Pharmacognosy of Streblus bark drug

Abstract

The stem bark of Steblus asper Lour. (Moraceae) is used in fever, dysentery and diarrhoea, and the root bark of the same species has an action on the myocardium. The bark can be distinguihed by the nature of cracks and furrows on the surface, height of phloem rays, ash value, degree of intensity of colour reaction to Kedde reagent, Lugol's solution, nature of fluorescence of alcoholic extracts. The bark can be distinguished from superficially similar barks Streblus and Ficus by tetragonal crystals, massive multiseriate phloem rays containing crystals, sclereids mostly confined in the outer cortex, and frequent latex cells in phellem.