Eclipta alba: A Phytopharmacognostic Study

Pharmacognostic studies of crude drug plays a very important role in identification of the purity and quality of crude drugs. Medicinal plants which are found on earth have renowned medicinal significance and their usage is increasing day by day in our daily life. Different researches are going on to explore the pharmacological and medicinal properties of herbal drugs. The herb of Eclipta alba is commonly called as Bhringaraja or Maka, belonging to the family Asteraceae/Compositae. The present work embodies the investigations carried out to establish methods for quality control of herb as per WHO guidelines. Complete botanical evaluation which comprises macroscopic, microscopic, phytochemical evaluation and physicochemical parameters like loss on drying extractive value, ash value. The study will provide referential information for the correct identification of the crude drug.