Higher amount of steviol detected in the leaves of a non-toxic endangered medicinal herb, Aconitum heterophyllum

Abstract

Aconitum heterophyllum is the only non-toxic species of Aconitum genus having immense therapeutic potential. To date, only roots of this plant species are used for the preparation of various herbal formulations while leaves are discarded due to lack of information on the presence of any therapeutically active compounds. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the detection and quantification of diterpene steviol in the leaves of A. heterophyllum. Interestingly, the level of steviol is equivalent to Stevia rebaudiana leaves which is the richest source reported so far. Thus, A. heterophyllum leaves will not only provide a novel source for extraction of steviol but also benefit the harvesters to get additional economic returns on leaf biomass for this high-value nontoxic plant species.