Pharmacognostic standardization and chromatographic fingerprint analysis on triterpenoidal constituents of the medicinally important plant Artocarpus heterophyllus by high-performance thin layer chromatography technique

Artocarpus heterophyllus commonly known as Kathal in Hindi and Jackfruit in English has a wide horizon of medicinal possessions. The plant is found in India and in its tropical regions.

Although the plant and its extracts are renowned for its ethnic medicinal values diversely in India, yet organized data somewhere lack in reverse pharmacognostical approach of this plant that shows that plant have not been completely explored for its therapeutic potency.

In the present study, the folklore potential of this plant has been explored by generating down its pharmacognostical standards along with measurement of its active therapeutic constituent ursolic acid and lupeol via. High-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), evidence from organized data search says that ursolic acid and lupeol is ubiquitous to A. heterophyllus. The plant was also subjected to spectroscopic-based estimation of tannins (gallic acid and tannic acid) and flavonoids (quercetin and rutin). Antimicrobial testing was also performed.

Microscopic features revealed the presence of anomocytic type of stomata, collateral open type vascular bundle in which fascicular cambium is present, calcium oxalate crystal and covering trichomes were key features in leaves. Methanolic extract of leaves of the plant was subjected to HPTLC. HPTLC studies revealed that both ursolic acid and lupeol are present in appreciable amount. Plant showed good antibacterial activity which may be due to the high amount of tannins as the tannins has the ability to disintegrate the bacterial cell wall.

The data generated could be significantly used as a reference for the authentication and quality control of A. heterophyllus.