Standardization of metal based Herbal Unani Medicine

Traditional herbal medicines have been widelyused for thousands of years in many countries

. Metalshave been used in disease treatment since timeimmemorial. Gold in medicine was mentioned byRoman physician Pliny and Greek philosopherDioscrides. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine,explained the beneficial healing and anti-diseaseproperties of silver. In olden days, people used silverbottles for storing water, wine and milk and to preventspoiling. Siddha medicine is a form of South Indianmedicine which is believed to have been developed bythe Siddhars, the ancient supernatural spiritual saints ofIndia. In siddha medicines, apart from gold and silver,mercury, sulphur, mica, arsenic, zinc and several otherminerals, gems, shells, horns are treated withindigenous herbs and are given as bhasmas andchendurams. A bhasma means a fine ash obtainedthough incineration. Chendurams are prepared by theprocess of sublimation and they are much more potentthan bhasmas. Siddha medicine has immense faith inthe miracles of mercurial drugs and in the prolongationof life through rejuvenating treatments and intenseyogic practices[1]. Silver, gold, zinc, copper and othermetals which are well known to have anti-microbialeffect in modern medicines have been used as wonderfullife saving drugs against infectious diseases forthousands of years without any adverse effects. Role ofthese herbo-mineral preparations for curing skin diseasessuch as psoriasis, eczema, alopecia, diabetic ulcer, warts,vitiligo and leprosy are well studied[2].Most of themedicines are mixture of compounds and because of itssynergistic action, toxicity is being diminished, therebyincreasing bioavailability through the cells of the body.Treating the minerals with herbal juices may lead toreduction (trituration) in particulate size even up to nanolevels (less than 100 nm) enabling increased potency.These drugs are known to be effective even in lowconcentration.Various commercially available medicines such asLinga Chenduram, Poorna Chandrodaya Chenduram,Kshaya Kulanthaga Chenduram, Velli Parpam, NagaChenduram and Naga Parpam which contain noble andother metals were used for analysis. These medicines areparticularly used for treating infectious diseases. So far,nothing is known about the chemical composition ofthese medicines and the scientific basis of its applicationin treating infectious diseases. Proper standardisationtechniques for checking the quality are inadequate onthese medicines to meet the criteria to support its useworldwide. The aim of our present study is to: Analyze the different brands of medicines(bhasmas or powder forms) using several modernanalytical techniques to help in quality control andstandardization of the drugs Collating the data from multiple approaches tosuggest the likely speciation of metals present inthese complex powders and their bio-absorptionpotential To assess the content and likely potency of veryexpensive preparations based on noble and other metals.

Standardization of metal based Herbal Unani Medicine

By: Dr Izharul Hasan

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