Vijay Naithani

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 4 billion people or 80 percent of the world population, presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care and 25% of modern medicines are made from plants first used traditionally. There are several reports of adverse effects of these herbal preparations due to the presence of high level of heavy metals such as Lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, arsenic and mercury and this problem has become a matter of concern. The present study was done to check the presence of lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, arsenic and mercury in two major ingredients (Azadirachta indica and Curcuma longa) of a polyherbal product- Ampucare. These ingredients were procured from different cities of India and subjected to analysis by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results were compared with the permissible limits (PL), acceptable daily intake (ADI) and provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) as set by World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives (JECFA). All the metals were within these limits. Mean levels were evaluated with respect to their place of procurement. Delhi samples had highest mean metal contamination followed by Lucknow, Chandigarh and Chennai samples. Lowest metal contamination was found in Srinagar samples. These results were also in correlation with the safe limits as well as pollution prevailing in these cities. Overall study confirmed the safety of Ampucare.

The present study was designed to assess the variation in curcumin content of Curcuma longa rhizome and total polyphenols in Azadirachta indica bark samples procured from different zones of India. Physico-chemical tests such as total ash, acid insoluble ash, alcohol soluble extractive, water soluble extractive, volatile oil content etc. were also determined. A slight variation was seen in the bark samples of Azadirachta indica. Total ash ranged from 4.25±0.15 (East zone) to 5.57±0.20 (Central zone) whereas acid insoluble ash ranged from 0.80±0.07 (East zone) to 1.52±0.06 (Central zone). Alcohol soluble extractive value of East zone sample was found to be more than 4 times higher 16.95±0.80 than that of central zone 3.85±0.12, where lowest value was recorded. Water soluble extractive value was also found to be highest in East zone sample 17.80±1.10 which was 2 times more than that of Central zone sample 8.45±0.15. This variation may be due to variation in climatic conditions, soil type, pollution stress etc. All the results were within the limits as given in The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. Total Polyphenols ranged from 190.0 mgGAE/g of dry weight (Central zone) to 510.0 mgGAE/g of dry weight (East zone). All the samples were found to be rich in total polyphenols. In Curcuma longa samples, Total ash ranged from 3.10±0.20 (South zone) to 4.80±0.25 (North zone) whereas acid insoluble ash ranged from 0.55±0.04 (South zone) to 1.24±0.06 (North zone). Alcohol soluble extractive value was found to be highest in South zone sample 14.80±0.30 which was found to be more than 3 times higher than that of central zone 4.28±0.19 where lowest value was recorded. Water soluble extractive value was also found to be highest in West zone sample 12.55±0.69 and lowest in Central zone sample 8.90±0.37. Volatile oil ranged from 3.50±0.21 North zone sample to 5.50±0.20 South zone sample, where highest volatile oil was recovered. All the results were within the limits as given in The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. In our study, curcumin content ranged from 0.30 % (Central zone) to 3.24 % (South zone). Average curcumin content was found to be 1.54 % on dry weight basis. Ampucare is prepared by selection of best quality herbs.

Herbal preparations are getting popular day by day as they are considered to be safe. Septiloc is also a herbal preparation which is useful in a wide range of wounds such as diabetic wounds, bed sores, ulcers, burns, post-surgical wounds etc. It was subjected to analysis by AAS-VGA for toxic heavy metals like arsenic and mercury. Levels of arsenic and mercury were estimated in ten different batches of Septiloc and evaluated with respect to permissible limit (PL) and provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI). In most of the samples, As and Hg were either below the detection limit or below the PL and PMTDI. These results prove that Septiloc is a safe polyherbal preparation and is free from toxic effects of As and Hg.