Carthamus tinctorius (flower)

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AHPA recognizes other valuable resources exist regarding the identity of Carthamus tinctorius.

To submit a suggestion or contribution, please contact Merle Zimmermann.

Contents

Nomenclature

Carthamus tinctorius L.   Asteraceae  
Standardized common name (English): safflower  
Ayurvedic name(s): kusumbha  
Pinyin name(s): hong hua (flower)

Botanical Voucher Specimen

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Carthamus tinctorius L. - Starr - 00505324.jpg
Carthamus tinctorius L.
Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden[1]

Carthamus tinctorius L. - Starr - 00703082.jpg
Carthamus tinctorius L.
Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden[2]

Carthamus tinctorius L. - Starr - 00505329.jpg
Carthamus tinctorius L.
Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden[3]

Organoleptic Characteristics

Carthamus tinctorius L. Safflower.— [...] has a peculiar, slightly aromatic odor, and a scarcely perceptible bitterness.

Source: United States Dispensatory (1918) [4]

Macroscopic Characteristics

Carthamus tinctorius L. Safflower.— The African, false, American, or dyers' saffron is an annual composite, with a smooth, erect stem, somewhat branched at top, and a foot or two in height. [...] The florets are in mass of a red color, diversified by the yellow of the styles contained within the floret. [...] It contains a fixed oil; also two coloring substances—one red, insoluble in alkaline liquids, and called carthamin or carthamic acid by Dobereiner, who found it to possess weak acid properties; the other yellow, and soluble in water.

Source: United States Dispensatory (1918) [5]

Microscopic Characteristics

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Safflower Alkemist Laboratories.jpg
Fragment of the corolla showing brown laticiferous vessels observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution.
Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories[6]

Safflower-1 Alkemist Laboratories.jpg
Three pored pollen grain shown exuding contents observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution.
Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories[7]


High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Identification

AP-LOGO-Laboratories Crop - Copy.jpg
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Carthamus tinctorius HPTLC ID - Natural Product Reagent + PEG UV 365 nm

Safflower (flower) (Carthamus tinctorius)

Lane Assignments Lanes, from left to right (Track, Volume, Sample):

  1. 1 μL Rutin, Caffeic Acid, Hyperoside, Chlorogenic Acid ~ 0.1% in Methanol
  2. 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-1 (flower)
  3. 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-2 (flower)
  4. 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-3 (flower)
  5. 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-3 (flower)
  6. 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-4 (flower)
  7. 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-5 (flower)
  8. 1 μL Rutin, Caffeic Acid, Hyperoside, Chlorogenic Acid ~ 0.1% in Methanol

Reference materials used here have been authenticated by macroscopic, microscopic &/or TLC studies according to the reference source cited below held at Alkemists Laboratories, Costa Mesa, CA. 

Stationary Phase Silica gel 60, F254, 10 x 10 cm HPTLC plates 

Mobile Phase ethyl acetate: AcCOOH: HCOOH: H2O [10/1.1/1.1/2.4] 

Sample Preparation Method 0.3 g + 3 ml CH3OH sonicated + heated @ 50° C ~ 1 hr 

Detection Method Natural Product Reagent + PEG -> UV 365 nm 

Reference see Adapted from Plant Drug Analysis, Wagner, H., 1996


Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories [8]


Supplementary Information

Sources

  1. Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/VirtualHerbarium.asp
  2. Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/VirtualHerbarium.asp
  3. Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/VirtualHerbarium.asp
  4. United States Dispensatory (1918)
  5. United States Dispensatory (1918)
  6. Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com
  7. Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com
  8. Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories http://www.alkemist.com
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