Title : Monograph on Butea monosperma (Palas): An important plant for Lac cultivation
Abstract:
Butea monosperma (Family Fabaceae) popularly known as ‘dhak’ or ‘palas’, commonly known as ‘Flame of forest’ is an important plant and is extensively utilized for lac cultivation. Lac cultivation plays an important role in the tribal economy. B. monosperma is found in countries like India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia. The major insect pest of B. monosperma is lac insect (Kerria lacca) which feeds on the sap of the tree but yields beneficial product, lac resin which is very useful to the mankind and also became the source material for versatile resin (shellac) and lac dye and wax. B. monosperma being principal lac hosts tree is the single largest producer of rangeeni lac from India due to its abundance in the nature, and high tolerance to hot climatic conditions. Lac cultivation on B. monosperma is, therefore, an important tool for self employment and the economic growth of poor and backward tribal section. The objective of the present work was to prepare a B. monosperma monograph for pharmacopoeial standards. Present study reveals the LOD (2.85%), Total Ash (5.43%), Alcohol extractive values (13.26%), Water extractive values (29.15%), Total solids (3.32%), Wt/ml (0.92g) and Alcohol content (53%). High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of chloroform extract of B. monosperma was performed by using toluene: ethyl acetate (9:1, v/v) as mobile phase. In HPTLC analysis various spots was observed under UV light 254nm and UV 366nm, confirms presence of active constituents. The present physicochemical, phytochemical and HPTLC data are to be considered as monograph of pharmacopoeial standards for aforesaid drug and may open the wide area of research on plant B. monosperma bio-chemistry.
