COMPARATIVE PHYSICOCHEMICAL, PHYTOCHEMICAL AND HIGH PERFORMANCE THIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY EVALUATION OF STEM BARK AND SMALL BRANCHES OF AILANTHUS EXCELSA ROXB.

Over-harvesting of many traditional medicinal plants has become a threat to the country’s species diversity and has resulted in the endangerment of certain medicinal plant species. Shortly, many plant species may be unavailable for the use of industry due to over-exploitation. The present study outlines the concept of plant part substitution. The studies were carried out in Ailanthus excelsa to evaluate the possibilities of using small branches in place of stem bark which will help sustainable utilization. Stem bark and small branches of Ailanthus excelsa are compared by the physicochemical analysis, phytochemical analysis, total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents and High-Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). Phytochemical analysis and HPTLC of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol extracts showed many similarities which suggest that small branches may have nearly similar active potency like stem bark and may provide the base for further study to use small branches as a substitute of stem bark of  Ailanthus excelsa. The study will be helpful in identification and quality control of Ailanthus excelsa and can provide standard HPTLC profiles of Ailanthus excelsa with the selected solvent system for use as a reference for proper identification/ authentication of the drug.