Salvadora Persica: A Potential Source for Treatment of Hypercholesterolemia

Abstract

Various plant extracts are widely used as traditional drugs, because of their tremendous medicinal potential and multifaceted biological functions. However, there are no detailed botanical studies on this plant parts to help in the proper identification. It is essential that any crude plant extract used for medicinal purpose needs to be subjected to botanical inspection to avoid side effects in the body. The morphological, anatomical and phytochemical analysis is the best solution for identification of such crude plant parts. Traditionally, it is believed that Salvadora persica has capacity to reduce blood cholesterol level. To confirm this, phytosterols content was measured from juvenile to mature stage leaf of Salvadora persica to know at which stage maximum phytosterols accumulate in leaf. Finally, characterization of phytosterols was done from mature leaf ethanolic extract using TLC and GC-MS analysis. It was concluded from the above analysis that leaves of Salvadora persica are essential source of -sitosterol and can be utilized repeatedly for maintenance of blood cholesterol level.