Journal homepage: www.jcimjournal.com/jim www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/20954964 Available also online at www.sciencedirect.com. Copyright © 2016, Journal of Integrative Medicine Editorial Offce. E-edition published by Elsevier (Singapore) Pte Ltd. All rights reserved. January 2016, Vol.14, No.1 44 Journal of Integrative Medicine http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2095-4964(16)60241-8 Received June 5, 2015; accepted September 28, 2015. Correspondence: Amrita Mishra; Tel: +91-9451751810; E-mail: amrita_azam@rediffmail.com ● Research Article Studies on metals and pesticide content in some Ayurvedic formulations containing Bacopa monnieri L. Amrita Mishra 1,2 , Arun K. Mishra 1 , Om Prakash Tiwari 1 , Shivesh Jha 2 1. Central Facility of Instrumentation, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, IFTM University, Lodipur, Moradabad 244001, India 2. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi 835215, India ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: Ayurvedic formulations are preferred over other formulations as well as commercialized on broad level to treat various ailments. The World Health Organization has established certain guidelines for quality control of heavy metals and pesticide residues. Bacopa monnieri, a popular herb with immunomodulator and memory-enhancing properties is the chief constituent of several Ayurvedic formulations, which include Brahmi Vati (BV), Brahmi Ghrita (BG) and Saraswat Churna (SC), etc. In view of the World Health Organization guidelines, two products of each formulation from six different manufacturers were purchased from Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Bulanala-Varanasi, India for testing heavy metal and pesticide residue. METHODS: In the present study, all the formulations—BV, BG and SC—were selected for estimation of four heavy metals namely lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) by a plasma emission spectrophotometer. Organochlorine pesticidal residues were estimated for dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane, isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and α-endosulfan, etc. in total 12 samples of test formulations containing Bacopa monnieri L. using gas chromatography technique. RESULTS: Out of 12 samples, Pb, Cd, Cr and Ni were present in all samples but below the permissible limit. Although atrazine, aldrin, dialdrin were in below detection limit, but other pesticides were detected in some samples as oxamyl, hexachlorocyclohexanes (α-HCH, β-HCH and γ-HCH), dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene. CONCLUSION: The presence of heavy metals in the formulations was low to cause toxicity. However evaluation of heavy metals and pesticide residue in every batch is necessary. Keywords: Ayurvedic formulations; heavy metals; pesticide residues; drug contamination Citation: Mishra A, Mishra AK, Tiwari OP, Jha S. Studies on metals and pesticide content in some Ayurvedic formulations containing Bacopa monnieri L. J Integr Med. 2016; 14(1): 44–50. 1 Introduction Ayurveda has been practiced in India since ancient times and still serves many of the health needs of a large population in the world [1] . Due to the great demand for Ayurvedic products, persons are growing more alert