Physicochemical Profiling of Lasunadi Vati – A Polyherbal Ayurvedic Formulation

Abstract

Background: Lasunadi vati (LV) is a polyherbal Ayurvedic preparation, traditionally used for treating dyspepsia, diarrhea and gastroenteritis.  Even though LV is a commonly used formulation, no proper has yet been done on the chemical characterization of LV.

Aim: The present study intends to carry out a physicochemical fingerprinting of LV involving Organoleptic and microscopic characterization, Estimation of ash content, Surface characterization studies using modern analytical techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTA), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.

Materials and Methods: All the analyses were carried out in the State-of-the-art laboratory facility available in SASTRA University, Thanjavur.

Results and Discussion: The microscopic characterization confirmed the presence of all the herbal ingredients present in LV as mentioned in Ayurvedic literature. The surface morphology showed a fused network. All the physicochemical characteristics (Total ash, Acid insoluble ash, Soluble ash and Moisture content) were all found to be within the permissible limits mentioned in Ayurvedic pharmacopeia. The XRF results on elemental composition of LV was in accordance with the details mentioned in Ayurvedic Formulary of India. The results of TG-DTA and FT-IR indicated the presence of organic moieties in the formulation. The XRD pattern of LV indicated the presence of sulphur which is one of the main ingredients of the formulation.

Conclusion: The present study has provided a thorough physicochemical fingerprinting of the formulation LV