Durga Pandey

This paper is a pharmacognostical and chemical appraisal of Tinospora cordifolia stems with focus on their immunomodulatory activity. Authenticity and quality of the plant material were established by the use of pharmacognostical profiling such macroscopic and physicochemical analyses which indicated some features like greenish-brown in colour stems, fibrous fracture characteristic and good moisture (8.25%) and ash content equal to WHO recommended limits. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed the characterization of tinosporaside (14.2%), berberine (12.5%), palmatine (10.8%), magnoflorine (9.4%), beta-sitosterol (8.6%), and stigmasterol (7.9%), to be the most significant bioactive components of ethanol extracts. An analysis of a Relative Contribution Index (RCI) identified tinosporaside (0.710) and berberine (0.625) as the core contributors to the potential activity of immunomodulation. These results provide a scientific foundation to the traditional use of T. cordifolia in immune-support formulations, a chemical road-map to quality control, and compounds of interest that may be considered priority to further bioactivity verification. The proposed integrated method helps with conceiving how to standardize herbal extracts and shape future pharmacological research.