Quantification of Gallic Acid in Fruits of Three Medicinal Plants

Triphala is a traditional herbal formulation consisting of dried fruits originating from three medicinal plants, namely Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica and Phyllanthus emblica. It is used in folk medicine for the treatment of headaches, dyspepsia and leucorrhoea. There are some reports regarding Triphala’s pharmacological effects including its anti-cancer, radioprotective, hypocholesterolaemic, hepatoprotective and anti-oxidant activities. The most important components of these plants are the tannins and gallic acid which they contain. Gallic acid being a compound with tannin structure existing in the Triphala fruit. In this research, the gallic acid content contained in the three plants constituting Triphala was determined.