Development of standards for the quality control of Cyclea peltata and its marketed formulations

Abstract

Objective: Cyclea peltata (Family Menispermaceae) commonly known as “ Kehi pittan” is a medicinal plant widely used for dyspepsia, infertility, urinary  tract   infections and wound healing in the traditional system of medicine in Sri Lanka. However the scientific parameters are not yet available to authenticate the true plant material. The present study was aimed at development of various pharmacognostic  standards for Cyclea peltata.

Method: Morphological, anatomical, powder microscopical, quantitative microscopical and phytochemical investigations were carried out to identity the diagnostic features of leaves, stem and root of C. peltata.

Results: Some of the diagnostic features of the leaf drug noted from the powder microscopic study are hexagonal oil cells and calcium oxalate crystals in the upper epidermis. Characteristic fingerprinting thin layer chromatography profiles, which were developed for methanolic and dichloromethane extracts of roots, stems and leaves  have been found to be valuable parameters for the identification of  C. peltata species and for the authentication of marketed raw drugs.

Conclusion: The results of this study could be used as precise, reliable and reproducible standards for the quality control of the drug in the crude form and to distinguish the drug from its adulterants. The results will also be useful for the standardization and quality control of  marketed  formulations that include C. peltata.