of Cassia angustifolia are represented in (Fig. 1). The leaves of Cassia angustifolia are represented in (Fig. 2). The plant of Cassia angustifolia is represented in (Fig. 3). Taxonomical classification [6] Kingdom Plantae Sub division Spermatophyta Division Magnoliophyta Class Magnoliopsida Sub class Rosidae Order Fabales Family Fabaceae/Leguminoceae Genus Cassia Species Angustifolia Synonyms [6] Sanskrit Swarn patti Hindi Sanai Telugu Sunamukhi Tamil Nilavarai, nelavakai Malayalam Sunnamukki, connamukki Kannada Nela tangedu Gujarati Nat ki sana Medicinal uses C. angustifolia is used for the treatment of splenic enlargements, anemia, typhoid, cholera as a febrifuge, as blood purifier, as an anthelmintic, and as remedy for constipation [6]. Senna has been already included in I.P. as a purgative due to the presence of rhein, aloe-emodin, kaempferol, and isormamnetin [7]. Macroscopic characters Senna leaves are delicate and grayish-green. The pods and fruits are oblong in shape. The compound leaves are composed of 5-8 pairs of oval- lanceolate leaflets (2.5 cm×1.5 cm). Flowers are large and yellow. Senna produces medium-sized pods. The seeds are flat and yellowish [2]. The leaflets possess short and stout petioles which may be rarely broken. The length of leaflets is about 1.5-6.0 cm long and width is 0.5-1.5 cm. They have a specific odor and mucilage-like/slightly bitter taste [4,8]. METHODS The leaves of C. angustifolia were collected from Guttumal and Company, Shivaji Marg, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India and identified (specimen © 2017 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/ajpcr.2017.v10i7.18394 Research Article