right now I am enrolled in a masteral program in pharmacy..I've included MT THESIS here so that I wont forget and I can easily retrieve it whenever I want! I really dont know much about this plant...so if anyone of you can identify this plant and can tell me what it is used for, in your own experience...tell me please....this will be of great help/use to me for my thesis...i am planning to make something of use using this wonderful plant.....this is just a small part of my thesis...i dont know if i'm doing it right....this is still for oral defence....soon....

TITLE: PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF Kaemferia galanga L.


INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the Study

Kaemferia galangal L., known as “dusol” or “gusol” in the Philippines, is commonly grown for medicine and as spice. Although widely distributed in the country, according to Merill (1918), the plant is a native of India but is now widely spread in the eastern hemispheres. The plant is a subject of confusion, according to Hutton (1998) perhaps by its lack of a common English name.

Botanically referred to as the “Resurrection Lily”, Hutton (1998), it is known only by its local name in the countries where it is popularly used as spice: “kencur” in Indonesia; “cekur” in Malaysia; “pro hom” in Thailand and “galangal” in ancient India. There are two varieties of K. galangal L.: the “lesser galanga” and the “greater galangal”. The ”Lesser galangal” is reported, in contrast to “greater galanga” which is hardly known in the West being tied to only a few indigenous cuisines. It’s strong aroma is less pleasant than that of “greater galanga” at least in high concentration or on first contact.

The plant belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, the same family as in “ginger”. It is an almost stemless plant (Figures 1 and 2) that develops its few short-lived leaves and the flower at ground levels from aromatic tuberous rootstocks (See Figure 3). The leaves are few and are suborbicular to broadly ovate, 7 to 15 cm. long. The white flowers (with a purple spot on the tip) which are fugacious appear singly in the center of the plant and attain approximately 2.5 cm. in breadth. (See Figure 4).
The plant part mostly used is the rhizome which is strongly aromatic. It resembles ginger in shape in that the subunits are flat (elliptical cross section) as shown in Figure 5, but it is much smaller. It has a dark reddish-brown skin when mature with soft interior that is nearly white.

Slices of the dried rhizome may be cooked with vegetables or meat dishes but mostly the spice is used fresh, grated or crushed. It is essential for Javanese cooking (Rijstafel) and often appears in the characteristically spicy-sweet foods of that island. Even more than in Java, “Lesser galanga” is much loved in the neighboring island, Bali.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study is focused on the phytochemical screening of Keamferia galanga L. using the rhizome and leaves of the plant. The researcher will make use of the Descriptive Method and the Experimental Method of research that will be necessary to perform the whole research.

MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES

Phytochemical Screening
The Plant Material
Essential oils will be extracted from both fresh leaves and fresh rhizomes. Fresh leaves and fresh rhizomes are to be cut separately. The freshly cut materials will be plunged into boiling 80% ethyl alcohol to prevent enzyme hydrolysis.

Preparation of Plant Extract.
About 100 grams will be collected of the ground dried plant material in an Erlenmeyer flask. About 300 ml or sufficient 80% ethyl alcohol will be added to completely submerge the material. It will be covered with a stopper and soaked for 24 hours to 48 hours. Then it will be filtered through a Buchner funnel preferably with gentle suction. The flask and the plant material will be rinsed with fresh portions of alcohol. The washings will be combined with the first filtrate. Then the plant residue will be discarded.
The filtrate will be concentrated under vacuo to about 20 ml. Exact volume of the extract will be measured. The concentration of the plant extract will be computed, then it will be expressed as grams plant material per ml of the extract. The extract will be stored in a tightly stoppered container, preferably in the cold (0-5oC). Then the extract will be ready for the phytochemical, microbiological, and pharmacological screening.

Extraction of Essential Oils.
Maceration method is employed; the rhizomes or leaves are soaked in the solvent for 48 hours with constant agitation. The extract is then cleared of the botanical material and decanted.

Chromatographic Separation of Oil Extract.
Thin-Layer Chromatography is the suggested method to be used.

Preparation of the Plate.
The glass plates will be cleaned until free from oil and dirt. It will be dripped dry.

Preparation of the Silica Gel G Layer:
Pouring Method. The weight of the silica gel G will be determined which is needed for the size of glass plates to be used. For plates 8x11 cm, 1.2 grams of silica gel G is ideal to make a coating thickness of 0.25 mm.

For every gram of silica gel G, 3 ml of distilled water will be added. It will be shaken to make a homogeneous suspension. The volume of silica suspension for each glass plate will be determined by dividing the total volume of the homogeneous mixture by the number of plates. The suspension will be poured into the middle of the plate and should be distributed evenly by gentle tilting with the use of a glass rod. It will be air dried on a leveled surface.

When the silica has turned into a white opaque coating, the plates will be dried in an oven at temperature 110oC for 30 minutes. It will be stored in a dry, air-tight container with silica gel desiccant.

Preparation of the Developing Chamber.
Glass jars will be used with tightly fitted covers. Glass jars will be lined around the sides with filter paper to facilitate equilibration with the solvent and prevent “edge effect”. Enough solvent will be poured along the filter paper to moisten. Will use enough solvent to give a solvent height of about 10 mm. For Nescafe glass jars, 30 ml solvent is required.

Sample Application. A capillary tube will be used with edges cut straight. Capillary tube will be dipped into the liquid sample, which will be filled to a height of about 10 mm. With the capillary at right angles to the coated plate, spot the extract about 15 mm from the lower edge of the plate. Spot diameter will be about 2 mm, at most 5 mm. spot must be from the sides of the plates and 15 mm between neighboring spot. Chromatogram will be air dried.

Development of a Chromatogram:
A.) One- Dimensional Chromatogram. Place the spotted plates in the equilibrium chamber. Cover tightly. Will allow the solvent to travel up a distance of 10 cm or until the solvent front just reaches the top coating. Remove from the chamber and allow to dry.

B.)Two- Dimensional Chromatography. Silica gel G will be used, 12x12 cm. The extract about 3-4 cm. from the left corner of the silica plate will be spotted.
Visualization of the Chromatogram. Developed chromatogram by inspecting under the UV light, exposing to iodine vapors in a glass jar, or by spraying with a suitable reagent for the desired constituents will be visualized.
Documentation of the Chromatogram.

The spots will be traced in a tracing paper. The solvent front and point of origin will be marked. Label these tracings by identifying the sample chromatograph, the adsorbent used, the developing solvent and the visualizing agent used.
Identification of Fractions.
The dried rhizome which will be cut to be macerated using a solvent, then decantation will be used to separate the active constituents. The gathered active constituent will be weighed together with the apparatus that will be used to collect the residue.

Determination of Percentage Composition of Fractions.
The following data will be considered in the determination of the percent composition; weight of the Apparatus to be used; weight of the dried rhizome which will be cut into pieces; the weight of the collected residue in decantation; and the weight of the apparatus used together with the plant residue.
Weight of the Residue
Percentage Yield = Weight of the Plant Sample X 100


DATA AND RESULT

Essential Oil Extract Obtained.
Through research, there were certain reports of the presence of 4-butylmenthol, β-phellandrene, α-terpineol, dihydro-β-quiphellandrene and 1,8-ciceol. Since the research is only on phytochemical scrrening, the researher will try to obtain 1,8 cineol through thin-layer chromatography. Since the researcher plan to study the camphor like odor found in cineol, the researcher will identify and isolate the uses of cineol in flavoring, perfumery, and medicine specifically in the hallucinogenic effect.

Thin-Layer Chromatography Results
Using this formula, the researcher is confident that through thin-layer chromatography the active constituents that the researcher is planning to isolate will materialize. With perseverance, the researcher will try to isolate 1,8-cineol that will be the basis of the researcher’s research.

Distance of solute from the origin
HRf= Distance of solvent from the origin X 100


ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The research study will investigate the presence of active constituent present in the dried rhizome of (Kaemferia galanga L. Family Zingiberaceae) which is commonly known as “dusol” in tagalong and “Beauty Root” in certain parts of the Philippines.

The researcher will try to provide the possible result that will be obtained from experimentation that will be performed, and will try to interpret the data as well as prove the presence of 1,8-cineol which will be the active constituent in its medicinal effect specifically in the hallucinogenic effect.


THE END