California. The strobiles are collected, dried in kilns and pressed into bales known as pockets.

They
are exposed to the fumes of burning sulphur, which modifies the sulphur components already in the
hops but which is said to stabilize the aroma and colour

Hops are included in the EP,BP,BHP and monographs of the british herbal compendium, ESCOP and
German commission E.

The hop strobiole consists of external and internal sessile bracts which overlap one another and enclose
the ovary. Together they form a petiolate greenish-yellow inflorescence 2-5cm in length. The odour is
characteristically aromatic.

On the fruits and bases of the bracts are numerous shining glands. These, when separated,constitute the
drug lupulin. The commercial product is generally very impure, owing to the fact that it is obtained by
siving the sweepings of the hop room floors. it occurs as a granular, reddish-brown powder with a
characteristic odour and bitter aromatic taste

The bracts and stipules of the hop contain tannin but the odour and taste of the drug are mainly due to
the very complex secretion contained in the lupulin glands. On distillation the fruits yield 0.30-1.0% of
an oil composed of well over 100 components and containing terpenes, sesquiterpenes including
humulene (FIG.21.3) and compounds such as 2-methyl-but-3-ene-2-ol and 3-methybutanoic acid. The
two latters, related substances, increase significantly during processing of the fresh hop. The bitterness
is due to crystalline phloroglucinol derivatives known as a-acids (e.g.humulone), B-acids (e.g lupulone)
and also about 10% of resins. 2,3,4-trithiapentane, S-methylthio-2-methybutanoate, S-methylthio-4-
methyl-pentanoate and 4,5-epithio-caryophyllene have been isolated from the volatile oil of
unsulphurated hops.

There has been considerable recent interest in the wide-ranging biological activities of the constituents
of hops. Thus prenylated compounds such as xanthohumol and the recently isolated acylphloroglucinol-
glucopyranosides have been variously reported to have cytotoxic effects on human cancer cell lines
together with antiproliferative,antioxidant and oestrogenic properties. For details , see L.R chadwick et
al. J .Nat. Prod,2004,67,2024;G.Bohr et al.J.Nat.Prod 2005,68

1545.the middly sedative properties of hops are ascribed , in part, to 2-methyl-3buten-2-ol;their

principal use is as an aromatic bitter in the preparation of beer.
 Further Reading

Zanoli P,zavatti M 2008 pharmacognostic and pharmacological profile of humulus lupulus L. Journal of
ethnopharmacology 116:333-396

Male fern. Male Fern (filix Mas) Consists of the rhizome, frond bases and apical bud of Dryopteris filix-
mas agg.(polypodiaceae) the taxonomy of the genus is complicated and the aggregate is composed of a
complex of three related species_D FIlix-mas(L) schott.s.Str,D.Borrei Newm. And D. abbreviate (Lam and
D-C) Newm.Other ferns may also be involved in extracts produced globally.

Male fern samples that have not deteriorated in activity due to long storage,etc.should have an
internalgreen colour. The active constituents are an interesting range of phloroglucinol derivatives,
which have been thoroughly investigated.

Extracts of male fern were traditionally employed as taenicides, particulary for tape worms, but safer
drugs are now available and used in preference.

A full account involving history,characters,constituens and allied drugs is given in the previous edition of
this book pp.214-217

Kamala

Kamala consists of the tichomes and galnds separated from the fruits of mallotus philippinensis
(euphorbiaceae_, a tree found in india, Pakistan and the east indies. It occurs as a dull reddish-brown
powder without odour or taste. Under the microscope it is seen to consist of very characteristic globular
glands containing red resin, and radiating groups of unicellular curved trichomes. It contais the
anthelminthic phloroglucinol derivatives rottelerin and isorottlerin,resins and wax. It is used in india for
the treatment of tapeworm infestation also for treating poultry

Tar (PIX LIQUIDA)

Wood tar is known in commerce as Stockholm tar . it is prepared by the destructive distillation of
various trees of the family pinaceae in addition to the tar, an aueous distillate is obtained from which
acetic acid,methyl alcohol and acetone are prepared. A residue of wood charcoal remains in the retors.
Wood tar is a blackish semiliquid with a characteristic odour and taste

The constituets include the following phenols and phenolic ethers:phenol, C6H5OH; cresols,
C6H4(CH3)OH; methyl cresols; catechol or pyrocatechin, C6H4(OH)2; guaiacol (methylcatechol) and its
homologues . also the hydrocarbons benzene,toluene (methylbenzene), xylenes (dimethylbenzenes),
mesitylene and pseudocumene ( trimethylbenzenes), styrene (phenylethylene), naphthalene
(c10H8)retene (m-methylisopropylphenanthrene), chrysene (c18H12) and paraffins

Pine tar is characterized by the large amount of guaiacol and its homologues which are present other
tars,such as those of the birch and beech,show considerable differences in composition. Wood tar is
acid in reaction , whereas coal tar,which is also official, is alkaline and in light petroleum gives a blue
fluorescence. Creosote is obtained from wood tar by distillation. Tar is mainly used externally in the for
of ointment ortar parogen, as a stimulating antiseptic in certain skin deseases.

Wood tar, when shaken with water , gives an aqueous layer that is acid to litmus ( cf.coal tar below) (BP
test for identity)

COAL TAR

Coal tar is prepared by the destructive distillation of bituminous coal: it is a nearly black viscous liquid
and when shaken with water gives an aqueous alkaline solution. A petroleum spirit extract has a blue
fluorescence enhanced by uv light.the upper ash limit for the BP product is 2,0%

Both coal tar and wood tar are used in the treatment of psoriasis

VANILLA AND VANILLIN

Vanilla (vanilla pods)consists of the carefully cured fully grown but unripe fruits of vanilla fragrans (salis)
ames (syn.V.planifolia Andrews) (orchidaceae) (Mexican or bourbon Vaanilla) and of V.tahitensis (Tahiti
vanilla)the fruits of other species , such as V.pompona (west indian vanilla) are also used but to a much
more limited extent

Vanilla fragrans is grown in a semi wild state, in the woods of eastern Mexico, its narutal home. Vanilla is
cultivated in reunion ( orburbon), Mauritius , Seychelles, Madagascar, Java, Ceylon, Tahiti, Guadeloupe,
Martinique and Indonesia. China and india are now major producers and due to oversupply prices have
fallen dramatically over the past few years

History. Vanilla was found in mexico by the Spaniards, where it was used for flavouring chocolate, a use
to which it is still put. It found a place in the London pharmacopoeia of 1721

Cultivation . Vanilla requires a warm and fairly moist climate propagation is simple : cuttings 1-3 m long
are attached to trees ( e.g. casuarina equisetifolia) where they soon strike roots on the bark. The palnt is
an epiphyte. It flowers at the end of 2 or 3 years and continues to produce fruit for 30-40 years. The
flowers are usually pollinated by women and children, a pointed stick being introduced into one flower
after another. Clonal propagation of the vanilla plant has been described together with in vitro
multiplication using axillary bud explants (P.S.George and G.A Ravishankar. Plant Cell Rep.1997.16.490)

Collection and curing . The fruits are collected when the upper part of the pod changes in colour from
green to yellow . The characteristic colour and odour of the commercial drug are only developed as a
result of enzyme action during the curing. The details of the latter process vary somewhat in different
countries, but frequently it consists of slow drying in sheds which are kept at carefully regulated
temperatures

Packing and grading. Before grading , any pods showing a tendency in bundles of 50 pods. Traditionally,
these were packed in tincases or boxes holding about 10-12kg, soldered up and packed in wooden
cases. On arrival in London the tins were opened and the pods were examined. Uk supplies now arrive
via france or Germany, with some from Madagascar. During storage crystals frequently develop on the
surface of the pods.

Characters. Vanilla Pods are 15-25 cm long, 8-10mm diameter and somewhat flattened . The surface is
longitudinally wrinkled, dark brown to violet-black in colour, and frequently covered with needle-like
crystals of vanillin (frosted)The fruits are very pliable and have a very characteristic odour and taste

Constituents. Green Vanilla contains glycosides , namely glucovanillin (vanilloside) and glucovanillic
alcohol. During the curing these are acted upon by an oxidizing and a hydrolyzing enzyme which occur in
all parts of the plant. Glucovanillic alcohol yields on hydrolysis glucose and vanillic alcohol : the latter
compound is then by oxidation converted into vanillic aldehyde ( vanillin). Glucovanillin. As its name
implies,yields on hydrolysis glucose and vanillin (Fig.21.4)

The three species given above differ in their relative contens of anisyl alcohol, anisaldehyde ( also anisyl
ethers and anisic acid esters),piperonal and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. These minor components, together
with the two diastereoisomeric vitispiranes, add to the flavor f the pods.

Vanillin BP/EP. Vanillin Bp is the aldehyde corresponding to methyl-protocatechuic acid and has been
synthesized in a number of ways. Large quantities of it are prepared from eugenol isolated from oil of
cloves (q.v) or from guaiacol (methyl catechol). It can also be produced by microbial oxidation of
eugenol. In plant glucovanillin is biosynthesized via ferulic acid (see fig.21.2) synthesis begins when
elongation of the fruit ceases, which is about 8 months after pollination before this,other phenolic
glycosides predominate

Adulteration. Extracts of Mexican origin may be adulterated by coumarin, probably arising from the use
of tonka beans (q.v) A capillary GC assay has been described for such products (see R.J.Marleset
al.economic Bot..1987.41.41)

Uses. Vanilla pods are widely used in confectionery and in perfumery .They have been replaced to some
extent. But by no means completely, by synthetic vanillin. About 0.07 parts of vanillin arc approximately
equivalent to I part of the bean, but an essence so prepared fails to represents the odour and flavor of
the whole pods.
For a review of natural vanillin,covering biosynthesis, biotechnological production , cell and organ
culture and metabolic engineering,see N.J.walton et al..phytochemistry,2003,63,505-515

BEARBERRY LEAVES

(Uva ursi)

Berberry leaf EPIBPIBHP consist of the dried leaves of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi,ericaceae; ESCOP and
German commission E monographs on the drug are also available

A. Uva-ursi is a small evergreen shrub found in central and northern Europe and in north
America.the leaves are dark green to brownish-green,2-3cm long, obovate or
spathulate,gradually narrowing to a very short petiole, apex obtuse or retuse. They are
coriaceous in texture and almost glabrous. The upper surface is shiny and marked with sunken
veinlets; the lower surface is lighter and marked with a netwrk of darkveinlets. The drug is
odourless but has an astringent and somewhat bitter taste microscopical features include : an
upper epidermis of polygonal cells with a thick cuticle ; lower epidermis with anomocytic stomata
and surrounded by 5-11 subsidiary cells; scars of trichome bases, occasional CONICAL
TRICHOMES,CRYSTAL FIBRES
B. Bearberry contains the glycosides arbutin (table 21.1) and methylarbutin,about 6-7%of tannin,
(+)- catechol,ursone and the flavone derivative quercetin.some 14 phenolic acid constituents,
including gallic and ellagic acids, have been recorded
C. The pharmacopoeial drug is required to contain at least 7,0% of hydroquinone derivatives
calculated as arbutin.These are assayed by liquid chromatography of an aqueous extract of the
leaves with arbutin as a reference and absorbance measurement at 280 nm. The official TLC
chromatographic test for identy distinguishes arbutin, gallic acid and hydroquinone. Bearberry is
diuretic and astringent and during excretion it exerts an antiseptic action on the urinary tract

Propolis or bee glue

This is the material with which the honey bee seals cracks and crevices, and varnishes surfaces within
the hive. Its composition varies according to geographical source.it is collected by worker bees from the
leaf buds and is enriched by wounded plant exudates such as mucilages, gums and resins;bee secretions
and enzymes are then mixed in. Like honey , the composition varies according to geographical source

Propolis has a long history, it being used by the Egyptians in the embalming process (antiputrefactive),
by the Greeks and romans in wound treatment (antiseptic) by the incas (antipyretic)and by inclusion in
the London pharmacopoeias of the 17th century.today it is used by medical herbalist and has become a
popular medicament (S.Castaldo and F.capasso,fititerapia,2002,73,s1) it also features in apitherapy-an
old tradition that has experienced arecent revival.

Over 160 compounds have been shown to be involved and ne analysis gave phenolics (58%) beeswax
(24%) flavonoids (6%) terpenes (0,5%) lipids and wax (8%) and bioelements e.g.mn,cu,zn (0,5%) in
temperature regions of Europe the resinous coating of poplar buds