Introduction and Chemical Constituents of medicinal plants

The preparations made from the various plants had been used by living beings as medicines for the treatment of various ailments. Chemical examinations have shown that these plants contain a large number of interesting substances such as alkaloids or polyphenolic compounds called flavonoids. The book describes the chemistry of various flavonoids and their methyl or glycosyl derivatives. Further it briefly discusses the classification of the flavonoid glycosides. The various methods employed for the extractions isolations and purifications of various flavonoid glycosides have been given in detail. The flavonoid glycosides on hydrolysis by various methods were characterized by various colour reactions and spectral methods. The flavonoid glycosides were finally characterized and identified in the book. Further the preparations made from the plant Kochia Indica have been reported to be a cardiac stimulant. A new polyphenolic pigment named as Kochiatin–G was isolated and characterized as reported in this book.