Thermal characterization of dried extract of medicinal plant by DSC and analytical techniques

The increased search for herbal products has generated an increasing interest in improving the quality control of dried extracts by pharmaceutical industry since these are raw materials of great importance by their quality and versatility. This work aimed at the application of various analytical techniques (thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy) in the characterization of dried extracts of two plants from the Brazilian semiarid region with medicinal properties. The DSC curves for the dried extracts of Ximenia americana L. and Schinopsis brasiliensis Engl. showed that thermal processes occur between 33.50 and 118.58 °C and between 39.17 and 126.14 °C. The X-ray powder diffraction revealed high degree of amorphization, but the dried extract of X. americana L. showed some diffraction peaks of high intensity. The IR spectra showed high variety of metabolites in the extracts dried. Through this study it was possible to verify the feasibility of applying these techniques in the characterization of raw materials from medicinal plants for use in the herbal medicines production.