Abstract:
Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R. Br. is a well known medicinal plant referred as
Sariva in Sanskrit and Iramusu in Sinhala, which plays an important role in
the preparation of Ayurvedic drugs in Sri Lanka. These plants grow wild in
dry regions of the island. However, country’s needs are mainly satisfied by
material imported from India. The average annual requirement of the raw
material of Sariva is around 40000kg. Due to the high demand for roots of
this species, there is a known tendency for deliberate adulteration and
substitution, by two other plants namely Cryptolepis buchananii Roem. &
Schult. and Ichnocarpus frutescens (L.) R. Br. in Sri Lanka.
Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the purity of crude
raw material sold as Sariva in the market. Raw material collected from ten
dealers in six districts counting five samples from each (altogether sixty
samples), were used for this study. Morphological and anatomical
characters were compared with those of authentic Hemidesmus indicus,
Cryptolepis buchananii and Ichnocarpus frutescens. According to
morphological, organoleptic and anatomical characters such as ridges and
wrinkles of surface, smell, taste, starchy texture, colour and bark to wood
ratio, presence of mechanical elements like stone cells with concentric
rings, high abundance of pigment filled cells and the availability of
secretary cells and prismatic crystals, market samples could be divided into
two categories. One group was identical to H. indicus and the other was
different from authentic H. indicus. The purity of samples studied ranged
from 66% - 46%. The highest purity was observed in samples collected
from Rathanpura district. This clearly indicates the timely importance of
setting proper guidelines providing a fast tool of raw material identification
and authentication at the point of purchasing.