Floral morphology and HPTLC fingerprint profile of Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde (Caesalpiniaceae): A consecrated tree of India

Pharmacognosy of the flowers of Saraca asoca (Roxb.) De Wilde has been carried out to lay down standards for the genuine drug Ashoka with the detailed anatomy of various floral appendages. The aim of the present study is to determine the physico-chemical profile, preliminary phytochemical screening, fluorescence analysis and chemical composition by HPTLC of the medicinally important plant Saraca asoca. These observations would be of immense value in the botanical identification and standardization of the drug in crude form. This study would help distinguish the drug from its other species.