Pharmacognostical and phytochemical screening of leaves of Raphanus sativus linn

Raphanus sativus (commonly called as Radish) belonging to family Brassicaceae which is a multipurpose plant with high attributes and potential. The study is aimed to evaluate the Pharmacognostic and to reveal the phytochemical profile of Raphanus sativus which serve as authentication and quality control for the crude drug. Microscopical studies and physiochemical parameters like ash value, extractive value, loss on drying and determination of crude fiber content were observed. Preliminary phytochemical screening was performed to identify the various phytoconstituents present in the crude drug. Macroscopical and phytochemical characters such as Fluorescence analysis and Thin Layer Chromatography were studied for the presence of secondary metabolites and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography fingerprints were studied. Microscopic analysis and phytochemical evaluation provides sufficient data for characterize the drug. Preliminary Phytochemical investigation of Raphanus sativus were performed in various extraction solvents such as Ethanol, Chloroform and methanol and revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, phytosterols, Steroids, Tannins and fixed oils. The study concluded that pharmacognostical evaluation data provided will be helpful in characterization of the crude drug and also leads in the development of the pharmaceuticals and research.