Original article Pharmacognostic specifications of five root species in Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy: Thai traditional medicine remedy Rawiwan Manohan a , Chanida Palanuvej a , Nijsiri Ruangrungsi a, b, * a College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand b Faculty of Oriental Medicine, Rangsit University, Pathumthani 12000, Thailand article info Article history: Received 5 January 2013 Accepted 16 February 2013 Available online 24 February 2013 Keywords: Pharmacognostic specification Quality control High performance liquid chromatography/ photodiode array detector (HPLCePDA) abstract Introduction: Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy is one of the Thai traditional medicines notified in Tumra- paadsard song khor. This remedy has been used as an antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug in Thai traditional medicine practice. Establishment of the pharmacognostic profile of five roots species in Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy will be able to guarantee quality, purity and identification of remedy. Materials and methods: Five root species in Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy were collected from various sources throughout Thailand; then investigated the pharmacognostic specification of each root species following WHO guideline of quality control method for medicinal plant materials. High performance liquid chromatography coupled with photo diode arrays was applied to analyze their fingerprints. Results: Macroscopic study was demonstrated as whole plant drawing; while microscopic study was investigated in powdered drugs and its transverse section for anatomy and histology evaluation. The comparative characteristics and physico-chemical parameters of five root species were revealed for standardization. The representative fingerprints revealed a common peak of each root species and Ben- Cha-Moon-Yai remedy under the same HPLC condition. Conclusion: The results obtained from macroscopic and microscopic inspections, physico-chemical parameters, and developed HPLC fingerprints can be used to standardize five root species in Ben-Cha- Moon-Yai remedy. Copyright Ó 2013, Phcog.Net, Published by Reed Elsevier India Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy is one of the Thai traditional medi- cines notified in Tumrapaadsard song khor. The remedy is composed of five roots in an equal part by weight, including the roots of Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa ex Roxb. (Rutaceae), Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz (Bignoniaceae), Dimocarpus longan Lour. subsp. longan var. longan (Sapindaceae), Dolichandrone serrulata (DC.) Seem. (Bignoniaceae), and Walsura trichostemon Miq. (Meliaceae). 1 This remedy has been used as an antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug in Thai traditional medicine practice. Previous study showed that Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy extract demonstrated the antipyretic, 2 anti-inflammatory and anti- nociceptive activities in animal models. 3 Apart from the roots, any other parts of these five plant species revealed some biological activities such as the anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory activities of A. marmelos, 4,5 the antioxidant activity of D. longan, 6 the anti- ulcer activity of O. indicum, 7 the anti-microbial activity of W. trichostemon. 8 According to herbal drug market survey, it was observed that five roots species in Ben-Cha-Moon-Yai remedy could be adul- terated with upper ground parts of plants or other substances, which resulted in degrading the quality of the remedy. There- fore, the standardization of a crude drug is essential to guar- antee the quality and stability of herbal preparation. Many factors such as use of fresh plants, temperature, water avail- ability, period and time of collection, method of collecting, drying, total ash, acid insoluble ash, moisture content and part of the plant collected can greatly affect the quality and conse- quently the therapeutic value of herbal medicines. 9 Moreover, * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ66 2218 8157; fax: þ66 2218 8158. E-mail address: nijsiri.r@chula.ac.th (N. Ruangrungsi). 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.2013.02.003 Pharmacognosy Journal 5 (2013) 46e55