Magnolia officinalis (bark)

Nomenclature

Magnolia officinalis Rehder & E.H. Wilson   Magnoliaceae  
Standardized common name (English): magnolia  
Pinyin name(s): hou po; hou po (bark of stem; twig; and root); hou po hua (flower bud)

Botanical Voucher Specimen

Source: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Organoleptic Characteristics

[The bark of Magnolia officinalis is] inodorous; taste somewhat astringent, pungent, and bitter. The aromatic property, which resides in a volatile principle, is diminished by desiccation, and entirely lost when the bark is long kept. The bitterness, however, remains. The bark is destitute of astringency. Source: United States Dispensatory (1918)

Macroscopic Characteristics

The bark from young wood is quilled or curved, thin, externally orange-brown and glossy, or light gray, with scattered warts and somewhat fissured, internally whitish or pale brownish and smooth; fracture short, in the inner layer somewhat fibrous ... The bark of old wood, deprived of the cork, is whitish or brownish, fibrous, and less pungent. Source: United States Dispensatory (1918)

Microscopic Characteristics

Cells containing yellow-brown oil observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories	Star shaped lignified sclereids observed at 400x with phloroglucinol + HCl. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories	Lignified fibers observed at 400x with phloroglucinol + HCl. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Identification

Magnolia officinalis HPTLC ID - 10% Ethanolic H2SO4 visible light Magnolia (bark) (Magnolia officinalis) Lane Assignments Lanes, from left to right (Track, Volume, Sample): 3 μL Magnolol ~ 0.1% in Methanol 3 μL Magnolia officinalis-1 3 μL Magnolia officinalis-2 3 μL Magnolia officinalis-3 3 μL Magnolia officinalis-3 4 μL Magnolia officinalis-4 2 μL Magnolia officinalis-4 3 μL Honokiol ~ 0.1% in Methanol Reference materials used here have been authenticated by macroscopic, microscopic &/or TLC studies according to the reference source cited below held at Alkemists Laboratories, Costa Mesa, CA.  Stationary Phase Silica gel 60, F254, 10 x 10 cm HPTLC plates  Mobile Phase cyclohexane: ethyl acetate: HCOOH [6/4/0.2]  Sample Preparation Method 0.3g+3mL 70% grain EtOH sonicate/heat @~50° C ~ 1/2 hr  Detection Method 10% Ethanolic H2SO4 -> 115° C 15 min -> visible light  Reference see Pharmacopoeia of The Peoples Republic of China, Volume 1, 1997 Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories