Pharmacognostical Screening of Blue Flowered Variety of Clitoria ternatea Linn. - A Phytocentric Overview

Pharmacognostic screening is the first and foremost step to determine identity and to assess the quality and purity of the crude drug. The genus “Clitoria” includes about 48 species under the family “Fabaceae”. Clitoria ternatea Linn. is a traditional Ayurvedic medicinal plant commonly known as “Aparajita”, “Butterfly pea” and also “Shankhapushpi”, is found all over India. Clitoria ternatea Linn. have reported to possess a number of pharmacological activities such as nootropic, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anthelmintic and antidote to animal stings. The present study provided the scientific data for the proper identification and establishment of standards for the Clitoria ternatea Linn.. The pharmacognostic screening were focused on macroscopic, qualitative and quantitative microscopy, powder behavior, physico-chemical parameters, quantitative estimation of primary and secondary metabolites and also the TLC profile. The plant extracts were subjected to phytochemical analysis for screening of medical constituents. Establishing standard is an essential step to identify the quality and purity of the drug. The study establishes the pharmacognostical standards of the crude drug and helps to differentiate the plant sample from the adulterants.