Hutabhugadi churna is commonly used in Ayurveda for the treatment of Pandu,
Arsha, Agnimandya, Shopha etc. It was prepared with authentic ingredients by the Clinical unit
of Regional Research Institute, Trivandrum as described in Sahasrayoga, Churnaprakarana and was
analysed from the standardisation point of view. A detailed chemical analysis of the formulation
was carried out to lay down the pharmacopoeial standards. The physico-chemical characteristics
of the drug like loss on drying at 105oC, ash value, acid insoluble ash, water soluble ash, solubility
in water and alcohol, fibre content, tannin content etc. were determined. Since Rock salt is one of
the ingredients, chloride was also estimated. Thin Layer Chromatographic (TLC) profiles of the
petroleum ether and alcoholic extracts of the churna were taken. TLC studies were also conducted
using methanolic extracts of the churna and its herbal ingredients to compare the Rf values of the
chemical constituents of the churna and its ingredients and to detect the major ingredient,
Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) in the churna. The combination was tested for arsenic and heavy
metals and was found to be within the permissible limit. This shows that the drug is not
affected by environmental pollution and pesticides. All data obtained from physico-chemical
tests and Rf values of TLC can be used as the pharmacopoeial standards for Hutabhugadi
churna.
Key words: Hutabhugadi, Pharmacopoeial standards, Agnimandya, Quality control, Ayurveda.
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