Journal of Ethnopharmacology 65 (1999) 149 – 156 Chemical and pharmacological evaluation of different ayurvedic preparations of iron S. Pandit a , T.K. Biswas b , P.K. Debnath c , A.V. Saha d , U. Chowdhury e , B.P. Shaw a , S. Sen f , B. Mukherjee b, * a Department of Kayachikitsa, Inst. of Post -graduate Ayuredic Education & Research, Calcutta 700 009, India b Department of Pharmacology, Uniersity College of Medicine, Calcutta 700 020, India c Department of Kayachikitsa, J.B. Roy State Ayuredic Medical College & Hospital, Calcutta 700 004, India d R.K. Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, 24 Parganas (South), India e Department of Haematology, Calcutta Medical College, Calcutta 700 012, India f Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Uniersity College of Science & Technology, Calcutta 700 009, India Received 5 February 1998; received in revised form 11 November 1998; accepted 29 December 1998 Abstract Ayurvedic preparations of metallic iron commonly categorised as different ‘putas ’ of ‘Louha Bhasma ’ was chemically analysed and pharmacologically investigated in iron deficiency anemia. Atomic absorption spectral (AAS) study of different putas of Louha Bhasma revealed the presence of various proportions of important metals along with varied concentration of iron in it. The effect of a representative puta viz. 50 puta of Louha Bhasma in the management of agar gel diet and phlebotomy induced iron deficiency anemia in animal model was found to be statistically highly significant (P 0.001) in comparison to the control and standard drug Fefol ® treated groups. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Louha Bhasma ; Iron deficiency anemia; Animal model; Chemical and pharmacological investigation 1. Introduction The empirical use of different preparations of iron in the treatment of anemia dates from an- cient times. The calcined iron preparation of Ayureda, the ancient Indian traditional medicine, is known as ‘Louha Bhasma ’. The preparation of Louha Bhasma was followed according to a unique method described by the ancient Indian chemist Nagarjuna around 100 A.D. This method includes purification, incineration and several grades of calcination under the term ‘Putas ’. Ac- cording to Ayureda, calcination of iron is done not only for making it finer but also for increasing * Corresponding author. 0378-8741/99/$ - see front matter © 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0378-8741(99)00003-3