Families:

1. Liliaceae: Garlic, Colchicum, Aloe.

2. Zingiberaceae: Ginger, Curcuma.

3. Umbelliferae: Fennel, Carum, Coriander, Conium, Asafoetida.

4. Solanaceae: Belladonna, Hyoscyamus, Stramonium Capsicum.

5. Leguminosae: Acacia, Glycyrrhiza, Senna, Cassia, Tamarind.

Families:

6. Scrophulariaceae: Digitalis, Verbascum (Mullien).

7. Apocynaceae: Rauwolfia, Catharanthus.

8. Labiatae: Peppermint, Thyme, Spearmint, Salvia,

Ocimum.

9. Papaveraceae: Papaver Somniferum, Sanguinaria Canadensis.

10. Ranunculaceae: Aconitum, Larkspur, Pulsatilla, Hydrastis.

UMBELLIFERAE

FENNEL

Fennel Common names:Fructus foeniculii, Fennel fruit, Saunf, Fenkel, Florence fennel, Sweet fennel, Wild fennel, Large fennel etc.

Botanical Source: Bitter Fennel consists of the dried ripe fruits of Foeniculum vulgare, subp. vulgare, var. vulgre.

Sweet Fennel consists of the dried ripe fruits of Foeniculum vulgare, subp. vulgare, var. dulce.

Family:Umbelliferae

Bitter fennel, now little used in British medicine.The drug has, however been re-introduced into the BP on account of its EP status.

Geographical Source:

It is cultivated in many parts of Europe and much is imported from India, China and Egypt.

Cultivation and Collection:

• Perennial

• Grows wild in many parts of World.

• Propagated by seeds, 15 inches apart, evenly covered with soil, during April in ordinary soil.

• Fennel requires abundance sun light and is adapted to dry in sunny situations.

Cultivation and Collection:

• The plant bare fruits in the second year and bright golden flowers.

• The fruits are collected by cutting the stems in September, when the fruits are ripe.

• The stems are dried on under sun, and later beaten to separate the fruits.

Macroscopic Characteristics:

• The fruit is an entire cremocarps, partly isolated mericarps.

• Oval-oblong, 5 – 10 mm long, 2 – 4 mm broad.

• It has greenish-brown to yellowish brown colour.

• 5 prominent primary ridges and a bifid stylopod at the apex.

Chemical Constituents:

• The fruits contain 1-4% of volatile oil. • The principal constituents are the phenolic ether trans- anethole (about 60%) and the ketone fenchone (10 – 30%).

• Minor constituents include monoterpene hydrocarbons such as limonene; also anisaldehyde and estragole (methyl chavicol).

Chemical Constituents:

• Other components of the fruits include flavonoids, coumarins and glycosides.

• Monoterpene glycosides based on 1,8-cineole and cis- miyabenol C termed as foeniculosides I - IX.

Anethole

Fenchone

Uses:

• Fennel and its volatile oil are used as an aromatic and carmnative.• Diuretic• Stomachic• Antipyretic• Digestive• Flavoring agent• Inhibits spasms in smooth muscles• Increase production of bile• Used in treatment of infant colic• Antimicrobial• Antiinflammatory

Sweet Fennel:

• Sweet Fennel is also included in the EP and BP.

• The fruits resemble those of the bitter variety but have a sweet taste and lower volatile oil content (not less than 2.0%) of different quantitative composition.

• Not less than 80% of the oil is required to be anethole, not more than 7.5% fenchone, and not more than 10% estragole.

Caraway

Caraway Common names:Caraway fruits, Carum, meridian fennel, Persian cumin etc.

Botanical Source:Caraway (Caraway Fruit) consists of the dried, ripe fruits of Carum carvi.

Family:Umbelliferae

Geographical Source:

It occurs both 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.

Cultivation and Collection:

• A biennial herb about 1 m high.

• Prefers loamy (Sandy) soil.

• About five seeds are sown in March or April, 1 foot apart.

• The plants when strong enough are thinned out to about 8 inches in the rows.

• Proper mannure and weeding is done.

Cultivation and Collection:

• When the oldest fruits are mature and ripe, the plant is cut and the Caraways are separated by thrashing.

• They are then dried either on trays in sun.

Macroscopic Characteristics:

• The commercial drug usually consists of mericarps separated from the pedicels.

• The fruits are slightly curved, brown and glabrous, about 4 - 7 mm long, 1 - 2.3 mm wide and tapered at both ends; they are crowned with a stylopod often with style and stigma attached.

Macroscopic Characteristics:

• Each mericarp shows five almost equal sides, five narrow primary ridges, and, when cut transversely, four dorsal and two commissural vittae. • They have a characteristic aromatic odour and taste.

Chemical Constituents:

Caraway contains:• 3 – 7% of volatile oils (BP not less than 3.0%)• 8-20% of fixed oils• Proteins• Calcium oxalate• Colouring matter• Resin.

Chemical Constituents:

The volatile oil (Caraway Oil BP) consists of:• The ketone carvone • The terpene limonene• with small quantities of dihydrocarvone, carveol and dihydrocarveol

• Hydrocarbon: Carvene• Oxygenated oil: Carvol

Carvone

Limonene

Uses:

• Large quantities of caraway fruits are used for culinary purposes.

• The fruits and oil are used in medicine for flavouring and as carminatives.

• The carminative and antispasmodic properties have been experimentally verified.

Coriander

Coriander

Common names:Coriander fruits, Cilantro, Chinese parsley, Dhania etc.

Botanical Source: Coriander (Coriander fruit) of the BP is the dried, nearly ripe fruit of Coriandrum sativum.

Family:Umbelliferae

Geographical Source:

It is indigenous to Italy, but is widely cultivated in The Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean (Morocco, Malta, Egypt), China, India and Bangladesh.

Cultivation and Collection:

• An annual about 0.7 m high with white or pinkish flowers.

• The coriander seeds are sown in dry weather either in March or in early autumn.

• Shallow drills, about ½ inch deep and 8 inches apart are made and seeds are sown in it, the rate of germination is slow.

Cultivation and Collection:

• The seeds fall as soon as ripe, and when the seeds are ripe (About August), the disagreeable odour is produced.

• Plant is then cut down, the fruits are collected and dried.

• During drying fruits develop aromatic smell, and unpleasant odour disappears.

Macroscopic Characteristics:

• The drug usually consists of the whole cremocarps, which, when ripe are about 2.3 - 4.3 mm diameter and straw-yellow.

• Each consists of two hemispherical mericarps united by their margins.

Macroscopic Characteristics:• Considerable variation exists in coriander. • The Indian variety is oval, but the more widely distributed spherical varieties vary in size from the Ukrainian 2.3-3.7 mm to the Moroccan 4.0 - 4.3 mm. • The 10 primary ridges are wavy and inconspicuous; alternating with these are eight more prominent, straight, secondary ridges.

• The fruits have an aromatic odour and a spicy taste.

Chemical Constituents:

• Coriander fruits contain up to 1.8% of volatile oil according to origin (BP standard not less than 0.3%).

• The distilled oil (Coriander Oil BP) contains 65 - 70% of linalool (coriandrol), depending on the source, and smaller amounts of α-pinene, ϒ- terpinene, limonene and p-cymene together with various nonlinalool alcohols and esters.

Chemical Constituents:

• Other constituents isolated from the fruits include flavonoids, coumarins, isocoumarins, phthalides and phenolic acids.

• The high content of fats (16-28%) and protein (11-17%) in the fruits make distillation residues suitable for animal feed.

Chemical Constituents:

The unripe plant has an unpleasant, mousy odour, which is also present in oil distilled from unripe fruits (mainly aldehydes such as n-decanal contained in peripheral vittae).

Uses:

• Very large quantities of the spice are produced in many countries for domestic purposes, such as for use in curries.

• Pharmaceutically coriander and its oils are used as a flavouring agent and carminative.

Conium

Among poisonous plants, Conium maculatum, the spotted hemlock, contains the alkaloid conine.

Asafoetida

Asafoetida

Common names:Asafoetida, Devil’s dung, Asfoda, Asant, Hing etc.

Botanical Source: Asafoetida is an oleo-gum-resin obtained by incision from the living rhizome and root of Ferula foetida , F. rubricaulis, and other species of Ferula.

Family:Umbelliferae

Geographical Source:

The drug is collected in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Collection and Preparation:

• Perennial plant, grows to a height of 3 meters in a period of 5 years.

• During this period, the root becomes 12-15 cm thick.

Collection and Preparation:

• The upper portion of the root is cut off just before flowering, in the month of March or April.

• The exudate (oleo-gum-resin) that flows, when sufficiently hardened is collected. • The product is packed in tin- lined cases for export.

Macroscopic Characteristics:• Asafoetida occurs as soft, solid or semi-liquid in nature.• Asafoetida occurs in two principal forms:

Tears: • These are rounded or flattened and about 5-30 mm diameter. • They are greyish-white, dull yellow or reddish- brown in colour.• Some specimens acquiring the latter colour with age, while others remain greyish or yellowish.• The fresh tears are tough which on drying becomes hard and brittle.

Macroscopic Characteristics:Mass:

• This consists of similar tears to those described above agglutinated into masses and usually mixed with fruits, fragments of root, earth and other impurities.

• Mass asafoetida is the commonest commercial form. • Asafoetida has a strong, alliaceous odour and a bitter, acrid and alliaceous taste.

Chemical Constituents:

Asafoetida consists of:

• Volatile oil • Resin• Gum

• The oil has a particularly evil smell and contains sulphur compounds; • Some of these show pesticidal activity.

Chemical Constituents:

The flavour is largely due to:

• R-2-butyl-1- propenyl disulphide,• 1- ( 1-methylthiopropenyl)-1-propenyl disulphide• 2-butyl-3-methyl- thioallyl disulphide.

Chemical Constituents:• The drug also contains a complex mixture of sesquiterpene umbelliferyl ethers.

• More recently three new sesquiterpene coumarin ethers have been isolated.

• Also present are asaresinol ferulate and free ferulic acid.

• The drug contains no free umbelliferone (distinction from galbanum).

Uses:

• Asafoetida is employed for the carminative and expectorant properties of the volatile oil fraction. • It is an ingredient of certain sauces.

• Nerve stimulant