Screening of Plumbago species for the bio-active marker plumbagin

Abstract

Three locally available Plumbago species (Plumbago auriculata, Plumbago rosea and Plumbago zeylanica) have been quantitatively screened for the bioactive marker plumbagin by high performance thin layer chromatography. In general, the root parts were found to be the rich sources for plumbagin. Most significantly, P. rosea was found to accumulate maximum plumbagin in the roots. In contrast, P. auriculata and P. zeylanica are high yielding species for the leaf and stem parts, respectively. Studies have also been extended to evaluate some P. rosea samples collected from southern India and a traditional medicine, Chitrakadi vati, which contains P. zeylanica as the major constituents.