Review on Adulteration of Ayurvedic raw drugs

Abstract

Background: The genuiness, purity, and quality of the drugs have direct impact on the medicinal preparation. Now days most of the drugs got from raw materials were adulterated. Destructive harvesting, deforestation, lack of adequate cultivation, high price and demand, in contrast to the smaller population size of the plant, have motivated adulteration. Deliberate adulteration rather than by mistake is a serious offense and is the most important reason for adverse drug effects these days. This paper intends to disclose three of such adulteration on market samples (trivrith, sariba, tila taila) by reviewing dissertation works done at Govt ayurveda college Thiruvanthapuram, Dravyaguna dept viz.

Methodology: Review of Physico chemical evaluation of the samples and comparing it with API standards of the drug.

Result: From the review it is revealed that other species of periplocaceae used instead of Hemidesmus indicus, trivrith shoot is used instead of root, mineral oil present in thila taila.

Discussion: From the above results, it is evident that these drugs were not in compliance with their phytochemical standards. Either deliberately or accidently drugs were adulterated. This can cause mild to severe consequences even in its judicial administration with respect to dose etc. Illiberal rules and their mandatory executions are needed to get rid of these disagreeable acts. Without those, all the efforts to globalize this science of living will be pointless. The genuiness, purity, and quality of the drugs have direct impact on the medicinal preparation. Now days most of the drugs got from raw materials were adulterated. Destructive harvesting, deforestation, lack of adequate cultivation, high price and demand, in contrast to the smaller population size of the plant, have motivated adulteration. Deliberate adulteration rather than by mistake is a serious offense and is the most important reason for adverse drug effects these days.