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       Baliospermum Solanifolium Root is the dried root of Baliospermum solanifolium (Burm.) Suresh [B. axillare Blume, B. montanum (Willd.) Müll. Arg., Croton solanifolius Burm.] (Family Euphorbiaceae), Herbarium Specimen Number: DMSC 5310, Crude Drug Number: DMSc 1233.

Constituents Baliospermum Solanifolium Root contains phorbol esters (e.g., baliospermin, 12-deoxyphorbol-13-palmitate, and montanin) and propiophenones. It also contains triterpenoids, flavonoids, sterols, etc.

Description of the plant (Fig. 1) Monoecious (rarely dioecious) shrub 1 to 3 m tall; branched at base, young branch green, appressed pubescent, glabrous at maturity. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate to oblong, 8 to 21 cm long, 3 to 10 cm wide, apex obtuse or acute, base usually rounded, rarely cuneate, margin serrate or crenate, 2- to 5-lobed, chartaceous, glabrous or strigose on both surfaces, venation basally 3- to 5-nerved, nerves 6 to 8 pairs along midrib, basally with 2 glands; petiole 1 to 13 cm long. Inflorescence paniculate, axillary and terminal; male inflorescence 1 to 8(‒16) cm long; female inflorescence up to 1 cm long. Flower whitish green to yellowish; sepals 5 to 6, connate at base; petal absent. Male flowers many, 2 to 3 mm in diameter; pedicel 0.2 to 1.2 cm long; sepal orbicular to ovate, about 1.5 mm long, about 1 mm wide; disc annular, cup-shaped, 1 to 1.5 mm in diameter; stamens 10 to 12, filament 0.5 to 1 mm long, anther oblong. Female flowers 1 to 3, axillary or inserted at the base of male inflorescence, 2 to 4 mm in diameter; pedicel 0.2 to 1.1 cm long; sepal ovate or triangular, 1 to 2 mm long, 0.8 to 1 mm wide, externally pubescent; ovary superior, subglobose, 1 to 3 mm in diameter, pubescent, style stout, stigmas 3, widening into shortly split wings. Fruit a 3-lobed capsule, septicidally and loculicidally dehiscent, pendulous, subglobose, 0.8 to 1.3 cm in diameter, pubescent; calyx persistent, accrescent up to (3‒)5 mm long, up to 2(‒3) mm wide. Seed ovoid, 3 to 6 mm long and about 3 mm wide, marbled, carunculate.

Description Odour, mild; taste bland.

       Macroscopical (Fig. 1) Pieces of cylindrical roots, some with lateral roots. Externally dark brown to greyish brown, longitudinally wrinkled or furrowed. Texture hard and tough; bark brown to dark brown or, wood pale yellow.

       Microscopical (Figs. 2a, 2b) Transverse section of the root shows periderm and vascular tissue. Periderm: several layers of thin-walled rectangular cork cells. Vascular tissue: phloem tissue, polygonal parenchyma cells containing rosette aggregate crystals or starch grains, phloem ray, and laticifers; vascular cambium, several layers of thin-walled rectangular cells; xylem tissue, vessels, xylem rays, mostly uniseriate, occasionally 2- to 3-seriate, fibres, and parenchyma containing starch grains or rosette aggregate crystals.

       Baliospermum Solanifolium Root in powder possesses the diagnostic microscopical characters of the unground drug. Various-shaped and -sized starch grains, various-sized rosette aggregate crystals, pitted parenchyma containing starch grains, laticifers, and uniseriate xylem ray are characteristic.

Packaging and storage Baliospermum Solanifolium Root shall be kept in well-closed containers, protected from light, and stored in a dry place.

Identification

       A. To 2 g of the sample, in fine powder, add 20 mL of ethanol, shake for 5 minutes and filter (solution 1). To 10 mL of solution 1, add 4 or 5 pieces of magnesium ribbon, shake well, and mix with a few drops of hydrochloric acid: a pale pink colour develops.

       B. To 1 mL of solution 1, add a few drops of a 2.5 per cent w/v solution of iron(III) chloride and shake well: a black-blue colour develops.

       C. Carry out the test as described in the “Thin-Layer Chromatography” (Appendix 3.1), using silica gel 60 F254 as the coating substance and a mixture of 98 volumes of dichloromethane and 2 volumes of methanol as the mobile phase and allowing the solvent front to ascend 10 cm above the line of application. Apply to the plate as a band of 8 mm, 10 µL of the test solution prepared by refluxing 10 g of the sample, in fine powder, with 100 mL of ethyl acetate for 1 hour, allowing to cool for 30 minutes and filtering. Evaporate 5 mL of the filtrate to dryness and dissolve the residue in 1 mL of dichloromethane. After removal of the plate, allow it to dry in air and examine the plate under ultraviolet light (366 nm); three yellow and three blue fluorescent bands are observed. Then spray the plate with a 10 per cent v/v solution of sulfuric acid in ethanol and heat at 110° for 5 minutes; one brown and eight purple bands are observed (Fig. 3).

Loss on drying Not more than 8.0 per cent w/w after drying at 105° to constant weight (Appendix 4.15).

Foreign matter Not more than 2.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.2).

Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 3.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.6).

Total ash Not more than 8.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.7).

Ethanol-soluble extractive Not less than 1.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.12).

Water-soluble extractive Not less than 6.0 per cent w/w (Appendix 7.12).