Abstract

Antifertility herbs are used to prevent conception or fertilization. This study is aimed to evaluate some antifertility herbs Bambusa arundinacea (leaf), Bauhinia racemosa Lam. and Ficus racemosa (bark) qualitatively and quantitatively in term of their phytoconstituents. The total phenolic content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent using gallic acid as a standard, total flavonoid content by aluminum chloride assay using quercetin as a standard, total tannin content by Folin-Denis' reagent and alkaloid content was determined as equivalents to atropine. Saponin content was determined in crude powder of drugs. The extracts were screened for presence of various phytoconstituents using preliminary chemical tests and TLC was performed for qualitative analysis. Among the four extracts, ethanol extract of B. arundinacea leaves showed maximum amount of phenolic content (2.24±0.34mg/g) and flavonoid content (4.65±0.74 mg/g) as compared to F. racemosa and B. racemosa bark extracts whereas total tannin content was found maximum in F. racemosa bark (8.96±1.54 mg/g). Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, carbohydrates, tannins, phenols and saponins. Thin layer chromatographic studies of various extracts constituted different colored phytochemical compounds with different R_f values. This study gave an insight to the Aerva, the phytoconstituents present in the plant and useful for quantification of the compound in herbal formulation.