Althaea officinalis (root)

Nomenclature

Althaea officinalis L.   Malvaceae  
Standardized common name (English): marshmallow

Organoleptic Characteristics

"Althaea officinalis ... odor slight; taste sweetish, mucilaginous." Source: United States Dispensatory (1918)

Macroscopic Characteristics

"Althaea officinalis is an herbaceous perennial, with a perpendicular branching root and erect woolly stems, from two to four feet or more in height, branched and leafy towards the summit. The flowers are terminal and axillary, with short peduncles, each bearing one, two, or three flowers. The corolla has five spreading, obcordate petals, of a pale rose color. The fruit consists of numerous capsules united in a compact circular form, each containing a single seed. "Althaea is usually cut into small pieces about 5 mm. in diameter, of a uniform grayish-white color and otherwise having the characters of entire roots; occasionally entire, slenderly tapering, attaining a length of 30 cm. and a thickness of 2 cm., externally whitish, longitudinally furrowed, frequently spirally twisted and covered with the somewhat loosened bast-fibers; fracture of bark fibrous, of wood short and granular; internally yellowish-white; bark 1 to 2 mm. thick, porous, due to mucilage cells, and separated from the slightly radiating wood by a distinct, grayish cambium zone..." Source: United States Dispensatory (1918) Source: MOBOT, Tropicos.org Source: MOBOT, Tropicos.org Source: PlantaPhile Source: PlantaPhile

Microscopic Characteristics

The powder is whitish; starch grains numerous, from 0.003 to 0.02 mm. in diameter, usually with a long cleft at the point of origin of growth; sclerenchymatous fibers in groups, the walls being quite thick and more or less lignified; trachese with scalariform thickenings or with bordered pores; calcium oxalate crystals few, in rosette aggregates from 0.02 mm. to 0.03 mm. in diameter. Source: United States Dispensatory (1918) Bast fibers observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories Mucilage bearing parenchyma cells with a rosette of calcium oxalate observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Identification

Althaea officinalis HPTLC ID - Natural Product Reagent + PEG UV 365 nm Marshmallow (root) (Althaea officinalis) Lane Assignments Lanes, from left to right (Track, Volume, Sample): 1 μL Caffeic acid, Chlorogenic Acid, Hyperoside, Rutin ~0.1% in CH3OH 3 μL Althaea officinalis-1 (root) 3 μL Althaea officinalis-2 (root) 3 μL Althaea officinalis-3 (root) 3 μL Althaea officinalis-3 (root) 3 μL Althaea officinalis-4 (root) 3 μL Althaea officinalis-5 (root) 1 μL Caffeic acid, Chlorogenic Acid, Hyperoside, Rutin ~0.1% in CH3OH Reference materials used here have been authenticated by macroscopic, microscopic &/or TLC studies according to the reference source cited below held at Alkemists Pharmaceuticals, Costa Mesa, CA.  Stationary Phase Silica gel 60, F254, 10 x 10 cm HPTLC plates  Mobile Phase ethyl acetate: glacial acetic acid: formic acid: water [10/1.1/1.1/2.4]  Sample Preparation Method 0.5 g + 5 mL MeOH sonicate/heat @ 50°C ~ 1/2 hr, cntrfg, evap w N2, qs 1mL MeOH  Detection Method Natural Product Reagent + PEG -> UV 365 nm  Reference see British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, 1996 Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories