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ABSTRACT:
There are several medicinal plants having various medicinal properties is being widely used in Ayurveda which contain phytoconstituents. These phytoconstituents are beneficial to manage allied symptoms in psychosis andto treat abnormal condition of the mindthereby promoting mental well being. Argyreia nervosa (L.f) the ancient traditional medicinal plant belonging to the convolvulaceae family having prominent, psychedelic and neuro-pharmacological actions on our body. Argyreia nervosa seeds contain hallucinogens including ergot alkaloids such as ergine and Argoclavine and a naturally occurring lysergic acid amide. The current study describes pharmacognostic and phytochemical screening on Seeds of Argyreia nervosa. Argoclavine was extracted from the seeds and then characterised by different spectroscopic techniques like UV, IR, LC-MS. The results of the present study will create a way for the invention of novel herbal medicines for several ailments by using Argyreia nervosa seeds.
KEYWORDS: Ergoline alkaloids, Convolvulaceae, Hallucinogens, Argoclavine, Neuropsychatric diseases.
INTRODUCTION:
In Ayurvedic medicine, every part of number of medicinal plants used including the seed, leaf, bark and root have usage as they possess a broad-range of pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, antidiarrhoeal, hepatoprotective, anticonvulsant, antioxidant, aphrodisiac, immuno modulatory, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity1. One such plant is Argyreia nervosa (L.f) Sweet, which have various medicinal properties is widely used in Ayurveda, the ancient traditional medicinal system in India belonging to Convolvulaceae family. The seeds contains the main neuro psychoactive substances such as ergoline alkaloids that are used as a hallucinogen and have been used traditionally in a number of diseases in India.2,3
Ergoline alkaloids are main constituents of plants belonging to Convolvulaceae family and clavicipitaceous fungi (Ascomycota). Biosynthetic origin of ergoline alkaloids in family Convolvulaceae is unknown, to study these about 12 endophytic fungi and one epibiotic fungus were isolated from an ergoline alkaloid-containing Convolvulaceae family plants4,5
One study have revealed that Invitro and invivo cultivation on intact plants gave no evidence that the endophytic fungi are responsible for the accumulation of ergoline alkaloids in Convolvulaceae family plants5. But epibiotic clavicipitaceous fungus is equipped with the genetic material to synthesize these compounds. This fungus attacks on back side of leaf in favorable environmental conditions and synthesize ergoline alkaloids which later on translocated from leafs to seed and stored in seeds6. Several observations strongly indicate that this plant-associated fungus and...