Carthamus tinctorius (flower)

Nomenclature

Carthamus tinctorius L.   Asteraceae  
Standardized common name (English): safflower  
Ayurvedic name(s): kusumbha  
Pinyin name(s): hong hua (flower)

Botanical Voucher Specimen

Carthamus tinctorius L. Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden	Carthamus tinctorius L. Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden	Carthamus tinctorius L. Source: Images courtesy of the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden

Organoleptic Characteristics

Carthamus tinctorius L. Safflower.— [...] has a peculiar, slightly aromatic odor, and a scarcely perceptible bitterness. Source: United States Dispensatory (1918)

Macroscopic Characteristics

Carthamus tinctorius L. Safflower.— The African, false, American, or dyers' saffron is an annual composite, with a smooth, erect stem, somewhat branched at top, and a foot or two in height. [...] The florets are in mass of a red color, diversified by the yellow of the styles contained within the floret. [...] It contains a fixed oil; also two coloring substances—one red, insoluble in alkaline liquids, and called carthamin or carthamic acid by Dobereiner, who found it to possess weak acid properties; the other yellow, and soluble in water. Source: United States Dispensatory (1918)

Microscopic Characteristics

Fragment of the corolla showing brown laticiferous vessels observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories	Three pored pollen grain shown exuding contents observed at 400x with Acidified Chloral Hydrate Glycerol Solution. Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic Identification

Carthamus tinctorius HPTLC ID - Natural Product Reagent + PEG UV 365 nm Safflower (flower) (Carthamus tinctorius) Lane Assignments Lanes, from left to right (Track, Volume, Sample): 1 μL Rutin, Caffeic Acid, Hyperoside, Chlorogenic Acid ~ 0.1% in Methanol 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-1 (flower) 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-2 (flower) 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-3 (flower) 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-3 (flower) 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-4 (flower) 3 μL Carthamus tinctorius-5 (flower) 1 μL Rutin, Caffeic Acid, Hyperoside, Chlorogenic Acid ~ 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 ethyl acetate: AcCOOH: HCOOH: H2O [10/1.1/1.1/2.4]  Sample Preparation Method 0.3 g + 3 ml CH3OH sonicated + heated @ 50° C ~ 1 hr  Detection Method Natural Product Reagent + PEG -> UV 365 nm  Reference see Adapted from Plant Drug Analysis, Wagner, H., 1996 Source: Elan M. Sudberg, Alkemist Laboratories