Background: The increasing demand for medicinal plant products has generated interest in the pharmaceutical industry in harvesting plants during their optimal season to obtain the best quality medicinal products. During drug standardization, the season of collection of the used part of a plant plays a pivotal role in ensuring the drug quality. Classical Ayurvedic texts recommend a specific collection protocol for crude drugs depending on the part used and the Ritu (~season). Aim: The aim is to evaluate the effect of Dravyasangraha kala (~specific time or season for collection of medicinal plants) on quality parameters of Prishniparni ( Uraria picta L. Desv. ex DC.) by analytical tests and High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprinting. Materials and Methods: Cultivation and collection of Prishniparni were done in four different seasons, and the procured roots were powdered and subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. Physicochemical and phytochemical changes due to different seasons were studied by performing specific standard procedures, and HPTLC densitometric quantification of Lupeol was performed on samples collected in four different seasons. Results: Analytical studies of Prishniparni roots collected across four seasons revealed variations in several parameters. However, the total saponin assay percentage (8.10%), total terpenoids assay percentage (13.20%), and HPTLC assay of lupeol (0.21%) is observed to be comparatively higher in Sharada (~autumn) ritu as compared to Grishma (~summer), Pravrit (~early rainy), and Shishira (~winter) ritu . Conclusion: The result of this study gives evidence that the seasonal variations bring change in the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the plant, which revalidates the concept of “ Dravyasangraha kala” in Ayurveda.
SHAH et al. (Tue,) studied this question.