Short communication Preliminary pharmacognostic evaluation and volatile constituent analysis of spathe of Phoenix dactylifera L. (Tarooneh) Azadeh Hamedi a, * , Abdolali Mohagheghzadeh b , Samaneh Rivaz c a Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran b Department of Traditional Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran c Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran article info Article history: Received 11 January 2013 Accepted 28 February 2013 Available online 6 March 2013 Keywords: Date palm GCeMS Phytochemical screening Spathe Volatile oil abstract Background: Spathe of date palm (which is called Tarooneh by Persian folk) and its aroma water is widely used in Persian traditional medicine but according to best of our knowledge lack is done on its chemical composition or standardization of the herb for its quality control in herbal market. Methods and material: In this study microscopical and preliminary pharmacognostic properties of frac- tions obtained from date palm spathe (Tarooneh) were screened by thin layer chromatography. In addition, essential oils of the spathe were analyzed by GCeMS spectroscopy. Results: Different fractions of the spathe contain steroids, triterpene steroids, oils and flavonoids in different amount. Fourteen compounds accounting for 93% of the oil were identified by GCeMS analysis. Oxygen containing monoterpenes were the main class of components (73%) with carvacrol (37%), linalool (24%) and thymol (10%) as major constituents of the oil. Conclusion: Volatile constituents and preliminary pharmacognostic evaluation of Tarooneh can give some useful data for further phytochemical analysis, quality control and standardization of Tarooneh. Copyright Ó 2013, Phcog.Net, Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecaceae) is widely cultivated in Middle East and America for nutritional values of its fruits which are rich in carbohydrates and tannins. 1 In Persian traditional medicine the fruits are used as detersive, vermicide, astringent, febrifuge and aphrodisiac. 2 Also, the spathe which is called Tarooneh and its aroma water are used as sedative, tranquilizer, nerve tonic and for rheumatoid arthritis. 3 Palm spathe is a large bract that forms a sheath to enclose the flower cluster of the palm. According to the best of our knowledge there is not any report on pharmacognostic properties or chemical constituents of the spathe or its aroma water. 2. Materials and methods Spathe of the P. dactylifera L. (Tarooneh) was purchased from Shiraz herbal market and authenticated by Miss Sedigheh Kha- demyan, Taxonomist, Department of Pharmacognosy, Shiraz School of Pharmacy and the voucher specimen was preserved with the code PM-172 in the department for further references. The plant material was powdered, passed through sieve number 100 and kept in dark closed container. 2.1. Microscopieal studies One drop of chloral hydrate solution was added to a small amount of root powder on a slide and mixed well. The cover slip was added and heated on a flame. For detection of mucilage and starch, water was applied instead of chloral hydrate and the slides were not heated. 4 2.2. Evaluation of extractive values One hundred gram of root powder was extracted with n-hexane applying soxhlet apparatus for 6 h (n-hexane extract). The residuum was dried and macerated with dichloromethane, fol- lowed by ethanol in a dark and closed glass container, two days for each. Hexane, dichloromethane and ethanolic extracts were concentrated with a rotary evaporator and dried in a speed vacuum apparatus at 40  C. The dried extracts were weighed out and kept in teflon caped tubes at 20  C. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ98 711 2424127. E-mail addresses: hamediaz@sums.ac.ir (A. Hamedi), mohaghegh@sums.ac.ir (A. Mohagheghzadeh), aseman_flame@yahoo.com (S. Rivaz). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Pharmacognosy Journal journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/phcgj 0975-3575/$ e see front matter Copyright Ó 2013, Phcog.Net, Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phcgj.2013.02.005 Pharmacognosy Journal 5 (2013) 83e86