Pharmacognostical evaluation of Psoralea corylifolia Linn. seed.

Psoralea corylifolia Linn. belonging to Fabaceae family is an important endangered plant that has been therapeutically used to treat different pathological manifestations since ages. It is commonly known as Bakuchi in Sanskrit. Though it is an important plant, till date, no pharmacognostical reports have been available on its seed. A lot of adulterations are also present in the market. The present study is aimed towards evaluating pharmacognostical and histochemical characteristics of the seeds of P.corylifolia Linn. in detail. Macroscopic and microscopic pharmacognostical characters of seeds and histochemical studies were noted by following standard methods. Pharmacognostical evaluation of seed shows the presence of volatile oil, silica deposits and stone cells. The observations found in current work can be considered as reference standards in future studies.