Chemotypic Variation of Lupeol in Roots of Hemidesmus indicus (L.) R.Br. from Different Agroclimatic Regions of Madhya Pradesh State of India

Background: Active pharmaceutical ingredients have been reported to vary with environmental and edaphic conditions from region to region. Global resurgence in traditional and alternative health care systems has necessitated the quality standardization and authentication of medicinal plants with respect to their active ingredients which have also been stressed by World Health Organization and modern pharmacopoeias. Objectives: The present investigation is focused to find out chemotypic variation of lupeol in roots of Hemidesmus indicus collected from twelve locations belonging to ten agroclimatic regions of Madhya Pradesh state of India for its scientific validation, quality standardization and selection of elite chemotypes. Methods: 1 gm powdered root sample of each location was refluxed in methanol for 15-20 minutes consecutively three times on a water bath. The extract solutions were pooled, filtered and concentrated to get the extract residues. Dried extracts were dissolved separately in 10 ml of methanol to prepare the test samples to assess lupeol content using CAMAG HPTLC system equipped with Linomat V applicator, TLC scanner, WIN CATS software Version 1.4.8 and Hamilton Syringe (100 μL). Results: The result showed significant variation in lupeol content in the range from 0.016 to 0.299% (dry wt.). The highest content of lupeol (0.299%) was found in the accessions of Amarkantak and lowest content (0.016%) in the accessions of TFRI belonging to Northern Hills Zone of Chhattisgarh and Kymore Plateau & Satpura Hills agroclimatic regions of Madhya Pradesh, respectively. Conclusion: Variation in lupeol content resulted from the study revealed the accessions of Amarkantak of best quality and elite chemotypes which may be in situ conserved for their further exploitation to meet the demand of the species on commercial scale.