The modern medicine has received many plants as a gift from ethnobotany. It is an efficient method of discovering new medicines. The leaves of Olax psittacorum (Lam.) Vahl. were extracted with ethanol, and the phytoconstituents present in the leaf extract were identified using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis (GC-MS), followed by determination of physico-chemical parameters and anti-ulcer properties. The leaf ethanolic extract (LEE) yield was observed to be 43.2%. The quantitative surface microscopy analysis revealed a stomatal index of 30 and 22 epidermal cells and qualitatively confirms presence of quinone, flavonoid, phenol, carbohydrate, tannin, saponin and absence of alkaloids using various screening techniques. The LEE confirms its anti-ulcer potency by inhibiting ulceration by 58% and 75% respectively, thus proving the hypothesis. These identified parameters may be helpful in developing some botanical standards for the standardisation and identification of O. psittacorum leaves with anti-ulcer properties.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL AND METHOD
Plant MaterialLeaves of Olax psittacorum were procured from exterior region of Chandaka Jungle (20.3683° N, 85.7647° E) in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The collected leaves were authenticated by Dr. P.C Panda from center of biotechnology, Bhubaneswar, India Plant specimen was deposited to the herbarium under the field No 2402/CBT
PHARMACOGNOSTIC EVALUATION
Morphological analysisAspects of the morphological study of leaves include their shape, size, apex, venation, margin, petiole, base, surface and colour.
Powder microscopyPowder microscopy of dried leaf powder was performed in accordance with standard procedures.
Organoleptic characteristicsOrganoleptic characteristics included colour, odour, and taste of the leaves.
Quantitative microscopyTo quantify the number of stomata, epidermal cells, stomatal index, and stomatal size on leaves, quantitative microscopy was used. By taking three to five successive readings, the stomatal index, stomatal number, stomatal size, and size of the epidermal cell were calculated and the mean value was considered.
Preliminary Physico-chemical analysis of leaf powder a. Ash valueStandard procedures were followed to calculate ash values of leaves (Vidya et al. 2017).
Total ash content:The 5g of powdered leaves were carefully weighed and put into china dish. The powdered content was evenly disseminated and then ignited by slowly raising the amount of heating temperature 500-600 °C till it turned white, representing an absence of the carbon then obtained ash residue was permitted for cooling. Formula provided below was employed to calculate total ash content (w/w) of air-dried material:Percentage total ash = weight of ash (g)/weight of sample (g) ×100
Evaluation of acid-insoluble ash content:The amount of acid-insoluble ash was ascertained by pouring 25 mL equivalent of HCl (2N) into a china dish with earlier weighed ash, placing a watch glass over it, besides boiling gently about five minutes. Before...