GC-MS Analysis of Anda Thailam - A Classical Siddha Medicated Oil

Abstract

Anda Thailam is a traditional Siddha medicated oil mentioned in The Siddha Formulary of India Part I. In practice, it is used for neurological and digestive problems in children and infants, such as Pakkavatham, Mantham, and Sanni. It is also applied on the tongue for Naakku vatham. Even though it has been used for a long time, there hasn’t been much scientific study on what exactly is in this oil. The goal of this study was to find out the main chemical constituents present in Anda Thailam using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. A sample of the oil was first extracted with ethanol. Then it was treated with a derivatization agent (BSTFA+TMCS) to make the compounds easier to detect. The prepared sample was run on an Agilent 6890N GC system connected to a JEOL GC-Mate II high-resolution mass spectrometer. An HP-5 MS capillary column (30m length, 0.25mm inner diameter, 0.25µm film thickness) was used for separation. The total ion chromatogram showed five major peaks at retention times of 11.77, 16.08, 16.78, 17.53, and 18.18 minutes. Library matching (NIST/WILEY) identified these as: pentanoic acid, 5-hydroxy-, 2,4-di-t-butylphenyl ester (11.77 min), oxiraneundecanoic acid, 3-pentyl-, methyl ester, trans- (16.08 min), pentadecanoic acid, methyl ester (16.78 min) – this was the largest peak, 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, hexyl ester (17.53 min), 10-Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester (18.18 min). Almost all of the identified compounds are fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), which fits well with the fact that Anda Thailam is a lipid-rich, animal-based oil.