Jasminum auriculatum commonly known as Jhui; an evergreen shrub belonging to family Oleaceae, is traditionally used in the treatment of urolithiasis, various skin diseases and wounds. Until date no scientific evaluation has been reported on its leaves. Therefore, the present study is aimed to evaluate the pharmacognostic characters of an important medicinal plant Jasminum auriculatum Vahl. Micro and macroscopic characters of fresh and dried leaf samples were analysed. Physciochemical studies and preliminary phytochemical investigation were performed using WHO guidelines. The characteristic microscopic features of leaves were observed as multicellular trichomes, xylem cells, phloem cells, collenchymas, spongy parenchyma and palisade cells. Physicochemical parameters such as extractive values, ash values, foreign matter, loss on drying, volatile oil content, swelling index, foaming index, crude fibre content, fluorescent behaviour, microbial contamination, aflatoxin content, heavy metal profile, pH values of drug solution were also determined. Preliminary phytochemical screening showed the presence of carbohydrate, terpenoids, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and phenolics compounds. This is the first report on the pharmacognostic studies of J. auriculatum and the data thus generated may be used as an analytical feature to ascertain the authenticity and quality of the crude drug.
