Pharmacognostic And Physico - Chemical Evaluation of Psidium Guajava L.

Abstract

Psidium guajava L. belonging to the family Myrtaceae is known as Guava. It is a common fruit tree, cultivated and naturalized throughout India. The leaves are used as an application in wounds, ulcers and as an astringent to bowels in Unani. Besides, it is also used as digestive, febrifuge and antispasmodic, in cerebral affections, nephritis, rheumatism, epilepsy and chorea. Leaves contain catechol and pyrogallol tannins besides oil and vitamins. Due to growing urge for introduction of well known indigenous drugs into Homoeopathy, the leaves of P. guajava are also being adopted. In the present, pharmacognostic studies of leaf comprising macro- and microscopic characters, organoleptic and power microscopic features, besides physico – chemical constants viz. moisture content, ash and extractive values for raw drugs and parameters such as weight per ml., total solids, alcohol content and chromatographic profiles of TLC, HPTLC, along with UV absorbance for mother tincture are detailed.