Available on line at : www.eijppr.com International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Phytopharmacological Research (ICV-5.09) 209 ISSN (Online) 2249 – 6084 ISSN (Print) 2250 – 1029 Int.J.Pharm.Phytopharmacol.Res. 2012, 2(3): 209-210 (Research Article) Evaluation of an Ayurvedic Compound Formulation Laghusutasekhara Rasa Om Prakash Rout 1* , Rabinarayan Acharya 2 , Rakshapal Gupta 1 , Sagar Kumar Mishra 3 , Rashmibala Sahoo 4 1 Dept. of Dravyaguna, Govt. Ayurveda College, G.E. Road, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 2 Dept. of Dravyaguna, I.P.G.T. and R.A. Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India 3 Division of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, University Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utkal University, VaniVihar, Bhubaneswar. Orissa, India 4 Scientific officer (Botany), State Drug Testing Laboratory (ISM), Govt. Ayurveda Hospital Campus, BJB Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Received on: 29/12/2012 Accepted on: 31/12/2012 ABSTRACT India has vast heritage of traditional system of medicines, but due to lack of scientific evaluation, the people are unable to utilize the benefits of it, particularly those people who cannot afford the modern medicine. The utmost efficacy of medicines as specified in Ayurvedic system can be achieved if each and every formulation mentioned in the system would be scientifically evaluated and their desired efficacy could be maintained. Therefore, an attempt has been made to evaluate Laghusutasekhara Rasa, an Ayurvedic compound formulation used in various diseases. One sample from manufacture was procured and subjected to macroscopic, microscopic, physico-chemical and TLC/HPTLC finger printing analysis using authentic ingredient as control. Microscopic and TLC/HPTLC finger printing analysis of the sample was found to complement each other and are sufficient for establishing the identity of raw materials in the compound formulation. Key word: Ayurvedic formulation, Laghusutasekhara Rasa, Microscopy, TLC/HPTLC, Finger printing. INTRODUCTION India having a rich heritage of traditional systems of medicine constituting with its different systems like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. Botanical constituents are the major part of these traditional medicines. The development of these traditional system of medicines with the perspectives of safety, efficacy and quality will help not only to preserve the traditional heritage but also to rationalize the use of natural products in the health care 1,2 . Keeping this in mind, for the last two decades, efforts have been made in developing parameters of quality control for Ayurvedic single drugs as well as for compound formulations, which include macroscopic, microscopic characters, physicochemical values and TLC/HPTLC fingerprint profiles. The main problem in compound formulations is that most of them consist of several ingredients and the presence of each ingredient has to be established and should be analytically confirmed in the final product. Laghusutasekhara Rasa is an Ayurvedic formulation. It is prescribed for the treatement for Pittaja śiraḥśūla, ardhāvabhedaka, sūryāvarta, pittaja unmāda, dāha, ūrdhvaraktapitta and mukhapāka 3 . So far no scientific study has been carried out on its standardization. With a view, an attempt has been made to scientifically evaluate and to correlate the conclusions drawn from microscopic and TLC/HPTLC fingerprint profile. The Laghusutasekhara Rasa consists of Svarna gairika- Suddh (Red ochre) - 2 part, Sunthi churna (Dry rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roxb. )- 1 part and Nāgavallī svarasa (Leaf juice of Piper betel Linn. ) - Q.S. for bhavana 3 . MATERIALS AND METHODS Sample of Laghusutasekhara Rasa, prepared by Ayurvedic pharmacies was procured. Authentic samples of Sunthi was used as controls. Macroscopic characters viz. colour, odour and taste of all samples were recorded. For microscopic analysis, a small quantity representative of the Laghusutasekhara Rasa, along with the genuine sample i.e. Sunthi were studied individually by preparing two slides for each one in water, stained with iodine mounted in glycerin and second one in chloral hydrate mounted with glycerine 4,5 . Physico-chemical parameters viz. Loss on drying, total ash, acid insoluble ash, water- and alcohol- soluble extractives, iron identification test of the powdered Laghusutasekhara Rasa were carried out (in triplicate) according to the standard methods 4,5 . The physico-chemical data of sample is tabulated (Table-1). TLC/HPTLC finger printing of the methanolic extract was performed on precoated plates using