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Phytochemical Screening of Oldenlandia Umbellate

V. Hema, A. Vasudev and A. Prameela Rani

Plants play very important role in medicinal field from which various chemical constituents can be extracted. They have much usefulness compared to synthetic drugs. Because of their natural occurrence, they can be cultivated according to our requirement and also by applying various methods to gain more advantages. The active principles of different plants possess various pharmacological actions. The leaves and roots of Oldenlandia umbellate linn., are considered to possess strong expectorant property and are prescribed in case of bronchial catarrh, bronchitis and asthma. A decoction of the root was given in doses of ½ to 1 ounce a day to cases of bronchitis and asthma. In former diseases, the patients got cured after few days use of decoction, but in latter, the drug gave only temporary relief. Later, this is used as anti inflammatory and for antitussive activity, where the drug shows better effect than many other drugs. Now the present research includes the first step in complete study of this plant i. e., phytochemical screening, which includes extraction of the plant, qualitative chemical examination for total extract and later on isolating the required chemical constituent.