Abstract

MICROSCOPICAL, PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL CHARACTERISATION OF THREE HERBAL HEPATOPROTECTIVES

Marwa Y. Issa*, Soheir M. El Zalabani, Hesham I. El-Askary, Riham Salah El-Dine and Miriam F. Yousif

ABSTRACT

Plant-based health products play, nowadays, an important role in theglobal drug market. Despite this constant rise in commercialimportance, the processing of herbal drugs lacks reliable scientificassessment and is often performed without strict regulations. Toguarantee the quality of the final product, well-defined specificationcriteria should be established for raw materials before manufacture.The quality and correct identity of crude powdered plants or plantorgans can be checked via inspection of sensory, microscopical andphysicochemical characteristics. Liver disorders represent athreatening health problem in Egypt. Herbs are frequently used assupportive complementary remedies to alleviate these ailments. The objective of this studywas to establish reliable criteria for proper identification of three hepatoprotective herbaldrugs viz., seeds of Linum usitatissimum L. (flaxseeds) and Trigonella foenumgraecum L.(fenugreek seeds), and leaves of Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary leaves). The powderedsamples were microscopically examined and subjected to proximate, physicochemical andnutritional analysis. The present work will, thus, provide helpful information on the quality ofthese herbal materials to ensure genuineness, safety and efficacy prior incorporation inpharmaceutical formulations.

Keywords: Quality control, flax, fenugreek, rosemary, hepatoprotective