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SPEARMINOT It Spearmint or ordinary garden mint consists of the dried leaf and flowering top of Mentha spicataL. (M.

viridis Linn.) and Menthu x cardiar: a (Labiatae).T he BP oil is preparedb y steamd istillation and should contarinn ot lesst han5 5cloo f carvone,2 -25a/oli monenew ith upperl imits fbr a numbero f other constituentsa s determinedb y gasc hromatography. Most of the commercial oil is plepared in North America. Characters. Mint has more or lessc rumpled,o pposite,o vate-lanceolatel eaves3, 7 cm long.T he apexi s acuteo l acuminatea, ndt he margin unequally serrate.T he leavesd ilTerf rom thoseo fpeppermint in that they are almost sessile and have a bright green colour free fiom purple. Constituents. Oil of spearrnintc ontains( -)-carvone, (-)-lin.ronene, phellandrenea nd estersA. s with M. x piperita limonenei s the precursoro f the monoterpenoidas ndi n this caset he actiono f a (-)-limonene6-hydroxylase predominates to give the alcohol (-)-/rans-carveol which is oxidized to carvone (Fie. 23.,1) Dihvdrocarvone is formed later in the season and is absent liorn plantlets produced by shoot-tip cuiture.A gain like pepperrrint.o il prodr.rctioins influencedb y the age of plant, time of collection, chemical varieties and hybridization.

SAGE IEAF The ofTicial drug consists of whole or cut leaves of Salvia o.ffic'inuLis (Labiatae)c ontainingn ot lessr han 1.5%( whole leaf) or 1.jc/c( cut leaf) of essentiaol il which is determinedb y steamd istillation.T he plant is indigenoust o Mediterraneana reasb ut is now cultivatedw orld-wide. principally for its use as a culinary herb. Macroscopical characters. The petiolateo blong-lanceolatele aves areu p to 10 cm lengtha nd 2 cm in breadth,g reenish-greyo n the upper surface and tomentose on the lower with a markedly reticulate venation. The leaf apex is lounded, the base rounded or cordate and the margin crenulateT. he odour and tastea rec haracteristicallyp ungent. Microscopical characters. The upper epidermal cells have beaded anticlinal walls, the lower ones are thin-walled and sinuous; both epidelmi possess diacytic stomata. Glandular trichomes of the typical labiatet ype occur on both surtacesw ith rarer uniseriateg landulart richomesh aving a double-o r single-celledh ead.C lothing trichomesa re numerous! particularly on the lower surface, composed ol a short thickenedb asalc ell with articulateda nd bent terminalc ells.A few singlecelledw arty-walledt richomesa rep resent.T he long protectivet richomes serve to distinguish S. officinalis liom S. sclareu and S. pratensis( M. Thene t aL.A, cta Pharm.H ung.,1998,63,1 63). Constituents. The volatile oil of sage contains about 50% of a- and Bthujonet ogetherw ith cineole,b omeola ndo therc onstituent(sF ig. 23.2).

Varieties and other species of sage contain differing amounts of thujone. Non-volatile components of the leaf include diterpenes, phenolic glycosides based on caffeic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids (fbr recent isolationss eeM . Wange t aL..J . Nat. Prod., 1999,62,454),a ndt annins. Action and uses. Sage as an infusion is used as a nouthwash and garg1e for its antiseptic and astringent action. Recent attention has fbcused on the cholinergic activity of the drug and its possible role in the treatmento fAlzheimer'sd iseasea ndm emoryl oss.I t is interestingto notet hat long before recenta dvancesin the understandingo f the neurobiolo-eyo f Alzheimer'sd iseasep, lant materialsi ncluding sagea nd balm (Mellssa oJficinalis'\ were recornmended in old ref'erence books as possessing memory-improving properties (see E. K. Perry et ul., J. Phann. Pharmttcol., 1999, 51, 527). The phenolic glycosides of sage together with those of MeLissa olJtcinalis and Lot,tuttlulu Llngustifoliu possess antioxidanpt roperlies(J .H ohmanne t al., PlantaM edica,1999,65.5 76).

CARAWAY AND CARAWAY OIt


Caraway (.Cura**ayF rair) consistso f the dried. ripe fiuits of Carunt can,i (Umbe11if-eraea) ,b iennial herb about I m high. It occursb oth wild and cultivated in central and northern Europe (The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Finland, Poland, Hungary and Britain) and in Egypt, Morocco. Australia and China. History. Caraway fruits were known to the Arabian physicians and probably came into use in Europe in the thirteenth century. Macroscopical characters. The commercial drug (Fig. 23.5) usualty consistso f mericarpss eparatedfr om the pedicels.T he fiuits are slightly curved, brown and glabrous, about .1-7 mm long, l-2.3 mm wide and tapered at both ends; they are crowned with a stylopod otten with style and stigma attached. Each mericarp shows five almost equal sides, five nanow prim:uy ridges, and, when cut transversely.f bur dorsal and two commissuralv ittae.T hey have a characteristica romatico dour and taste. Microscopical characters. A transverses ectiono f a carawaym ericarp (Fig. 23.5) shows five primary ridges, in each of which is a vascular strandw ith associatedp itted sclerenchymaa nd having a single secretory canal at the outer margin of each. The six vittae which appear somewhat f'lattened and elliptical in transverse section may attain a width of 350 pm; they extend from the base of the fmit to the base of the stylopod. They are lined with small, dark reddish-blown cells and contain a pale yellow or colourlesso leoresin( Fig.2 3.5B,C ). The raphel ies on rhei nner sideo f the endospermw, hich is nongroovedO. ccupyingt he majority of the transverses ectioni s the endospermw. ith thickenedc ellLrlosew alls (havinga lsod epositso f a B-(1,4)-mannaans a reservep olysaccharide) and containing fixed oil and aleurone grains having one or two microrosettes of calcium oxalate. The embryo, which is situated near the apex of the mericarpw, ill only be seeni n sectionsp assingth ough thatr egion. More detailed examination shows that the outer epidermis of the pericarpi s glabrous( cf. aniseed)a nd hasa striatedc uticle (cf. fennel).

The mesocarpc onsistso f more or lessc ollapsedp arenchymaa ndl acks the reticulated cells of fennel. The endodermis (or inner epidermis of the pericarp) (Fig. 23.5F) consists ol a single layer of elongared cells,a rrangedm ore or lessp arallelt o one anothera ndn ot showingt he 'parquetry'a rrangemenot f coriander. Constituents. Caraway contains 3-1Vc of volatile oils (BP not less than 3.0%), 8-207o of fixed oil, proteins, calcium oxalate, colouring matter and resin. The volatile oil (CarawayO il BP) consistso f the ketonec arvonea nd the terpene limonene (fbrmulae, Fig. 23.4) with srrall quantities of dihydrocarvonec. arveola nd dihydrocarveol;it is assayedfo r ketone Fol the biogenesis of carvone
see 'Menthu spicuto'. As there is a demand for pule carvone, there is a considerable amount of decarvonized oil available for adulteration. Uses. Largeq uantitieso f carawayf 'r-r.riatsre u sedf br culinary puryoses. The fiuits and oil are used in medicine fbr flavouring and as carminatives. The carminative and antispasmodic properties have been experimentallvye rified.

DItt AND DItt OIL


DllI (Dill Fruir) consistso f the dlied, ripe fruits of Anethtung raveolens (Umbellif'erae)a, small annuali ndigenoust o southernE urope.I t is cultivated in Central and Eastern Europe and Egypt. Dill was known to Dioskuridesa ndw ase mployedin Englandi n Anglo-Saxonti mes. Macroscopical characters. The drug usually consists of separate. broadly oval mericarps, about 4mm long and 2-3 mnr broad {Fig. 23.6A. B). The fruits arev ery much compressedd orsally.t he tu o ccntral ridges being prolongedi nto membranousw ings, while the dolsal ones are inconspicuousT. he fruits have an alomatic odour nnd taste . imi l r r to thoseo 1'carawry. Microscopical characters. Each mericarp has four vittae on the dorsal surtacea nd two on the commissura(l Fig. 23.6C).T he outer epidemris hasa striatedc uticle( distinctionfr om f'ennel)a, ndt hem esocarpc ontains lignified, reticulate parenchyma (distinction lior.n caras ar'). The endospermis much flattenedb ut otherwiser esenrbletsh ato f carau,ay. The volatileo i1( Dill Oil BP) resembleosi 1o f caraur r-ri n conturning car\ronea nd limonene.T he Europeanf ruits ),ield abor-r-tl J% of volatilc oil, which should contain liorn 43 to 63% of car\one. Chemical types basedo n the proportiono fcarvonep resenta. nd thc plesenceo r absence of dillapiole and myristicin have been distinguished. Like carawayd, ill is useda s a carminatirer nd flar"ouri;t is much usedi n inlhnt 'sg r ipeu ater . Allied drug, lndiun DiLl. derived tlonr a variety of A. grttveolens.
consists of whole cremocarys rvhich bcar pedicels and are narrower and lessc ompressedth an the Europeand rug. Indian dill oil contains dillapiolea ndl essc arvone.

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