DETECTION OF SENNA AND RHUBARB USED ONLY AS DRUGS FROM HERBAL TEAS ADVERTISING EFFECT OF WEIGHT-REDUCTION

Senna leaf, senna pod and rhubarb are the strong laxative crude drugs peculiarly containing such effective components as sennoside A (SA) an d sennoside B (SB). These crude drugs are prescribed as ingredients us ed only as drugs by the notification of Pharmaceutical Affairs Bureau. Therefore, foods containing these drugs are regulated as illegal drug s, unapproved/unpermitted drugs, on the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. We had successfully identified and detected rhubarb besides senna leaf a nd senna pod from some of imported herbal teas which were regarded as ''health foods.'' The established method for the identification of the se drugs is as follows. As the accurate method for the detection of ch aracteristic common components of SA and SE three dimensional-HPLC (3D -HPLC) and TLC were utilized and they were distinguished each ether ba sed on the peculiarities shown below. 1. Rhein 8-glucoside is a charac teristic component of rhubarb and successfully detected by 3D-HPLC. 2. On the TLC chromatogram for the identification method of sennna or rh ubarb described in Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP), each unique spot could be found, a pale white spot at senna, a remarkable orange-yellow spot usually observed on a mixture of free anthraquinones, chrysophanol, e modin, aloeemodin, etc, at rhubarb. 3. Through magnifying glass, even from cut samples, each characteristic tissue is found, namely pieces o f leaves with an entire, acuminate, asymmetric leaf base, swelling vei ns or some hairs on the senna leaf, glossy pieces of pod changed to da rk in place and often retuse seeds on senna pod, and brownish porous p ieces of rhubarb. 4. Under a microscope, warty hairs from senna leaves and large clustered crystals (over 50 mu m) with vessels, pigments an d other components from rhubarbs could be respectively observed as des cribed in JP.