Areca
Arecae Semen
Areca is the seed of Areca catechu Linné (Palmae).
Description:
Rounded-conical or flattened nearly spherical seed 1.5-3.5 cm high and 1.5-3 cm in diameter; hilum at the center of its base and usually forming a dent; externally grayish red-brown to grayish yellow-brown, with a network of pale lines; hard in texture; cross section dense in texture, exhibiting a marbly appearance of grayish brown seed coat alternating with white albumen; center of the seed often hollow.
Odor, slight; taste, astringent and slightly bitter.
Identification:
Weigh 3 g of pulverized Areca in a glass stoppered centrifuge tube, and add 30 mL of diethyl ether and 5 mL of sodium hydroxide TS, stopper tightly, shake for 5 minutes, centrifuge, and separate the diethyl ether layer. Evaporate the diethyl ether on a water bath, dissolve the residue in 1.5 mL of methanol, filter, and use the filtrate as the sample solution. Separately, dissolve 5 mg of arecoline hydrobromide for thin-layer chromatography in 1 mL of methanol, and use this solution as the standard solution. Perform the test with these solutions as directed under Thin-layer chromatography. Spot 5 μL each of the sample solution and standard solution on a plate of silica gel for thin-layer chromatography. Develop the plate with a mixture of acetone, water and acetic acid (100) (10:6:1) to a distance of about 10 cm, and air-dry the plate. Spray evenly iodine TS on the plate: one spot among the spots from the sample solution and a red-brown spot from the standard solution show the same color tone and the same Rf value.
Purity:
(1)Pericarp-When perform the test of foreign matter, the amount of pericarp contained in Areca is not more than 2.0z.
(2) Foreign matter -The amount of foreign matter other than the pericarp contained in Areca does not exceed 1.0z.
Total ash:
Not more than 2.5z.
Containers and storage:
Containers-Well-closed containers.
