PHARMACOGNOSTICAL AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF ŚIGRU MŪLA (MORINGA OLEIFERA LAM.) FOR STANDARDIZATION

Standardising herbal medicines requires rigorous physical and chemical characterisation — without it, quality control is impossible and traditional remedies cannot be safely integrated into modern healthcare. This study tackled that problem for Śigru Mūla, the root of Moringa oleifera, a plant used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine under the name Śigru. Researchers at the Siddha Central Research Institute carried out a detailed pharmacognostical evaluation — meaning they examined the root's physical appearance, internal cellular structure under a microscope, and the characteristics of its powdered form. They also measured physicochemical parameters, which are standardised chemical tests (such as moisture content, ash values, and extractive values) that help confirm a material's identity and purity. The motivation for this work is practical: the Āyurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India, the official reference document for traditional Indian medicines, does not currently include specific standards for Moringa oleifera root. Without those standards, manufacturers and practitioners have no official benchmark to verify that what they are using is genuine and uncontaminated. The researchers found distinct microscopic and macroscopic features that can serve as diagnostic markers for identifying the root, and they generated physicochemical data that could form the basis of future official standards. Because no root-specific pharmacopoeial values existed, the team used root bark values from the same pharmacopoeia as a comparative reference point. The findings are intended to support authentication and quality control in herbal drug manufacturing, helping ensure that products labelled as Moringa root actually contain what they claim.