Experimental and Clinical Studies on Viral Verrucae in Coix Lacryma-Jobi (Part 4): Purification of Cell-Damaging Substance Contained in Coix Lacryma-Jobi

Abstract

Previously we clinically demonstrated that a hot water extract from the adlay seed skin was effective for viral verrucae, and we isolated the active substance. The activity of this substance was determined by direct cytotoxicity test, using 51Cr-labeled K-562 as a target. The hot water extract from the adlay seed skin was extracted with a mixture of methanol and chloroform (1 : 2 v/v), and its soluble portion was concentrated. When separation was carried out, using a sillicagel thin-layer chromatography plate (Merck Art 5745) and a mixture of petroleum ether, ethyl ether and acetic acid (80 : 20 : 1) as a developing solution, the active substance was present at an Rf of 0.18. The scraping obtained at the Rf of 0.18 was analyzed by IR spectrophotometry, gas chromatography and GC-MS. The substance under investigation was identified as a mixture of a salt composed mainly of palmitic acid of C16:0] and unsaturated fatty acid of C16:0 with a small quantity of a salt of stearic acid of C18:1 and unsaturated fatty acid of C18:2. © 1984, Western Division of Japanese Dermatological Association. All rights reserved.