EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH REGARDING THE ACTIVE EXTRACTS, POLYPHENOLS- STANDARDIZED. NOTE II. MELILOTI HERBA - PHARMACOGNOSTIC ANALYSIS OF THE RAW MATERIAL

Flowering tops of melilot (Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pallas) were studied, in order to obtain a selective extract, enriched in coumarins. Macroscopic exam, microscopic exam and a chemical exam (qualitative and quantitative) were performed for this vegetal raw material. The following anatomic characteristics were identified: fibres with thick walls and surrounded by a sheath containing prism crystals of calcium oxalate; covering trichomes with warty cuticle; glandular trichomes with a short stalk and an ovoid heat; pollen grains with smooth exine and 1- 2 germinal pores. The raw material contains: flavones (0.180- 0.185 g%, expressed as rutin), polyphenolcarboxilic acids (0.956- 1.066 g%, expressed as caffeic acid), coumarines, triterpenic saponins, tannins, sterols, carotenoids, polysaccharides (mucilages). Also an enriched coumarine extract was analysed in comparison with the raw material.