สารบัญ

ว่านร่อนทอง (WAN RON THONG)
Boesenbergiae Kingii Rhizoma
Boesenbergia Kingii Rhizome
Category Anti-inflammatory.
      Boesenbergia Kingii Rhizome is the dried rhizome of Boesenbergia kingii Mood &
L. M. Prince (Family Zingiberaceae), Herbarium Specimen Number: DMSC 5254, Crude
Drug Number: DMSc 1240.
Constituents Boesenbergia Kingii Rhizome contains curcuminoids such as demethoxycurcumin,
bisdemethoxycurcumin, and flavonoids (e.g., 5-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxyflavone, 5-hydroxy-
7-methoxyflavone, and pinostrobin). It also contains sesquiterpenes (e.g., longiferone A,
longiferone B, and longiferone C) and sterols, etc.
Description of the plant (Fig. 1) Perennial herb; rhizome horizontal runner, 0.5 to 1 cm
in diameter, externally orange or brown, internally yellow to orange; leafy shoot up to 1 m
tall, bearing 6 to 10 leaves. Leaves simple, distichous; leaf sheath ovate, 10 to 30 cm long,
longitudinally ridged, lower portion reddish, upper green, glabrous; petiole 5 to 10 cm long,
green, glabrous; ligule slightly bilobed, about 4 mm long, green or white, glabrous; lamina
elliptic, 30 to 45 cm long, 10 to 15 cm wide, plicate, glabrous on both sides, apex acute, base
rounded to cordate, margin entire, hyaline. Inflorescence radical; peduncle 0.5 to 1 cm long,
white, glabrous; basal sheath 1 to 2 cm long, 1 to 1.5 cm wide, white, glabrous; spike 5 to
10 cm long, 1 to 2 cm wide; bract distichous, linear, 1.5 to 2 cm long, red, glabrous; bracteole
lanceolate, white, translucent, glabrous, apex 2-dentate. Flowers 4 to 6 per inflorescence;
calyx tubular, white, translucent, glabrous, tube 10 to 12 cm long, 3 to 4 mm wide at base,
white, yellow-tinged, glabrous; dorsal corolla lobe oblong, white, glabrous, margin involute,
lateral corolla lobe oblong, white, glabrous, androecial cup; tube cup-shaped, 0.8 to 1.2 cm
long, about 1.2 cm wide, white, glabrous; labellum saccate, 2.2 to 2.5 cm long, 2 to 2.2 cm
wide, white to creamy white, throat center bright red, glabrous, margin wavy or wrinkled,
apex entire; lateral staminode obovate, about 1 cm long, creamy white, glabrous, apex
revolute; stamen 1.2 to 1.4 cm long, filament about 3 mm long, white, glabrous, anther 0.5 to
1 cm long, about 3 mm wide, apex truncate to slightly bilobed, white; ovary inferior, about
3 mm long, 3-loculed, axile placentation, white, glabrous; style filiform, white, glabrous;
stigma elongate.
Description Odour, aromatic, turmeric-like; taste, slightly bitter, with acrid aftertaste.
      Macroscopical (Fig. 1) Rhizome, runner, cylindrical, 2 to 7 cm long, 2 to 8 mm in diameter;
externally yellowish brown, longitudinally wrinkled; internally orange-brown to brown,
showing distinct pseudoendodermis.
Microscopical (Figs. 2a, 2b) Transverse section of the rhizome shows epidermis, cortex,
and vascular tissue. Epidermis: a layer of thin-walled rectangular cells. Cortex: parenchyma,
thin-walled cells, some of which contain numerous starch grains, some with yellow oleoresin
and yellow oil droplets; storied cork, layers of thin-walled, suberized rectangular cells; and
pseudoendodermis, 1 to 3 layers of thin-walled cells. Vascular tissue: scattered in outer and
inner of pseudoendodermis; phloem and xylem.
Boesenbergia Kingii Rhizome in powder possesses the diagnostic microscopical
characters of the unground drug. Dentate and septate fibres, numerous beaked simple
starch grains, and yellow oleoresins are characteristic.

Packaging and storage Boesenbergia Kingii Rhizome shall be kept in well-closed containers,
protected from light, and stored in a dry place.
Identification
     A. Sonicate 250 mg of the sample, in fine powder, with 5 mL of methanol for 15 minutes
and filter. To 1 mL of the filtrate, add 100 mg of boric acid, shake well, and mix with 10 drops
of sulfuric acid: a red colour develops.
     B. Reflux 500 mg of the sample, in fine powder, with 5 mL of ethanol for 15 minutes and
filter. To 1 mL of the filtrate, add 2 pieces of magnesium ribbon, shake well, and mix with
a few drops of hydrochloric acid: a red colour develops.
     C. Boil 500 mg of the sample, in fine powder, with 5 mL of water for 30 minutes and filter.
To 1 mL of the filtrate, add a few drops of a 1 per cent w/v solution of iron(III) chloride:
a greenish brown colour develops with a pale brown precipitate.
     D. 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 80 volumes of toluene and
20 volumes of acetic acid as the mobile phase and allowing the solvent front to ascend 8 cm
above the line of application. Apply separately to the plate as bands of 10 mm, 1 µL each of
the following two solutions. Prepare solution (A) by sonicating 250 mg of the sample, in fine
powder, with 2 mL of methanol for 15 minutes and filtering. For solution (B) dissolve 1 mg of
bisdemethoxycurcumin in 2 mL of methanol. After removal of the plate, allow it to dry in air
and examine the plate under ultraviolet light (254 nm), marking the quenching bands.
The chromatogram obtained from solution (A) shows a quenching band (hR_f value 21 to 23)
corresponding to the bisdemethoxycurcumin band from solution (B); other quenching bands
are also observed. Subsequently examine the plate under ultraviolet light (366 nm) through
the cut-off filter; the band corresponding to bisdemethoxycurcumin shows a yellow
fluorescence. Three yellow and four blue fluorescent bands are observed. Spray the plate with
vanillin-sulfuric acid TS and heat at 110° for 10 minutes; the band due to bisdemethoxycurcumin
is red. One brown, two orange, three purple, and four red bands are also observed (Fig. 3).
Water Not more than 11.0 per cent v/w (Azeotropic Distillation Method, Appendix 4.12).
Foreign matter Not more than 2.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.2).
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 1.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.6).
Total ash Not more than 10.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.7).
Ethanol-soluble extractive Not less than 4.5 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.12).
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 7.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.12).
Volatile oil Not less than 0.5 per cent v/w, calculated on the anhydrous basis (Appendix 7.3H).
Use 50 g, in fine powder, freshly prepared and accurately weighed. Use 200 mL of water as
the distillation liquid and a 500-mL round-bottomed flask. Distil at a rate of 2 to 3 mL per
minute for 5 hours. Use 2.0 mL of xylene in the graduated tube.