สารบัญ

Thai name  ลูกผักชี (LUK PHAK CHI)

Category  Carminative; pharmaceutic acid.

        Coriander is the dried cremocarp of Coriandrum sativum L. (Family Umbelliferae).  It yields not less than 0.3 mL of volatile oil from each 100 g of drug, calculated on the dried basis.

Origin of plant  Coriander is native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, typically Italy.

Constituents Coriander contains a volatile oil, consisting mainly of linalool.  It also contains flavonoids, coumarins, etc.

Description  Odour of the crushed cremocarp, aromatic; taste, spicy, pungent and characteristic.
     Macroscopical  Entire cremocarp usually with tightly connected mericarps, globose, subglobose or oval, 2 to 6 mm long, 1.5 to 5 mm in diameter, brown or light brown, glabrous with 10 wavy, slightly raised primary ridges and 8 straight, more prominent secondary ridges; mericarp concave on the internal surface; stylopod crowning the apex and a small fragment of pedicel may be present.
     Microscopical  Powdered drug of Coriander shows oil droplets, fragments of endosperm, fragments of sclerenchymatous layer of mesocarp, fragments of parenchyma of mesocarp, fragments of epicarp in surface view, fragments of secretory cells with brown cells, and fragments of vascular bundles.  Oil droplets, numerous.  Fragment of endosperm:  small, thick-walled cells containing microrosettes and microcrystals of calcium oxalate, and oil droplets.  Fragment of endocarp:  very narrow cells parquetry-like arranged and usually associated with a layer of thin-walled or thick-walled rectangular sclereids of mesocarp.  Fragments of sclerenchymatous layer of mesocarp:  short, strongly thickened, pitted, fusiform cells occurring in layers with the cells of adjacent layers approximately at right angles to one another.  Fragments of parenchyma of mesocarp:  small, slightly thick-walled cells with the remnants of secretory canals and sclereids.  Fragments of epicarp in surface view:  thin-walled polyhedral cells, some containing small prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate.  Fragments of secretory canals with brown cells, rarely present.  Fragments of vascular bundles, occasionally found.

Packaging and Storage  Coriander shall be kept in tightly closed containers and stored in a dry place at a temperature not exceeding 25°.

Identification  Carry out the test as described in the “Thin-Layer Chromatography” (Appendix 3.1).
Standard solution  Dissolve 10 µL of linalool, and 2 µL of geranyl acetate in 1.0 mL of toluene.
Test solution  To 500 mg, in No. 355 powder, add 5.0 mL of methanol.  Sonicate for 10 minutes, filter or centrifuge and use the filtrate or supernatant.
Adsorbent  Silica gel F254 (TLC or HPTLC plate).
Mobile phase  Ethyl acetate and toluene (5:95).
Application  Apply 10 µL (or 2 µL) each of Standard solution and Test solution as 15-mm (or 8-mm) bands.
Development and drying  Allow the solvent front to ascend 10 cm (or 6 cm) above the line of application.  Dry the developed plate in air for 5 minutes.
Detection  Spray the plate with anisaldehyde TS, heat at 105° for 5 minutes and examine under visible light.  Observe the result.
Results  When examined under visible light, the test solution shows a violet band of linalool in the lower third, corresponding in colour and R_f to the band shown by the standard solution.  A violet-blue band near the starting line and a bluish violet band in the upper third of the chromatogram are present.

Loss on drying  Not more than 10.0 per cent w/w after drying at 105° for 2 hours; use 1 g, in No. 355 powder (Appendix 4.15).

Foreign matter  None of the cremocarps show perforations due to insects (Appendix 7.2).

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

Assay  Carry out the method for the “Determination of Volatile Oil” (Appendix 7.3), using 30 g, in coarse 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 2 hours.  Use 0.5 mL of xylene in the graduated tube.

CORIANDER, POWDERED

Complies with the requirements for Foreign matter and Total ash stated under Coriander and with the following requirements.

It yields not less than 0.2 mL of volatile oil from each 100 g of drug.

Description  Fawn to brown.  Diagnostic structures:  epidermal cells of the pericarp, if present, crossing layers of fusiform sclerenchymatous cells and thin-walled lignified cells of the mesocarp; inner epidermis; fragments of brown epithelium of vittae; endosperm containing fixed oil and aleurone grains containing calcium oxalate.  Trichomes and starch absent.

Packaging and storage  Powdered Coriander shall be kept in tightly closed containers and stored at a temperature not exceeding 25°.

Assay  Carry out the Assay described under Coriander.