AN ANALYTICAL EVALUATION OF PLUMBAGIN IN PLUMBAGO ZEYLANICA ROOTS AFTER SHODHANA BY NIMAJJANA IN SUDHA JALA W.S.R. TO FOUR DIFFERENT DURATION

Abstract

Acharyas have told there is no drug without medicinal values, in Agdatantra, sthavara visha (poisonous plants) are classified as mahavisha (highly toxic) and upavisha(less toxic). Chitraka is one among the upavisha, which is having both therapeutic and poisonous action. The gunas like tikshna(sharp), ushna(hot), laghu(light) etc., gunas acting as both curing and killing action. Because of its rasa, guna, virya and vipaka it is best deepana(appetitizers), pachana(digester), arshahara(reduces the hemorrhoids) etc., actions can be eliciated. But for its therapeutic action without any complications or poisonous actions Acharyas have explained shodhana(purification) for all the visha dravyas. Shodhana procedure turns toxic principles into nontoxic ones and can be used for therapeutic effect. As per the classics chitraka shodhana is explained as soaking it in churnodaka(lime water). But duration is not mentioned hence here the study is conducted on the duration of soaking chitrakamula in churnodaka (lime water). Chitakamula is soaked in churnodaka for four different hours and analysis is done that is HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is conducted. Where as per the organoleptic analysis long duration soaked chitrakamula showed more colour change is churnodaka and also more characteristic odour is more in long duration soaked chitrakamula and all the sample were subjected to HPLC and presence of plumbagin in all the four samples was estimated.