PHARMACOGNOSTICAL STANDARDIZATION AND PRELIMINARY PHYTOCHEMICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON ANANAS COMOSUS (L.) MERR.

Pineapple or ‘Ananas,’ is a tropical fruit that belongs to the Bromeliaceae family. The stem and fruit of this plant are utilized in conventional and folk medicine for treating various illnesses. In addition to calcium, iron, potassium, pineapples are a rich source of vitamin C, B and A. This study involves determinations various standardization specifications for the plant Ananas comosus (L.) Merr such as morphological characteristics, microscopic examinations, physiochemical parameters, and phytochemical screening for significant groups of compounds and other WHO recommended parameters for standardization. A morphology study was done on the fruit and stem portion of the plant. A microscopy study indicated the presence of lignified fibers, ovaries and sepals. The elemental analysis showed the presence of lead, Arsenic, Iron, Zinc, Cadmium, Magnesium, Copper, and Mercury and all the elements are within limits. The phytochemical profile revealed saponins, glycosides, phenols, flavonoids, anthraquinone steroids, tannins, carbohydrates, and terpenoids. The phenolic content was determined by using the Folin-Ciocteau method and found to be highest in ethanolic extract of fruit (40.02 mg GAE/g) and stem (35.83 mg GAE/g), respectively. The flavonoid content was determined using the aluminum chloride method and found to be highest in ethanolic extract of fruit (32.20 mg of qucertein /g) and stem (18.45mg of qucertein /g) portion, respectively. The finding of this study results a useful source of information and give appropriate criteria for recognizing this medicinally active plant for future investigations and applications.