INTRODUCTION:

Medicinal plants have been a major source of cure for human diseases since time immemorial. It is no wonder that the world’s one-fourth population i.e. 1.42 billion people, are dependent on traditional medicines for the treatment of various ailments ^[1]. Medicinal herbs are moving from fringe to main stream use with a greater number of people seeking remedies and health approaches free from side effects caused by synthetic chemicals.

Recently considerable attention has been paid to utilize eco-friendly and bio-friendly plant based products for the prevention and cure of different human diseases. Considering the adverse effects of synthetic drugs, the Western population is looking for natural remedies, which are safe and effective. It is documented that most of the World’s population has taken in traditional medicine, particularly plant drug for the primary health care ^[2]^. The Indian flora offers a variety of plants having medicinal properties. These plants can be exploited to find out effective alternative to synthetic drugs ^[3].

Alpinia conchigera Griff. (Begali name: Khetranga) belonging to the family Zingiberaceae , or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes. Zingiberaceae is one of the largest families of the plant kingdom with 53 genera and over 1300 species^[4]. The taxonomic study of the family Zingiberaceae was first studied by Kai Larsen^[5]. who proposed the key to genera of Thai Zingiberaceae. Zingiberaceous plants are distributed throughout Bangladesh. But wide varieties of species are mainly found in hilly areas like in Chittagong and Sylhet. The following species are identified in Bangladesh. Zingiberaceous plants are distributed throughout Bangladesh. But wide varieties of species are mainly found in hilly areas like in Chittagong and Sylhet. The following species are identified in Bangladesh^[6].

Table - 1. Organoleptic study of the powder

1.	Colour	Light green
2.	Odour	Characteristics
3.	Taste	Mucilaginous and slightly bitter

The rhizome of A. conchigera is used as a condiment and occasionally in folk medicine along the east coast to treat fungal infections. In some states of Peninsular Malaysia, the rhizomes are consumed as a post-partum medicine and the young shoots are prepared into a vegetable dish.The rhizomes of A. conchigera are used in Thai traditional medicine to relieve gastrointestinal disorders and in the preparation of Thai food dishes^[7,8].

It was reported that the phenyl prepanoid derivatives, chavicol acetate and eugenol acetate are present in the fruit of A.conchigera,^[9] and have anti-inflammatory activity .The milky juice of the plant is used in ophthalmia, scabies and as an antiseptic agent^[10].

The principle aim of the present study was to investigate the scientific basis of the traditional uses of the plant Alpinia conchigera Griff and in the same time find the chemical groups present in the active plant parts to get preliminary idea about the active constituent. The primary goal of the research will be complemented by a series of further secondary aims-

1. Extraction of the plant material by using solvent

2. Qualitative analysis of different chemical group present in the plant extracts to get preliminary idea about the compound present in the extract.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Alpinia conchigera Griff was subjected to pharmacognostic study. The various methods used in the study included organoleptic study, fluorescence analysis and preliminary phytochemical studies.

Organoleptic study

The powder of Alpinia conchigera Griff was used for studies. The colour variation and taste were the basis for this test as given by Jackson and Snowdown ^[11].

The fluorescence properties were studied under UV light adopting the method described by Kokoshi, Chase and Pratt ^[12,13]. The behavior of the samples with different chemical reagents was studied and fluorescence characters were observed on long UV light at 254nm.

About 20 gm of the powder of Alpinia conchigera Griff was weighed accurately and mixed with 250 ml of hot water. After 1hour it was filtered and the supernatant was used as the extract. The preliminary phytochemical test of this extract was performed by specific reagents. These extracts were subjected to qualitative chemical tests for detection of various plant constituents.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

The pharmacognostical characters of the aerial powders have been studied by screening the same through varying parameters.

The investigation on organoleptic study of aerial powder of Alpinia conchigera Griff indicated the characters like colour, odour and taste. The colour of the aerial powder showed Light green colour. The taste and odour of the aerial powders were also tested. The taste is slightly bitter and on analysis the aerial powder gives a characteristic odour (Table 1).

The aerial powders are treated with various chemicals exhibited various colours in the UV light. When the powder was treated with aqueous 1 N NaOH and 50% H₂SO₄ the aerial powder exhibited light green colours in UV light and the results are depicted in (Table 2).

When the leaf powders were treated with chemicals like FeCl₃, HCl, HNO₃, picric acid, NH₃, NaOH+methanol, Iodine solution, etc various shades of light green, light yellow, Reddish brown , yellowish green, green, deep green etc colours were obtained (Table 3) ^[14].

Pharmaceutical preparation derived from natural resources such as vegetables often contain compounds that contribute the antimicrobial defense systems and apparently play a role in the protection against degenerative diseases.

Table- 3. The behaviour of the leaf powder of Alpinia conchigera Griff when treated with different chemical reagents

S.No.	Treatment with chemical reagents	Observation
1.	Powder as such	Light Green
2.	Concentrated Hydrochloric acid	Light Yellow
3.	Concentrated Sulphuric acid	Deep brown
4.	Concentrated Nitric acid	Reddish brown
5.	Glacial acetic acid	Blackish green
6.	5% Sodium hydroxide solution	Green
7.	5% Potassium hydroxide solution	Green
8.	5% Ferric chloride solution	Light Green
9.	Picric acid	Yellowish green
10.	Ammonia	Green
11.	Powder + 1N Sodium hydroxide in methanol	Deep green
12.	Powder + 1N Sodium hydroxide in water	Light brown

Table- 4. Different chemical group tests of Alpinia conchigera Griff and their results

Test groups	Name of the test	Presumption
Reducing sugar	Fehling’s solution test	+
Reducing sugar	Benedict’s test	+
Steroids	Salkowski and Libermann-burchared test	+
Glycosides	Salkowski test	-
	Libermann-burchared test	-
	Keller-Kiliani test
Tannins	Ferric chloride Test	-
	Potassium dichromate test	-
	Keller-Kiliani test
Alkaloids	Mayer^’s test	+
	Dragendorff’s reagent test	+
	Wagner’s reagent test	+
	Hager’s reagent test	+
	Tannic acid test
Flavonoids		+
Saponins		+
Gums		+

+ = Presence – = Absence

CONCLUSION:

The results of organoleptic study offer a scientific basis for the traditional use of Alpinia conchigera Griff which possess characters like green, characteristic odour, mucilaginous and slightly bitter taste. The leaf powders when treated with various chemicals exhibited various colours in the UV light. The aerial part of the Alpinia conchigera Griff has been tested for the identification of the chemical group present in that plant. It has been found that Reducing sugars, Steroids, Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Saponins and Gums were present.

REFERENCES:

1. Reddy, K.J. (2004): Medicinal plant research scenario in India, Info concepts India Inc., pp.25-28.

2. Dubey, N.K., Kumar, R. and Tripathi, P. (2004): Global promotion of herbal medicine: India’s opportunity, Current Science, 86(1), pp.37-41.

3. Gaikwadi, S.S., Vadlamudi, V.P., Waghmaee, S.P., Maral, V.J., Ranteke, V.D. and Dhok, A.P. (2003): Phytochemical analysis of aqueous extract of few medicinal plants, PKV. Res. J., 27(1), pp.91-92.

4. Kai Larsen, K. 1980. Annotated key to the genera of Zingiberaceae of Thailand. Nat. Hist. Bull.Siam Soc. 28: 151-169.

5. E.W.C. Chan, Y.Y.Lim, S.K.Ling, S.P. Tan, K.K. Lim and M.G.H. Khoo Caffeoylquinic acids from leaves of Etlingera species (Zingiberaceae). LWT - Food Science and Technology, 2009 June, Volume 42, Issue 5, Pages 1026-1030.

6. Ghani A., (1998). Medicinal Plants of Bangladesh with Chemical Constituents and Uses. 2^nd edition.pp.4-19 Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

7. Baby Sabulal, Mathew Dan, Anil John J, Rajani Kurup, Nediyamparambu Sukumaran Pradeep, Renju Krishna Valsamma and Varughese George, Caryophyllene-rich rhizome oil of Zingiber nimmonii from South India: Chemical characterization and antimicrobial activity. Phytochemistry, 2006 November, Volume 67, Issue 22, Pages 2469-2473.

8. K. C. Wong, K. S. Ong, C. L. Lim. Composition of the essential oil of rhizomes of Kaempferia galanga L. Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 2006, Volume 7, Pages 263-266.

9. Pino.J.A, Marbot.R, Rosado.A, Batista.A. Chemical composition of the essential oils of Zingiber officinale ( Roscoe L). from Cuba. Journal Essential Oils Research, 2004. Volume 16, Pages 186-188.

10. M.A. Sukari, N.W. Mohd Sharif, A.L.C. Yap, S.W. Tang, B.K. Neoh, M. Rahmani, G.C.L. Ee, Y.H. Taufiq-Yap and U.K. Yusof. Chemical constituents variations of essential oils from rhizomes of four zingiberaceae species. The Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences, 2008, Vol 12, No 3: 638 – 644.

11. Jackson, B.P. and Snowdown, D.W. (1968): Powdered vegetable drugs, Cheer Chil Ltd., London, pp.25.

12. Kokoshi, G.J., Kokoshi, J.R. and Sharma, F.J. (1958): Fluorescence of powdered vegetable drugs under ultra violet radiation, J. Amer. Pharm. Assn., 38(10), pp.715-717.

13. Chase, C.R. and Pratt, R.F. (1949): Fluorescence of powdered vegetable drugs with particular reference to the development of systems of identification, J. American Pharm. Assoc., 38, pp.324-333.

14. Pandey, H.C., Dixit, R.S. and Sharma, H.P. (1984): Addition to the Pharmacognosy of Kalimulri (Curculigo orchioides), Bull. Med. Ethnobot. Res., 5(1-2), pp. 55-56.

Received on 16.04.2012 Accepted on 21.05.2012

Asian J. Pharm. Ana. 2(2): April-June 2012; Page 46-48