ISSN: 0975-766X Available Online through Research Article www.ijptonline.com STANDARDIZATION OF SIDDHA DRUG SANGU PARPAM USING INFRARED SPECTRUM V.N. Meena devi * 1 P. Nagendra Prasad 2 & K. Kalirajan 3 1 Department of Physics, Noorul Islam University, Kumaracoil, Kanyakumari Dist 629 180, Tamilnadu. 2 Department of Biotechnology, Sri Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi, Tirunelveli Dist. -627412. 3 PG and Research Department of Chemistry, Sri Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi,TamilNadu. India. a Department of Biotechnology, Sri Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi,TamilNadu. India. Email: vndevi@gmail.com Received on 29-07-2010 Accepted on 12-08-2010 Abstract The traditional medicine is widely used for various human ailments in which plant products are largely used for drug preparation. In Indian medicine till now there is not a single method for the standardization of drug. In the Siddha medicine Sangu parpam is widely used for the treatment of indigestion, acidity, hyperacidity, ulcer, carminative and piles. It is used externally for various skin diseases, pimples and skin crack. Sangu parpam is a product is taken in this present study for standardization by using IR spectrum. Keywords: IR Spectrum, Sangu parpam, Siddha drug, Standardization, Traditional medicine Introduction The traditional medicine is widely used for various human ailments. The usage of herbal medicine could be even traced right from the beginning of mankind. Man tried to know about the plants around him to satisfy his basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing 1. All plants in this planet are important because of its medicinal qualities. Traditional system of medicines has become significantly more popular all over the globe because of the effective and curative nature for chronic disease with less toxicity. The medicinal plant contains one or more active principles to cure the diseases 2. Page 634
In India mainly there are four types of medical systems namely Siddha, Ayurvedic, Unnani and Homeopathy 3. In all these above systems the plant is used as a main drug to cure the various ailments 4. Siddha system of medicine is one among the great heritages of India especially in Tamilnadu. In Siddha system of medicine the drugs sources are mainly obtained from plants and some from the animal products, minerals and metals. The various parts of the plants namely roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and nuts or the entire plant is used as drugs. In the Siddha system there are different types of drugs like decotion (Kasayam), parpam (mixture of plant and animal in powder form), chendhuram (mixture of plant products and metals), lekayams (paste) and mathirai (tablets). In Indian medicine till now there is not a single method for the standardization of the preparation. Sangu parpam is a product is taken in this present study for standardization. Sangu Parpam is prepared by mixing the animal product Sangu (Bivalvae Shells) and the plant parts like leaf, flower and whole plant. In the Siddha medicine Sangu parpam is widely used for the treatment of indigestion, acidity, hyperacidity, ulcer, carminative and piles. It is used externally for various skin diseases, pimples and skin crack. Materials and methods Sangu parpam was prepared by the methods prescribed in the Siddha literature. In the Siddha literature, Sangu parpam can be prepared by using the marine shell (Bivalvae shells) and any one of the plant juice namely Borriea hispida (Nattaichurai), Nelumbium speciosum( Tamarai leaf) and Pistia stratiotes (Agasatamarai). In this present study three samples of Sangu parpam were prepared by mixing the plant juices separately with Bivalvae shells. Another three samples of Sangu parpam were obtained from the pharmacuteecial companies namely Lakshmi Seva Sangam (Gandhigram), IMCOPS (Chennai) and Gopal Assan (Nagercoil). The physical properties like solubility, colour and ph of sample were analysed. The Infrared spectroscopic analysis of these samples was done. From the spectrum the functional groups were identified and they are correlated with the curative nature of the drug. Page 635
Result and Discussion All the six samples are partially soluble in water and ph ranges and the physical nature of the sample are given in table 1. The IR spectrum for shell with Nattaichurai, sample 1 was given in fig 1. The IR spectrum for shell with Tamarai leaf, sample 2 was given in fig 2. The IR spectrum for shell with Agasatamarai, sample 3 was given in fig 3. The IR spectrum for samples obtained from Lakshmi Seva Sangam (Gandhigram), sample 4, IMCOPS (Chennai) sample 5 and Gopal Assan (Nagercoil) sample 6 were given in fig 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Table 1: Physical parameters Sl No. Colour ph value 1 Milky white 8.2 2 Yellowish orange 8.0 3 Very light ash 8.5 4 Light ash colour 7.2 5 Light white 10.2 6 Very light yellow 9.2 Figure 1: The IR spectrum for shell with Nattaichurai - sample 1. Page 636
Figure 2: The IR spectrum for shell with Tamarai leaf - sample 2. Figure 3: The IR spectrum for shell with Agasatamarai - sample 3. Page 637
Figure 4: The IR spectrum for shell with Lakshmi Seva Sangam (Gandhigram) - sample 4. Figure 5: The IR spectrum for shell with IMCOPS (Chennai) - sample 5. Page 638
Figure 6: The IR spectrum for shell with Gopal Assan (Nagercoil) - sample 6. The ph value of all the samples ranges from 7.2 to 10.2 which correspond to the alkaline range. The main functional groups of all the samples are alkane, hydroxyl group, amine, imine, amide, phosphate and phosphorous compounds, silicon and secondary amines. The presence of functional group like silicon and phosphorous compounds, acid anhydrides is confirmed by the IR specrtrum. The partially soluble nature and the alkaline ph (8-9) of all the samples also confirm the usage of Sangu parpam for the treatment of indigestion, ulcer and hyperacidity. The functional groups like amines, imines and alkane residues make the Sangu parpam effective for the skin disease, skin cracks and pimples. The phosphate compound present in these samples makes the product as a main source of energy, which is used in the ATP synthesis, oxidation of food through respiratory cycle. Page 639
There is no appropriate technique for the standardization of Indian medicine especially for the Siddha drug 5. The different pharmaceutical companies and the village physicians prepare their medicine based on same ancient literature available in the palm leaves. The preparation varies from place to place according to the availability of the main raw materials particularly the plant materials. In the modern system of medicine, every drug in the market has been standardized on the basis of the active principles present in that drug which is more useful for curing the specific ailments. This is lacking in the Indian system of medicine. In order to overcome the difficulty a novel attempt has been made to standardize the Siddha drug by using the simple and well known Infrared spectral method. Infrared spectroscopic studies of different samples of Sangu parpam clearly indicates that the final product is identical in all the cases irrespective of mixing the different plant juices available in the different regions used for the preparations. Moreover the spectral analysis helps to speculate the functional groups present in the drugs. From the nature of the functional groups, the curative property of the drug can be easily determined scientifically. Any number of samples available in the market can be tested for the quality of drug by using the IR spectroscopic analysis and it is a potential tool for testing the quality of Indian medicine in the market. Acknowledgement: One of the authors Dr. P. Nagendra Prasad is thankful to the University Grants Commission for the financial support. (F.No.35-25/2008 (SR)) Page 640
References V.N. Meena devi * et al. /International Journal Of Pharmacy&Technology 1. P.V. Sharma. Siddha medicine. In History of Medicine in India (Ed.) P. V. Sharma. New Delhi: The Indian National Science Academy, 1992, 445-450. 2. Pulok K Mukherjee, Sujay Rai, V Kumar, Kakali Mukherjee, P.J Hylands, RC Hider. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 2(5), 633-657 (2007). 3. Premalatha Balachandran, Rajgopal Govindarajan. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery. 2(12), 1631-1652 (2007). 4. B. V. Subbarayappa.. Chemical practices and alchemy. In A Concise History of Science in India (Eds.) D. M. Bose, S. N. Sen and B. V. Subbarayappa. New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. 315-335 (1971). 5. A.T. Elamthuruthy, C.R. Shah, T.A. Khan and P.A. Tatke. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 37(5), 937-941 (2005). For correspondence* V.N. Meena devi * Email: vndevi@gmail.com Page 641