Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome
Atractylodis Rhizoma Pulveratum
Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome is the powder of Atractylodes Rhizome.
Description:
Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome occurs as a light brown to yellow-brown powder, and has a characteristic odor and a slightly bitter or slightly sweet taste, followed by a slightly bitter aftertaste.
Under a microscope, Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome reveals mainly parenchyma cells, crystals of inulin and fragments of parenchyma cells containing small needle crystals of calcium oxalate; fragments of light yellow thick walled fibers, stone cells and cork cells; a few fragments of reticulate and scalariform vessels; small yellow-brown se- crete masses or oil droplets; starch grains absent.
Identification:
Macerate 0.5 g of Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome with 5 mL of ethanol (95) by warming in a water bath for 2 minutes, and filter. To 2 mL of the filtrate add 0.5 mL of vanillin-hydrochloric acid TS, and shake immediately: a red to red-purple color develops and persists.
Purity:
(1) Arsenic. Prepare the test solution with 0.40 g of Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome according to Method 4, and perform the test (not more than 5 ppm).
(2) Atractylodes lancea rhizome.To 2.0 g of Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome add exactly 5 mL of hexane, shake for 5 minutes, filter, and use this filtrate as the sample solution. Perform the test with the sample solution as directed under Thin-layer Chromatography. Spot 10 μL of the solution on a plate of silica gel for thin-layer chromatography. Develop the plate with a mixture of hexane and acetone (7:1) to a distance of about 10 cm, and air-dry the plate. Spray evenly 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde TS for spraying on the plate, and heat at 1000C for 5 minutes: no green to grayish green spot appears at the Rf value of between 0.3 and 0.6.
Total ash:
Not more than 7.0z.
Acid-insoluble ash:
Not more than 1.0z.
Essential oil content:
Perform the test with 50.0 g of Powdered Atractylodes Rhizome: the volume of essential oil is not less than 0.4 mL.
Containers and storage:
Containers.Tight containers.
