PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF LEEA INDICA (BURM.F.) MERR.

Leea indica (Burm.F.) Merr is a shrub or small tree which belongs to the family Vitaceae. It is used in the treatment of various diseases by traditional practitioners all over the world, like skin diseases, body pain, diarrhoea, dysentery, and snake bite etc. traditional practitioners of Dakshina Kannada district use Leea indica to treat skin diseases, body pain, diarrhoea, dysentery, snake bites, etc. The current paper is focused on the macroscopic, microscopic physicochemical and phytochemical studies of Leea indica root. Results of the prior quoted studies showed that Leea indica root is greenish brown with no characteristic odour and physicochemical studies showed moisture content of 50.44%, total ash value of 16.16% and pH of 5.56. Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, saponins, tannins, and ellagic acid in Soxhlet and cold extraction with different solvents.