The Ayurvedic
Pharmacopoeia of India
The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India is a legal document of
standards for the quality of Ayurvedic drugs and substances included therein
(under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940). This fourth volume, consists of 68
monographs on single drugs of plant origin. Pharmacognostical, chemical and
Ayurvedic standards of the parts of the plants used in Ayurveda are described
in detail in each monograph.
Each monograph describes macroscopic, microscopic
characters along with their chemical standards of identity, permissible limit
of foreign matter, purity and strength and have been developed on the protocol
developed and approved by the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia Committee. It also
prescribes about total ash value, acid insoluble ash, alcohol soluble
extractive, water soluble extractive and chromatographic pattern of TLC. All
this work was carried out in Pharmacopoeial Laboratory of Indian Medicine
(PLIM). The data has been finalised after confirmation of various samples obtained
from different agro-climatic zones by the cross-section of experienced
scientists in Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia Committee and after careful scientific
scrutiny. The standards have been consciously kept modest so that its
implementation by the manufacturing companies becomes easily acceptable in
order to maintain quality control and batch to batch uniformity. However,
efforts of the manufacturers should be to maintain higher standards of quality.
Ayurvedic pharmacological properties like Rasa, Guna, Virya,
Vipaka, Karma etc. are also mentioned in each monograph along with their
therapeutic uses, some of the important classical formulations and therapeutic
dose.
Appendix of this volume contains the details of the
protocols used in determination of various scientific standards. References of
ancient Ayurvedic literature in its original form are added, in order to
authenticate the Ayurvedic statements made in each monograph.
In the end, English equivalents of each Ayurvedic term have
been given to make the volume user friendly for all people who work in the area
of Ayurveda drugs and who are not conversant with Sanskrit/Ayurvedic
terminology.
In general, this book is more user friendly for scientists,
manufacturers, students involved in drug quality testings of Ayurvedic
medicines, teachers of Dravyaguna, research scholars, physicians of Ayurveda
and many others who have interest in the quality standards of Ayurvedic
medicines.
This book is included in the first schedule of Drugs and
Cosmetic Act, 1940. Manufacturers are required to follow pharmacopoeial
standards as these are mandatory requirement under the Act.
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