Herbal extracts: application

Recently, the application of the microemulsion as an eluent in the high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) has also been described [ 163]. Microemulsions were used as an eluent for the fingerprinting of licorice extract. As proposed earlier, the microemulsion resulted in much better resolution of the components present in the herbal extract as compared to the conventional eluent. This approach would be very useful in the standardisation of the herbal extracts which often consist of a vast number of components with diverse chemical nature. 

Soaps are still major components of modem detergents, On the one hand, the formation of lather will be controlled by the addition of soap with long carbon chains. On the other hand, soaps based on coconut oil acids are components of liquid soaps, where they form lime soap by reaction with the components in hard water. In this way, they bind the polyvalent ions resulting from the water hardness. The formed insoluble lime soap is dispersed by an excess of soap or by other surfactants in the product so that it cannot deposit on the fibres. The major application of soap lies mainly in the field of human cleansing agents. Toilet soaps with different properties are easily obtained by the addition of lime soap dispersants, perfume oils, re-fatting agents, herbal extracts and other active substances. 

Sajewicz, M., Staszek, D., Natic, M., Waksmundzka-Hajnos, M., and Kowalska, T. 2011, TLC-MS versus TLC-LC-MS fingerprints of herbal extracts. Part HI. Application of the reversed-phase hquid chromatography systems with chromatography systems with Cjg stationary phase, J. Chromatogr. Sci., 49 560-567. 

The role of advances in chromatographic techniques has been a step point in the development of phytochemistry [67]. Because of the complexity of crude herbal extracts, various online hyphenated techniques have been developed for the analysis of the complex mixtures. These techniques include liquid chromatography (LC), mass spectrometry (MS), LC nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and LC-NMR-MS [68]. They facilitate the structure determination of unknown constituents in crude extracts. For example, they are of great applicability in the analysis of flavonoids and other phenolic compounds [69, 70]. 

Typical examples of flavonoid herbs examined by HPLC or CE have already been described in a previous contribution of this volume series [11]. This chapter aims to describe three mass techniques, the electrospray ionization MS, (ESI-MS), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization MS (APCI-MS), and ion trap MS (ITMS) techniques, and their application to the analysis of flavonoids in some standardized herbal extracts with proven therapeutic efficacy. In addition, the flavonoid composition of some commonly consumed vegetables with aromatic or savory properties (culinary herbs) is described. 

Acne Earliest mention of ayurvedic treatment for acne is the use of derivatives of salt, rocksalt or sea salt, called lavana. Isolated clinical trials have been instrumental in proving the effectiveness of various herbal extracts of the plants described in ayurvedic treatise such as Bhavprakasha Nighantu and Charak Samhita in a combination therapies of oral and topical applications for treating acne (37). Treatments for acne seem to benefit from the antibacterial properties of neem (A. indica). Many ayurvedic soaps are formulated using extracts from stems, roots, and the bark of neem. 

Normal aqueous micellar media can also be employed to extract and purify components from solid matrices. Proteins have been extracted from wheat kernals using aqueous NaLS (399). This same surfactant system has been employed in an improved method for the extraction of filth from cheese (417). In another application, aqueous solutions of Brij-35 micelles have been employed to extract components (i.e. vanillin and ethylvanillin) from smoking tobacco (106). In a similar manner, various phenolic compounds have been extracted from herbal/plant leaves using nonionic Triton X-100, Brij-35, or octyl glucoside (0G) (393). In both of these latter examples, the indicated compounds could be identified and quantitated by reversed phase HPLC using as mobile phase the same micellar solutions (refer... 

Despite the potential toxicity that could be associated with many medicinal plants, the local people have for centuries been using them as recipes for traditional medicines. They have in many cases been able to effectively control possibilities of toxicity through knowledge handed down from forefathers. One way of eliminating potential toxicity of extracts by the herbal practitioners is by burning their herbal preparations before dispensing. This was evident in the present study where many of the herbal preparations used for skin infections would be burnt into powder first before application. 

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