Evaluation of Herbal Drugs PDF

Evaluation of Herbal Drugs  The term “herbal drugs” denotes plants or plant parts that have been converted into phytopharmaceuticals by means of simple processes involving harvesting, drying, and storage.  Eighty percent of the world population depends on herbal medicines and products f...

Evaluation of Herbal Drugs  The term “herbal drugs” denotes plants or plant parts that have been converted into phytopharmaceuticals by means of simple processes involving harvesting, drying, and storage.  Eighty percent of the world population depends on herbal medicines and products for healthy living.  This rise in the use of herbal product has also given rise to various forms of abuse and adulteration of the products leading to consumers and manufacturers disappointment. 1. Physical evaluation Physical constants are sometimes taken into consideration to evaluate certain drugs. These include: 1.1. Moisture content 1.2. Melting point 1.3. Viscosity 1.4. Solubility in different solvents All these physical properties are useful in identification and detecting of constituents present in plants. 2. Authentication Authentication of plant before carrying out the evaluation is the most important step in development of standards for Herbal drug. Page 1 of 3  Authentication of plant is done by evaluating following parameters,  Parts of plants collect like leaf, flower, and root.  Family  Specie 3. Macroscopical (Organoleptic) Evaluation The term organoleptic evaluation refers to the sensory evaluation. The characteristics which are evaluated with a help of sense organ such as color, odour, taste, size, shape, texture etc. It is Qualitative Evaluation. Examples:  Colour:- (Cinnamon Bark -Brown).  Odour:- (Jatamansi-Aromatic)  Taste:- (Capsicum-Pungent).  Size:- (Digitalis--10-30 cm long and 4-10 cm wide).  Shape:- (Nux vomica-Disc shaped).  Texture:- (Cascara barks- Fractured surface). 4. Microscopic Evaluation: 4.1. Qualitative Microscopy: This method is used to identify organized drug by their known histological characters through Transverse section (T.S.) or Longitudinal Section (L.S.). Microscopic Evaluations also covers study of different constituents by using staining Reagents which are given in Table 1. Page 2 of 3  4.2. Stomata There are several types of stomata, distinguished by the forms and arrangement of the Surrounding cells, e.g. (a) Anomocytic (Ranunculaceous) irregularcelled: Digitalis (b) Anisocytic (Cruciferous) unequal – celled: Datura (c) Diacytic (Caryophyllaceous) cross – celled: Mentha (d) Paracytic (Rubiaceous) parallel celled: Senna. 4.3. Trichomes: Trichomes are divided and subdivided as follows- (i) Covering Trichomes (a) Unicellular Trichomes: Nux vomica, Cannabis (b) Uniseriate Multicellular Unbranched Trichomes: Datura (c) Biseriate Multicellular unbranched Trichomes: Calendula officinalis (d) Multiseriate Multicellular unbranched Trichomes: Male fern (e) Multicellular branched Trichomes: Verbascum Thapsus (ii) Glandular Trichomes (a) Unicellular Glandular Trichomes: Vasaka (b) Multicellular Glandular Trichomes: Digitalis purpurea Page 3 of 3