oxyresveratrol,
suggesting the potential of the compound as
a skin whitening agent or an anti-herpetic drug. Because
of its high content of oxyresveratrol, A. lakoocha
heartwood appears to be an excellent natural source of
the compound. However, it can be envisaged that the
pharmacognostic properties of the crud drug have to be
fully determined before its international commercial
opportunities can be realized. A previous comprehensive
study on the pharmacognostic and chemical properties of
A. lakoocha described the morphology and microscopic
characteristics, and the oxyresveratrol content of the
stems, branches and roots of the plant collected from the
wild in five provinces of Thailand5. The present report
provides additional and more update information on the
pharmacognostic properties of A. lakoocha heartwood,
based on the samples currently available in drugstores in
Thailand
MATERIALS: Samples of A. lakoocha heartwood were
purchased from 13 different Thai traditional drugstores.
Three of them were located in Bangkok. The remaining
drugstores were situated in 10 different provinces and
distributed in five geographical areas of Thailand