The leaves were washed with water and dried at 70 to 80�C in an oven. The dried leaves were crushed into powder, and boiled in distilled water for 3 to 4hr to remove color. It was filtered and the residue was soaked in 1N, 2N, 3N & 4N potassium hydroxide solutions for 20 hr. After this, excess solution was decanted off and dried at 110� C for 5hr.