สารบัญ

         Dracaena Cochinchinensis Wood is the dried reddish fungal-infected wood of Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. C. Chen (Aletris cochinchinensis Lour., Dracaena loureiroi Gagnep., Pleomele cochinchinensis Merr. ex Gagnep.) (Family Dracaenaceae), Herbarium Specimen Number:  DMSC 5179, BKF 168152, Crude Drug Number:  DMSc 0934. 

Constituents  Dracaenae Cochinchinensis Lignum contains flavonoids such as loureirin A and loureirin B, stilbenoids, steroids, etc. 

Description of the plant  (Figs. 1a, 1b)  Tree 5 to 15 m tall; stem more or less branched,  internodes short, bark smooth, greyish white, becoming greyish brown with age. Leaves simple, spirally arranged, crowded at the top, sword-shaped, 30 to 100 cm long, 2 to 5 cm wide, apex acute, base completely covering internodes, margin entire, blade leathery. Inflorescence terminal, panicle, more than 40 cm long, drooping; rachis densely papillosepubescent. Flower whitish, in clus ters of 2 to 5; pedicel 3 to 6 mm long, articulate dis tally; perianth campanulate, 6 to 8 mm long, tube 1.5 to 2 mm long, lobes 6, 5 to 6 mm long; s tamens 6, inserted in tube of perianth, filament reddish, flat, 0.5 to 0.7 mm wide, anther versatile; ovary superior, 3-loculed, ovule(s) 1 or 2 per locule, style slender, stigma capitate. Fruit berry, subglobose, 8 to 12 mm wide, orange when ripe. Seeds 1 to 3.

Description  Odour, slightly aromatic; taste, slightly astringent.

          Macroscopical  (Fig. 1a)  Irregular pieces of woody segment, smooth or rough, easily broken, brownish red; longitudinal surface spirally grained.

         Microscopical  (Figs. 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d)  Transverse section of the wood shows parenchyma cells and scattered vascular bundles.  Vascular bundle, concentric and amphivasal,  surrounded by thick-walled fibre-tracheids; vessels, thick-walled, with orange to reddish resinous mass; phloem tissue, small and thin-walled, located in the centre.  Parenchyma cells, thin-walled, round or ovate, some containing raphides or infected by fungal mycelia.

       Longitudinal section of the wood shows parenchyma cells and vascular bundles. Vessels, elongated, thick-walled with scalariform, reticulate or bordered pits, some  containing orange to reddish resinous mass. Fibre-tracheid, elongated, thick-walled with bordered pits, some containing orange to reddish resinous mass. Phloem tissue, elongated, thin-walled cells.  Parenchyma cell, ovate or rectangular, slightly thick-walled, some containing raphides or fungal mycelia.

          Dracaena Cochinchinensis Wood in powder possesses the diagnostic microscopical characters of the unground drug.

¹ The four Thai names, i.e. ลักกะจั่น, ลักจันทน์, and ลักกะจันทน์, spelled and pronounced differently can be transcribed into the same English phonetic transcription “LAKKACHAN”.

Additional information  It commercially available as a subsitute for Chan Daeng  (red sandalwood) in Thai traditional medicine.

Packaging and storage  Dracaena Cochinchinensis Wood shall be kept in well-closed containers, protected from light, and stored in a dry place. 

Identification

       A. Reflux 1 g of the sample, in powder, with 30 mL of methanol for 30 minutes and filter
solution 1).  Evaporate 2 ml of solution 1 to dryness.  Dissolve the residue in 1 mL of acetic anhydride, slowly add a few drops of sulfuric acid and mix:  a green colour develops.

       B. Carry out the test as described in the “Thin-Layer Chromatography” (Appendix 3.1), using silica gel GF254 as the coating substance and a mixture of 50 volumes of hexane,  50 volumes of ethyl acetate and 2.5 volumes of methanol as the mobile phase.  Apply to the plate, 5 μL of the test solution prepared by evaporating about 20 mlL of solution 1 to dryness and dissolving the residue in 2 mL of methanol.  After removal of the plate, allow it to dry in air and examine under ultraviolet light (254 nm), marking the quenching spots.  Subsequently examine the plate under ultraviolet light (366 nm) through the cut-off filter;  several blue fluorescent spots are observed.  Spray the plate with anisaldehyde TS and heat at 110° for 10 minutes; several spots of different colours appear (Table 1); see also Fig. 3.

Table 1 hRf Values of Components in Methanolic Extract of the Wood of Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. C. Chen

Loss on drying  Not more than 9.0 per cent w/w after drying at 105° to constant weight (Appendix 4.15).

Foreign matter  Not more than 0.5 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.2).

Total ash  Not more than 1.2 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.7).

Ethanol-soluble extractive  Not less than 17.0 per cent  w/w (Appendix 7.12).

Water-soluble extractive  Not less than 2.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.12).