TLC profiling and Pharmacognostic, Physicochemical, Phytochemical Evaluation of Euphorbia hirta

Euphorbia hirta Linn, commonly referred to hairy herb and used in various traditional systems, is a member of the Euphorbiaceae family. The objective of this study is to gain comprehensive pharmacognostic, physicochemical characteristics, and phytochemical analysis of the leaves. The pharmacognostic criteria were assessed, including macroscopic and microscopic evaluations, transverse sections of the leaf and stem; powder fluorescence analysis, and physicochemical properties (Total Ash 5.50%, acid-insoluble ash 3.80%, water-soluble ash 1.6%; alcohol-soluble extractive value 13.20%, water-soluble extractive value 8.40%; moisture content 6.40%. Phytochemical screening of ethanolic leaf extracts indicates the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins. The Rf values determined were 0.88, 0.90, and 0.94.The standardized parameters for pharmacognostics, physicochemical parameters, phytochemical properties, and chromatographic analyses of Euphorbia hirta leaves are revealed in this work.