PHARMACOGNOSTIC EVALUATION AND PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE ROOTS OF AMARANTHUS TRICOLOR (LINN.)

Amaranthus tricolor Linn. belonging to the family Amaranthaceae is well known for curing a variety of ailments such as cough, throat infections, toothache, eczema, piles, diarrhea, gonorrhea, leucorrhoea and impotence. The present study deals with the pharmacognostic evaluation including examinations of morphological and microscopic characters, ash values, powder analysis, extractive values, moisture content and fluorescence analysis. Preliminary phytochemical screening was also carried out. Transverse section of the root showed the presence of cork cells, cortex, fibers, xylem and phloem. Total ash, acid insoluble ash, water soluble ash, ethanol soluble extractive and water soluble extractive were 12.8%, 6.89%, 5.0%, 7.6% and 20.0% w/w respectively. Phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, tannins, proteins and amino acids. The study contributes to the development of standardization parameters of the plant which helps in the botanical identification of Amaranthus tricolor Linn.