Standardization of Storage Conditions and Duration on Picroside-I and Picroside-II in Raw Material of Drug Kutki (Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth.)

Abstract

The study of the proper storage of medicinal plants after being harvested becomes necessary to minimize the loss of active constituents from microbial reactions, heat, moisture, light and enzymes etc. In the present study, fresh rhizomes of Picrorhiza kurroa (Kutki) were collected from 2600 m to 3300 m altitude of Himachal Pradesh (Rohtang area), India. The harvested material was washed to remove soil and other adhering materials, and then cut into small pieces and dried under shade. The air dried samples were packed in the different packing materials (i.e. Gunny bags or poly bags), stored either at room temperature or in refrigerator at 4° to 6 °C or in humid environment (85% humidity and 25 °C) for different storage durations and then analyzed their chemical constituents bimonthly. The study showed that the content of picroside-I and picroside-II decreased with the increase in storage duration irrespective of storage condition. However, the loss in picroside-I and picroside-II with storage was maximum when “Kutki” samples were stored under humid condition (85% humidity, 25 °C) and minimum loss was observed when samples were stored at low temperature (4-6 °C). So, to minimize the loss of picroside-I and picroside-II content in the drug Kutki during storage, Kutki must be stored at low temperature.

A comprehensive review on Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth

“…Not much work pertaining to effect of different storage conditions and storage durations on stability of bioactive constituents of plant Picrorhiza kurroa has been done. However, Thani and Sharma (2016) have reported the decrease of bioactive compound, picroside-I and picroside-II content, with the increase in storage duration irrespective of different storage conditions. Furthermore, on their comparative study they have claimed that the loss in picroside-I and picroside-II with storage was maximum when "Kutki" samples were stored under humid condition (85% humidity, 25 °C) and minimum loss was observed when samples were stored at low temperature (4-6 °C).…”

“…Since, very little research has been done to find efficient extraction methods in order to get high efficiency and efficacy from the Picrorhiza kurroa and therefore, it is very difficult to make comparison on them. However, has reported sonication method best in terms of time consumption for extraction and yield while comparing four extraction methods, soxhlet extraction, extraction by refluxing, microwave assisted extraction and sonication assisted extraction [52] .…”

“…Furthermore, on their comparative study they have claimed that the loss in picroside-I and picroside-II with storage was maximum when "Kutki" samples were stored under humid condition (85% humidity, 25 °C) and minimum loss was observed when samples were stored at low temperature (4-6 °C). So, they suggested that to minimize the loss of picroside-I and picroside-II content in the drug Kutki during storage, Kutki must be stored at low temperature [64] .…”

Endomicrobiome of in vitro and natural plants deciphering the endophytes-associated secondary metabolite biosynthesis in Picrorhiza kurrooa , a Himalayan medicinal herb

“…Samples were dried and powdered finely using mortar and pestle, and 100 mg of the powder was macerated in 5 mL HPLC-grade absolute methanol for 24 h. Further samples were sonicated for 30 min at 35°C followed by centrifugation at 1,000 rpm for 2 min. The supernatant was filtered through a 0.22-µm filter and used for ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC-PDA) ( 174 ). P-I, P-II, P-III, caffeic acid, cinnamic acid, vanillic acid, catalpol, and aucubin were quantified using UHPLC-PDA (Shimadzu LC-MS 2020) ( 175 ).…”