Cao Dou Kou

ALPINIAE KATSUMADAI SEMEN 草豆蔻 (Caodoukou) Corrected English Version Katsumada Galangal Seed Source Alpiniae Katsumadai Semen is the dried seed mass of Alpinia katsumadai (Family Zingiberaceae ). The fruits are collected in summer and autumn, dried in the sun until nearly dry, or briefly treated in boiling water and partially dried in the sun. The pericarp is removed, and the seed masses are gathered and dried in the sun. Description The seed masses are subspheroidal, 1.5–2.7 cm in diameter. Externally they are greyish-brown, with yellowish-white septa in the center dividing the mass into three groups, each containing numerous closely agglutinated seeds. The seed masses are slightly lustrous. The seeds are ovoid-polyhedral, 3–5 mm long and about 3 mm in diameter, covered with a brownish membranous aril. A raphe appears as a longitudinal furrow, and a hilum is present at one end. The texture is hard. When cut longitudinally along the raphe, the seed appears obliquely cordate in shape; the testa extends inward along the raphe and occupies about one-half of the surface area. The endosperm is greyish-white. Odour: Aromatic. Taste: Pungent and slightly bitter. Identification 1 Transverse section Remains of the aril may be present, consisting of polygonal parenchymatous cells. Epidermal cells of the testa are subrounded with relatively thickened walls. The hypodermis consists of 1–3 layers of tangentially elongated parenchymatous cells. The pigment layer is composed of several layers of brown cells, scattered with 1–2 layers of subrounded oil cells about 50 μm in diameter. The endotesta consists of a single layer of palisade sclerenchymatous cells, brownish-red in color, with heavily thickened inner and lateral walls and a small lumen containing silica bodies. Perisperm cells contain starch granules, prisms, and a few fine clusters of calcium oxalate. Endosperm cells contain aleurone grains. 2 Powder Yellowish-brown. Epidermal cells of the testa are stripe-shaped in surface view, up to 30 μm in diameter, slightly thick-walled, and usually arranged vertically to the hypodermal cells. Hypodermal cells are prolate-polygonal or subrectangular. Pigment cells are shrunken with indistinct layer boundaries and contain reddish-brown contents. Oil cells are scattered among the pigment layers and contain yellowish-green oily contents. Sclerenchymatous cells of the endotesta are yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, polygonal in surface view, with thickened, unlignified walls and lumina containing silica bodies. Perisperm cells are filled with masses of starch granules, some containing fine prisms of calcium oxalate. Endosperm cells contain aleurone grains and fatty oil droplets. 3 Thin-layer chromatography To 1 g of the powder add 5 mL of methanol, heat on a water bath with shaking for 5 minutes, filter, and use the filtrate as the test solution. Dissolve alpinetin CRS and cardamonin CRS in methanol to prepare a reference solution containing 2 mg of each per mL. Carry out thin-layer chromatography using silica gel G as the coating substance and a mixture of toluene, ethyl acetate, and methanol (5:4:1) as the mobile phase. Apply 5 μL of each solution separately to the plate. After development, dry the plate, heat at 100°C until the spots become clearly visible, and examine under ultraviolet light at 365 nm. The pale blue fluorescent spot in the chromatogram of the test solution corresponds in position and color to the alpinetin spot in the reference solution. After spraying with 5% ferric chloride in ethanol, the brown spot in the test solution corresponds in position and color to the cardamonin spot in the reference solution. Water Not more than 16.0%. Total Ash Not more than 4.0%. Assay Carry out high-performance liquid chromatography. Chromatographic conditions Stationary phase: octadecylsilane bonded silica gel. Mobile phase: methanol and 0.2% phosphoric acid solution (55:45). Detection wavelength: 266 nm. Theoretical plates: not less than 6000 calculated with reference to the galangin peak. Reference solution Dissolve an accurately weighed quantity of galangin CRS in methanol to obtain a solution containing 40 μg/mL. Test solution Accurately weigh 0.2 g of powder (through No. 4 sieve) into a stoppered conical flask. Add 50 mL of methanol, weigh, reflux on a water bath for 1 hour, cool, replenish any loss of solvent with methanol, mix, and filter. Use the subsequent filtrate as the test solution. Requirement The drug contains not less than 0.70% of galangin (C15H10O5), calculated on the dried basis. Properties Warm Pungent Meridian Tropism Spleen and Stomach meridians. Actions To dry dampness. To move qi. To warm the middle energizer. To stop vomiting. Indications Interior obstruction of cold-dampness. Cold pain. Distention and fullness in the epigastrium and abdomen. Belching. Vomiting. Poor appetite and lack of desire for food and drink. Administration and Dosage 3–6 g. Storage Preserve in a cool and dry place.