SJIF Impact Factor 6.805 Volume 5, Issue 7, 1830-1837. Research Article ISSN 2277 7105 PHARMACOGNOSTICAL AND PHYSICO - CHEMICAL EVALUATION OF SHARAPUNKHADI YOGA - A PROMISING HERBAL FORMULATION FOR NON ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE Remya E.* 1, Mandip Goyal 2, C. R. Harisha 3 and V. J. Shukla 4 1 Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Kayachikitsa, 2 Associate Professor, Department of Kayachikitsa, 3 Head, Pharmacognosy Laboratory, 4 Head, Pharmaceutical Chemistry Laboratory, Institute for Post Graduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Article Received on 16 May 2016, Revised on 06 June 2016, Accepted on 27 June 2016 DOI: 10.20959/wjpr20167-6646 *Corresponding Author Dr. Remya E. Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Kayachikitsa, Institute for Post Graduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. ABSTRACT Sharapunkhadi Yoga is a formulated combination comprising of equal quantities of extracts of Sharapunkha, Bhoomiamalaki and Katuki. Each single drug of this formulation is proven to have significant hepatoprotective activity as per Ayurvedic classics and modern pharmacological experiments in animal models. Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the disease of the era which arises mainly from faulty lifestyle. The clinical implications of NAFLD are derived mostly from its common occurrence in the general population, as well as its potential to progress to cirrhosis and liver failure. Sharapunkhadi Yoga is a promising drug in the management of this dreadful disease. In the present study an attempt has been made to develop pharmacognostical and pharmaceutical standards for extracts of Sharapunkha, Bhoomiamalaki and Katuki and for the formulation itself. Pharmacognostical study revealed presence of starch grains in all the four samples, oleoresins in Katuki and Sharapunkhadi Yoga etc. Physico-chemical studies showed that all the samples are slightly acidic, having ph 6.5 and water soluble extract greater than 90%. KEYWORDS: Pharmacognosy, Physicochemical analysis, Sharapunkhadi Yoga. www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1830
INTRODUCTION Major health issues of 20 th century fall under the spectrum of lifestyle disorders. Ayurveda has an upper hand in the management of lifestyle disorders as it is the Science Of Life. NAFLD is the disease of affluent societies which involves a wide spectrum of liver damage, ranging from simple, uncomplicated steatosis to steatohepatitis, steatosis plus ballooning degeneration, and Non-Alcoholic Steato Hepatitis(NASH), the latter being the most serious form [1]. The prevalence of NAFLD has increased over the last few years. The global epidemic of obesity and diabetes in all age groups may be partly responsible for the increase. The first step in the pathogenesis of the disease is Agnimandya and Ama which progresses through different stages of Arsha, Grahani, Pandu, Gulma and finally ends up with Udara, one among Ashtamahagada. Diagnosing the disease in the first stage itself and treating accordingly will help to prevent further complications. Sharapunkhadi Yoga is a formulated combination comprising of equal quantities of extracts of Sharapunkha, Bhoomiamalaki and Katuki. Sharapunkha, which is named as Pleehashatru [2], is mentioned to be effective in Yakrit Pleeha Rogas. Both Bhumiamalaki [3] and Katuki [4] are mentioned in the management of majority of Yakrit Janya Rogas like Kamala, Pandu etc. Extracts of all the drugs have shown significant hepatoprotective activity in experimental study in rats. Lack of standardization of poly-herbal formulations creates difficulty in validating the efficacy and maintaining quality of the product. Therefore, it is important to ensure the standard and quality right from the raw drugs to the finished product. Hence an attempt has been made to study Sharapunkhadi Yoga by pharmacognostical and physico-chemical parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS Collection of raw drugs Extracts of the formulation was purchased separately from Konark Herbals and Healthcare, Daman. The ingredients and the part used are given in Table 1. Table 1: Ingredients of Sharapunkhadi Yoga Sl No: Drug Botanical Name Part Used Form Ratio 1 Sharapunkha Tephrosia purpurea Linn. Whole plant Extract Powder 1 part 2 Bhoomiamalaki Phyllanthus fraternus Webst. Whole plant Extract Powder 1 part 3 Katuki Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. Root Extract Powder 1 part Total Sharapunkhadi Yoga Extract Powder www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1831
Method of Preparation As per the information provided by Konark Herbals and Healthcare, the procedures involved in the preparation of extract are collection of raw drugs, authentication by Quality Control lab, cleaning, drying, pulverization, extraction, filtering and concentration. Extraction of Sharapunkha and Bhoomiamalaki were done with water and that of Katuki with 50% alcohol. Extracts were stored in separate air tight containers. Sharapunkhadi Yoga was prepared by mixing the three powders in equal proportions in mass mixing machine till the homogeneous mixture was obtained. Pharmacognostical Study Raw drugs were identified and authenticated by the Pharmacognosy laboratory, I.P.G.T& R.A., Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, Gujarat. The identification was carried out based on organoleptic characters of powder (Churna), later pharmacognostical evaluation of the powder (Churna) was carried out. Powder (Churna) was dissolved in small quantity of distilled water, filtered through filter paper, studied under the Corlzeiss trinocular microscope attached with camera, without stain and with stain. The microphotographs were also taken under the microscope [5]&[6]. Pharmaceutical Study Sharapunkhadi Yoga was analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative parameters at pharmaceutical Laboratory of I.P.G.T& R.A., Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar. The common physico-chemical parameters mentioned for Churna in Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia of India and C.C.R.A.S guidelines are total Ash value, ph value, water and methanol soluble extracts [7]. On its base the parameters were selected. Presence of more moisture contents in a sample can create preservative problems of Churna. Hence loss on drying was also selected as one of the parameter [8]&[9]. OBSERVATIONS AND RESULTS The initial purpose of the study was to confirm the authenticity of the drugs used in the preparation of Sharapunkhadi Yoga. For this, extract powder of all the three ingredients were subjected to organoleptic and microscopic evaluation separately to confirm the genuineness of all the drugs. Later, after the preparation of formulation, pharmacognostical evaluation was carried out. www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1832
Organoleptic evaluation: Organoleptic features like color, odour, taste and consistency of the Sharapunkhadi Yoga were recorded and are placed in Table no 2. Table 2: Organoleptic characters of Sharapunkhadi Yoga Colour Odour Taste Consistency Sharapunkha Madhura, Tikta Light chocolate Slightly ends with brown aromatic Kashaya Fine powder Bhoomiamalaki Light brown Light astringent Kashaya Fine powder Katuki Light yellow Light astringent Tikta Fine powder Madhura, Sharapunkhadi Light brown Astringent Kashaya ends Yoga with Tikta Fine powder Microscopic evaluation: Microscopic evaluation was conducted by dissolving powders of individual drugs and Sharapunkhadi yoga in the distilled water, then stained and studied under microscope for the presence of characteristics of ingredient drugs. Powder microscopy of Sharapunkhadi Yoga showed striking characters of all 3 individual constituents which is summarized in Table 3. (Plate 1. Fig 1-17) Table 3: Microscopic characters Drug Sharapunkha Bhoomiamalaki Katuki Sharapunkhadi Yoga Characters Simple and compound starch grains with hilum Prismatic crystals of Calcium Oxalate Vanished cork cells [Plate.1 Fig 1-3] Starch grains with hilum (comparatively less compared to Sharapunkha) Prismatic crystals of Calcium Oxalate Vanished cork cells Tannin content [Plate.1 Fig 4-7] 1. Oleoresin 2. Starch grains with hilum 3. Prismatic crystals of Calcium Oxalate 4.Vanished cork cells Cork filled with tannin 5. Parenchymal cells. [Plate.1 Fig 8-13] Prismatic crystals of Calcium Oxalate of Sharapunkha and Bhoomiamalaki Oleoresins along with oil globules of Katuki Starch grains of Katuki Tannin content along with cork cells of Katuki [Plate.1 Fig 14-17] www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1833
Fig.1 Fig.2 Fig.3 Fig.4 Fig.5 Fig.6 Fig.7 Fig.8 Fig.9 Fig.10 Fig.11 Fig.12 www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1834
Fig.13 Fig.14 Fig.15 Fig.16 Fig.17 Plate 1. Photomicrographs of Sharapunkha Pharmaceutical study of Sharapunkhadi Yoga: Physico-chemical parameters like loss on drying, ash value, water and alcohol soluble extract etc were carried out and the results are depicted in Table 4. Table 4. Physico-chemical parameters of Sharapunkhadi Yoga Sharapunkha Bhoomiamalaki Katuki Sharapunkhadi Yoga Loss on drying % w/w 4.25 1.95 1.3 2.7 Ash value % w/w 3.23 2.998 2.21 3.14 Water soluble extract % w/w 98.9 92.4 95.7 96.8 Methanol soluble extract % w/w 37.31 2.36 17.84 13.76 Ph (5% v/w Aqua solution) 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 DISCUSSION Sharapunkhadi Yoga, the formulated combination comprising of the extracts of Sharapunkha, Bhoomiamalaki and Katuki, found to be beneficial for Yakrit vikaras has been analyzed. Study on Sharapunkhadi Yoga was a step towards pharmacognostical and pharmaceutical standardization of the drug. The pharmacognostical study revealed the presence of starch www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1835
grain cells, prismatic crystals of calcium oxalate and tannin content. All were common in all the ingredients. It also revealed the presence of Oleoresin in Katuki and Sharapunkhadi Yoga. The presence of all contents of raw drugs in the final product showed the genuinity of the final product. All the pharmaceutical parameters analysed has shown values permissible for the churna. The physico-chemical parameters showed that percentage of water soluble extract was more than alcohol soluble extract. Ash value of the final product was very less ie. 3.14% showed that the presence of inorganic material was negligible. It also showed presence of slightly acidic nature of Churna which may help in augmenting the Jatharaagni(digestive fire). CONCLUSION The ingredients were identified and authenticated pharmacognostically and were used for the preparation. The formulation was subjected to pharmacognostical study reveal genuineness as that all the ingredient microscopical characters were observed. Physico-chemical study inferred that the formulation meets the minimum quality standards as reported in the API at a preliminary level. Though the ground work requisites for the standardization of Sharapunkhadi Yoga is covered in the current study, additional important analysis and investigations are required for the identification of all the active chemical constituents of the test drug to substantiate the clinical efficacy. The inference from this study may be used as reference standard in further quality control researches. REFERENCES 1. Angulo P and Lindor K D, Gastro enterol Hepatol, 2002: 17 (Suppl). 2. Prof. Krishna Chandra Chunekar, Bhavaprakasha Nighandu, Chowkhambha Bharathi Academy, Varanasi, Guduchyadi varga 3/210, p. 393. 3. Vaidya Laksmipati Sastri Yogaratnakara with Vidyotini Hindi Commentary, Chaukhambha Prakashan, Varanasi,Reprint 2010, Panduroga chikitsa p: 344, Sloka 11. 4. Agnivesha, Charak Samhita,with Shree Chakrapani Datta(commentary).Vaidya Yadavji Trikamaji Acharya, editor. Published by Chaukhambna Subharati Prakashan, Chikitsa Sthana, Pandu Chikitsitam Adhyaya-16/47. p. 529. 5. handelwal KR. Practical Pharmacognosy techniques and experiments. 19th ed. Pune: Nirali Prakashan; 2008; 149-166. 6. Kokate CK, Purohit AP, Gokhale SB. Pharmacognosy. 42 nd ed. Pune: Nirali Prakashan; 2008; 102. www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1836
7. Anonymous. Quality control methods for medicinal plant materials, Geneva: World Health Organization; 1998. 8. Anonymous, Parameters for qualitative assessment of Ayurveda and Siddha drugs, Part A, New Delhi: CCRAS; 2005; 31. 9. Stahl E. A Laboratory hand book. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 1969; 102. www.wjpr.net Vol 5, Issue 7, 2016. 1837