Pharmacognostic, Physicochemical, Phytochemical Characterization and β-Sitosterol-Based HPTLC Fingerprinting of the Methanolic Leaf Extract of Mimusops elengi L.

Introduction: Mimusops elengi L. is one of the important plants that have been employed traditionally as a source of herbal medicines for treating inflammation, infections, wounds, and gastrointestinal disorders. Scientific standardization is crucial for the proper identification of herbal drugs. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the Pharmacognostic standards, physicochemical properties and quantitative estimation of major phytoconstituents along with chromatographic fingerprinting using β-sitosterol of Mimusops elengi L. leaves. Materials and Methods: Fresh leaves were collected, authenticated, shade dried, powdered and macerated in methanol. Pharmacognostic studies, Physicochemical parameters such as loss on drying, ash value, extraction value, and pH were determined by standard methods. Phytochemical analysis was done qualitatively and quantitatively by spectrophotometry. HPTLC profiling was done with toluene: ethyl acetate (6:4, v/v) as mobile phase and β-sitosterol as reference standard at 254 and 366 nm. Results: Macroscopic and microscopic characters helped in the identification of the leaves. The physicochemical analysis was carried out, and results were satisfactory for the quality with loss on drying (7.12 ± 0.18 %), total ash (8.34 ± 0.15 %), acid-insoluble ash (1.21 ± 0.08 %), water soluble extractive (18.45 ± 0.39 %), alcohol soluble extractive (22.78 ± 0.42 %), and pH (6.42 ± 0.03). The extract had high concentrations of phenolics (169.18 ± 0.98 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (58.43 ± 1.87 mg QE/g), tannins (50.31 ± 1.54 mg TAE/g), saponins (42.53 ± 1.26 mg DE/g), and alkaloids (34.76 ± 1.08 mg AE/g). HPTLC fingerprinting yielded unique bands, confirming Conclusion: The findings establish reliable quality control and future phytopharmaceutical development.