Abstract

In this study, four plants were taken namely, Blepharis maderaspatensis, Solanum nigrum, Acalypha indica, and Tridax procumbens which are widely reported in the folkloric medicinal system for curing wounds and microbial borne skin infections. The drug principle has been extracted from different plant parts of the selected plants using six solvent systems ranging from non-polar to polar, namely, petroleum ether, benzene, chloroform, acetone, ethanol and methanol. The best extraction system has been standardized and the best solvent identified using different solvents by employing the principle of solid-liquid extraction using two methods, namely, hot continuous (Soxhlet) successive extraction and cold extraction (Maceration). The efficiency of the successive method has been compared with cold extraction (Maceration). The qualitative phytochemical constituents in the solvent extracts have also been analyzed. Thereby, we determine that the composition of the herbal extracts that depends on the type of the solvent system has been determined and so does the temperature employed in the solvent extraction.

Key words: Successive extraction, hot extraction, cold extraction, phytochemicals, drug principles, Blepharis maderaspatensis, Solanum nigrum, Acalypha indica, Tridax procumbens.