MAYYAKU (Gall)
Mayakku consists of dried galls found on Quercus infectoria Olivo (Fam. Fagacem), a small tree or shrub, 2 to 5 m high, native of Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and Iran. The galls are excrescences on the twigs, resulting from insect attack of the growing, rudimentary leaves; they are imported into India.
SYNONYMS
Sanskrit : Mayaphala
Assamese : Aphsa
Bengali : Majoophal, Majuphal
English : Oak-Gall
Gujrati : Muajoophal, Mayfal
Hindi : Maajoophal, Majuphal
Kannada : Machikaai, Mapalakam
Kashmiri : —
Malayalam : Majakaanee, Mashikkay
Marathi : Maayaphal
Oriya : Mayakku
Punjabi : Maju
Tamil : Machakaai, Masikki, Mussikki
Telugu : Machikaaya
Urdu : Mazu, Mazuphal
DESCRIPTION
a) Macroscopic
Galls spherical or pear-shaped, hard and brittle 1.2 to 2.5 cm in diameter having a short basal stalk and numerous rounded projections on the upper part of the gall; they usually sink in water; surface, smooth, rather shining, bluish-green, olive green or white brown, a few galls show the escape route of insect, in the form of a small rounded hole leading to a cylindrical canal which passes to the centre of the gall; taste, astringent, followed by sweetness; average weight of ten galls picked at random should not be less than 2.5 g.
b) Microscopic
Gall shows outer most zone of small thin-walled parenchymatous cells, irregular in shape; a ring of large, oval-shaped sclerenchymatous cells and a small inner zone of thick-walled parenchymatous cells present near the central cavity; outer zone of the parenchyma differentiated into three type of cells; uppermost small, irregular, thinwalled, middle large, oval, and inner long parenchymatous cells, all having intercellular spaces; vascular bundles irregularly distributed in this region, consisting of small patches of xylem and phloem; vessels with spiral and reticulate thickening; around the central cavity, a ring of sclerenchyma of great variation in shape and size, present, with rectangular, ovoid, elongated, small sclereids, having heavily thickened striated walls with numerous pits, lumen large, usually filled with dense brown material, large sclereids are much elongated; a few rosette crystals of calcium oxalate in outer and middle region and prismatic crystals in inner parenchymatous cells present; starch grains simple and compound with central hilum, compound grains consisting of 2 to 5 or sometimes more components, simple grains round to oval, measuring upto 25 n in dia, present abundantly in innermost zone of parenchyma.
Powder – Cream colour; shows fragments of palisade-like thin-walled and oval to polygonal, thin-walled parenchymatous cells; sclereids with thickened and striated walls with numerous pits and vessels with reticulate and spiral thickening; simple, round to oval starch grains, measuring upto 25 n in dia.
IDENTITY, PURITY AND STRENGTH
Foreign matter Nil Appendix 2.2.2
Total Ash Not more than 2 per cent, Appendix 2.2.3.
Acid-insoluble ash Not more than 0.5 per cent, Appendix 2.2.4.
Alcohol-soluble extractive Not less than 60 per cent, Appendix 2.2.6.
Water-soluble extractive Not less than 55 per cent, Appendix 2.2.7.
Total Tannin content Not less than 50 per cent,
when determined by the following method:
ASSAY
Approximately 2 gms. of powdered fruit, accurately weighed, was refluxed twice for two hrs. with alcohol (95%) on a water bath and filtered. The extract was concentrated almost to dryness, the residue was taken up in 50 ml of water in a separating funnel and extracted four times with 20 ml of solvent ether, collecting the upper ethereal layer in each case in a separating funnel. The combined ethereal layer was extracted twice with 10 ml of water and aqueous extract was combined with original aqueous extract. The combined aqueous extract was saturated with sodium chloride and shaken with successive quantities of 25, 20, 20, 15 ml of ethyl acetate until complete extraction of the tannins was effected (tested by Ferric chloride reagent). The combined ethylacetate layer containing the tannins was filtered through a cotton plug (previously soaked with ethyl acetate). The filter was washed with 5 ml of ethylacetate and mixed with the original filtrate. The solvent was then distilled on a water bath and when the volume was reduced to about 10 ml, it was quantitatively transferred to a tared glass dish, the solvent removed on a boiling water bath and residue dried to constant weight at 90ºC. The residue gives the weight of the tannins present in the drug.
T.L.C.
T.L.C. of the alcoholic extract on Silica gel ‘G’ using Chloroform: Ethylacetate : Formic acid (5:4:1) shows in visible light three spots at Rf. 0.60, 0.69 & 0.78 (all grey). Under U.V. (366 nm) three fluorescent zones are visible at Rf. 0.60, 0.69 & 0.78 (all grey). On exposure to Iodine vapour five spots appear at Rf. 0.60, 0.69, 0.78, 0.84 & 0.96 (all yellow). On spraying with Ferric chloride reagent four spots appear at Rf. 0.13, 0.60, 0.69 & 0.78 (all greyish blue).
CONSTITUENTS – Tannic Acid, Starch and Sugars
PROPERTIES AND ACTION
Rasa : Kasaya
Guna : Laghu, Ruksa
Virya : Sita
Vipaka : Katu
Karma : Kaphahara, Pittahara, Dipani, Grahi
IMPORTANT FORMULATIONS – Madayantyadi Curna
THERAPEUTIC USES – Arsa, Atisara, Grahani, Mukha Roga, Pravahika, Danta Roga, Yoni Kanda, Sveta Pradara
DOSE – 1-3 gm of the drug in powder form.
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