A COMPARATIVE PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF ROOT AND STEM OF PIPER LONGUM LINN.

Piper longum Linn. is a well known plant being used in home remedies as well as in Ayurveda since long. Nowadays Pippalī mūla (root of P. longum) is not easily available in the market. Stem cutting of P. longum is being marketed as substitute. Manufacturing companies have started using stem cuttings instead of root. This alteration may affect quality of Ayurvedic preparations. The demand of Ayurvedic medicine has increased globally as well as the concern regarding quality and authenticity of product. The standard parameters of root of Piper longum have not been prepared yet. This work was an attempt to establish preliminary physicochemical and phytochemical standards of root as well as comparison with stem cuttings according to the parameters of Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia of India (API). Thin Layer Chromatography profile was prepared to compare their chemical constituents. The profile suggested similarity between root and stem cuttings but the percentage of chemical constituents was found more in stem. Additional researches will substantiate stem cuttings efficiency as a good quality alternative for root.