Phytochemical evaluation of Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa (Bel) young plant parts for medicinal use

Abstract

Aegle marmelos commonly known as Bilva or Bel is an important medicinal tree being used in several herbal formulations. Bel root is an important ingredient of a very important Ayurvedic formulation " Dashmoola " (ten roots). The demand of the Bel roots is very high and increasing day by day. Moreover, there is a huge gap between demand and supply. In the present study, phytochemical evaluation of young Bel plants (roots and shoots) collected from central India was carried out with the objective to assess the suitability as raw drug. The suitability of alternative plant parts in place of root bark was also evaluated. This is the first attempt to assess the suitability of young roots obtained from high density Bel plantations with respect to their phytochemical constituents. The result revealed that the root bark of A. marmelos possess maximum number of phenolic compounds and alkaloid content in comparison to other plant parts. However, stem bark also contains almost similar number of chemical constituents and may substitute root bark.