Seasonal and geographical variations in the HPTLC fingerprints of Hedyotis corymbosa.

摘要

Hedyotis corymbosa is a common annual plant known to treat fever, diseases of liver, skin ailments and urinary infections. It is also an important component in several Ayurvedic formulations and decoctions. Since the plant is commonly available in all seasons, the time of collection of the plant is seldom considered. The HPTLC fingerprints of the plant collected during summer, monsoon and winter were compared to check consistency. The fingerprint of the plant collected during hot summer season was quite different to those of the plant collected during relatively cooler monsoon and winter seasons. However, the fingerprints of the plant collected during monsoon and winter were similar, indicating chemical consistency. A similar study was done to compare the fingerprint of the plant growing in dry Gujarat region, with those of the plant growing in moist Maharashtra and Kerala. The fingerprints of the plant from the two moist regions were quite similar indicating the presence of similar phytoconstituents, but both of them were different from the fingerprint of the plant growing in dry Gujarat. Phytochemical analysis of the plant indicated that ferulic acid was the most abundant phenolic acid in H. corymbosa, hence it was considered as the biomarker for the plant, to gauge the extent of variation observed in the various samples collected for the plant.