Pharmacognostic Study of Artocarpus lakoocha Heartwood

Abstract

A pharmacognostic study of Artocarpus lakoocha heartwood was performed on 13 samples collected from five different geographical areas of Thailand. Evaluation of the crude drug was conducted according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for herbal standardization. Microscopic examination of the powdered drug revealed the presence of parenchyma and fiber cells of the medullary ray, as well as bordered pored tracheids and vessels. The contents of foreign matter, acid-soluble ash, total ash, moisture and oxyresveratrol were determined to be 0.04, 2.06, 2.51, 9.57 and 1.44 %, respectively, whereas the ethanol-soluble extractive, water-soluble extractive and loss on drying values were found to be 7.93, 5.27 and 9.79 %. In addition, a thin-layer chromatographic system for rapid detection of oxyresveratrol was described, and a method for quantitative analysis of oxyresveratrol content in the crude drug using capillary zone electrophoretic technique was developed.