PHARMACOGNOSTIC STUDY OF NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI DC.

Summary

Structural characteristics of the authentic drug Nardostachys jatamansi DC. have been described. The drug is shown to consist of „rhizomes with or without a bit of tap root attached and covered all over with fibres which are derived from the skeletons of leaf–bases. Embedded here and there are the remains of the aerial shoots. The presence of interxylary cork in the mature rhizome is a very striking feature of the drug. The interxylary cork occurs in the form of a few continuous, branching, angular or fluted tubes one within the other. The outermost interxylary cork ring by joining the innermost cortical cork ring in the region of primary medullary rays is responsible for the fission of the rhizome into separate cords in the older regions. Schizogenous cavities are present in the inner cortex, phloem and xylem parenchyma of the young rhizome. Minute droplets of oil are present in all the cork cells. The tap root resembles the rhizome in the formation of successive rings of cortical as well as interxylary cork but does not become split into cords. The aerial shoot is generally hollow with a ring of small vascular bundles which are embedded in a thick continuous zone of fibrous tissue.