The plant kingdom has been the source of several drugs of indispensable value to modern medicine. Plant drug isolations have come a long way from the limited methods of isolations of high-yield active constituents to high-speed extraction techniques now available for the rapid detection and isolation of trace quantities of active constituents even from plant…

C.mukul is a thorny tree, 4–6 feet tall. It is leafless most of the year and has a dry ash-coloured bark that flakes off easily. For the collection of oleoresin, the tree is tapped by making circular incisions on the main stem no deeper than the thickness of the bark. The yellowish exudate that oozes out…

Source Guggulipid is a standardized extract of the oleo gum resin of the mukul myrrh tree, Commiphora mukul (Burseraceae), native to India. Shuddha guggulu is a processed form of the resin used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of epilepsy, ulcers, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis since 600 BC. The gummy resin exudate is harvested from…

Menthol content in peppermint oils, other volatile oils, plant material, formulations and other preparations may conveniently be estimated by GC methods. A. Method I

Dried aerial parts of mint contain about 0.4% to 0.8% essential oil of which 40% to 60% is menthol. It is typically isolated from the essential oil of mint by cold freezing, during which menthol crystallizes. The liquid portion is poured off and crystallized menthol is pressed between filter papers and subsequently purified by recrystallization. Method…

Source Menthol is a terpene alcohol obtained from diverse mint oils or prepared synthetically by hydrogenation of thymol. It occurs naturally in peppermint oil to the extent of 50% to 60% along with methyl acetate, menthyl isovalerianate and small amounts of other terpenes. Peppermint oil refers to the steam distilled essential oil isolated from the…

Quantitative estimation of eugenol in volatile oils, extracts, formulations and body fluids may be undertaken by a number of spectrophotometric and HPLC methods. Being a simple phenol, it can be quantified in clove oil by direct titrimetric procedures. A. Method I One of the earliest official methods for the determination of eugenol content of cloves…

Eugenol can be produced synthetically by the allylation of readily available guaiacol with allyl chloride. It is however invariably prepared from its readily available natural sources. It may be separated from its source essential oils by a relatively simple method. A. Method I (Steam distillation) Identification Eugenol being a phenol may be identified by simple…

Source Eugenol is a phenyl propene extracted from the essential oil of clove, Eugenia caryophyllus (Myrtaceae). Though clove is the richest source, it is also found in nutmeg, cinnamon, basil, turmeric, marjoram, bay leaf and many other culinary and medicinal plants. It is the chief aroma chemical of essential oil of clove in which it is present…

Quantitative estimation of tannins in plant tissue is generally not accurate as other phenolic substances may interfere with the non-specific chemical methods. Also it is not possible to extract completely condensed tannins. Repeated measurements are needed to make an accurate estimation. Chemical assay methods based on functional groups such as Folin-Denis procedure for total phenols…