Development of quality control standards for two Epaltes species

Abstract

Background: Whole plant of Epaltes species, namely, Epaltes divaricata L. (Cass) and Epaltes pygmaea DC. traditionally used as medicine in Sri Lanka to cure various ailments, both plants have potent hepatoprotective and diuretic activities. Materials and Methods: In this study, whole plant of E. divaricata and E. pygmaea were collected, identified and subjected for its quality control parameters such as physicochemical, heavy metal, nutraceutical analysis, microbial contamination, aflatoxins, and pesticide residue as per standard methods. Results: The results revealed that both plants showed sufficient mineral elements, within the limit of heavy metals, free from pesticide, aflatoxins and microbial contamination and its use is safe. Conclusion: The study ensures that these quality control parameters do help in the proper standardization of the crude drugs in drug development process.