European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Ayurveda is one of the traditional medicinal systems of Indian culture. The philosophy
behind Ayurveda is to prevent unnecessary sufferings and allow us to live a long
healthy life. It involves the use of natural elements to eliminate the root cause of a
disease by restoring balance between the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha) within the
body. Herbal medicines have existed world-wide since ancient period. World Health
Organization (WHO) has estimated that 80% of the world’s inhabitants still rely on
traditional medicines for their health care. India is known to be one of the major
biodiversity centers with about 45,000 plant species, including 15,000 medicinal plants.
The concept of polyherbalism is to achieve greater therapeutic efficacy. The active
phytochemical constituents of individual plant are insufficient to achieve the desirable
therapeutic effects. This study was conducted to screen the phytochemical constituents
and to determine the levels of the major and trace elements of five medicinal plants used
for the treatment of diabetes mellitus namely; Aegele marmelos, Catharanthus roseus,
Garcinia pedunculata, Musa paradisiaca and Ocimum sanctum. The air dried leaves of
the plants were subjected to soxhlet extraction using ethanol, petroleum ether,
chloroform and aqueous. The crude extracts were obtained and subjected to screening
for their phytochemical constituents such as alkaloids, tannins, terpenoids, reducing
sugars, flavonoids, saponins, phenolic compounds and steroids using various standard
methods and reagents. Trace metals in the five medicinal plants were analyzed
quantitatively using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.