QUALITY ANALYSIS OF MARKET SAMPLES OF ŌRILA COLLECTED FROM DIFFERENT MARKETS OF KERALA USING PHARMACOGNOSTIC TOOLS

Ōrila is a well-known drug used in many Ayurvedic recipes in kerala. In most texts Ōrilais seen paired with Mūvilaand together they fare as components of the Daśamula. From very old Kerala commentaries of ancient Ayurvedic texts, Ōrila and Mūvila are seen as Malayalam translations of Pṛśniparṇī and Śālaparṇī respectively. In Kerala Pṛśniparṇīis often identified as Ōrila and its source here is Pleurolobus gangeticus (L) J. St.-Hil. However, in North India and in API, source plant of Pṛśniparṇīis Uraria picta (Jacq.) Desv. ex DC. Both belongs to the family Fabaceae where former is a stout herb or under shrub and the other is a small branched, perpetual herb. In the current globalized world where market have expanded, there are unconfirmed reports that other drug sources like Uraria pictaetc have begun appearing in Kerala herbal drug market in the name of Ōrila. So, decided to investigate the status of samples of Ōrila available in the Kerala herbal drug market and to check the quality and authenticity of the samples using pharmacognostic tools. As per microscopic studies, samples from Trivandrum, Kozhikode and Wayanad contains P. gangeticus roots and stems along with other similar looking plants. Idukki, Palakkad and Kasargod samples were mixtures of some similar looking species of Desmodium. Malappuram contains roots and stems of Mūvila (Pseudarthria viscida). On HPTLC analysis similar bands matching with P. gangeticus roots and stems were observed in Trivandrum, Kozhikode and Wayanad samples.