Pharmacognostic standardization and phytochemical evaluation of Ficus rumphii blume leaves in Thailand

Background

Ficus rumphii Blume has long been used in ethnomedicinal practices and is regarded as one of the medicinal plants in Thai traditional herbal formulas for diabetes treatment. At present, published data on pharmacognostic study of this plant for its identity, quality, and purity is still limited.

Objective

This study aimed to establish the pharmacognostic standardization parameters of Ficus rumphii leaves in Thailand.

Methods

The pharmacognostic study of F. rumphii leaves collected from 12 different sources throughout Thailand was conducted according to the methods described in WHO guidelines including macroscopic, microscopic, physicochemical parameters, phytochemical screening, and TLC fingerprint.

Results

Macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of F. rumphii leaves were reported in this study. Physicochemical parameters showed the value of loss on drying (6.87 ± 0.79 %), total ash (16.28 ± 5.76 %), acid insoluble ash (7.54 ± 4.53 %), water content (9.58 ± 2.49 %), water extractive matters (4.71 ± 1.75 %) and ethanol extractive matters (1.30 ± 0.52 %). Preliminary phytochemical screening of hexane, ethanol, and aqueous extracted revealed the presence of phenolic, flavonoid, diterpene, triterpene, steroid, saponin, and cardiac glycoside which were confirmed by TLC fingerprint profiles of ethanolic extract of this plant.

Conclusion

This study is the first report on the pharmacognostic specification of F. rumphii leaves in Thailand, which could be used as a reference for quality control and the species identification of this plant material.