Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF SIDDHA POLYHERBAL FORMULATION VISHAMIRTHA CHOORANAM

*Dr. Nandha Kumar

Abstract

Herbal medicines are useful for dog, cat, rat, centipede, snake bites and curing a variety of diseases from the ancient period. The phytochemicals present in the medicinal plants possess a defense mechanism against various diseases. Phytochemicals are chemical compounds that occur naturally in plant sources. Vishamirtha Chooranam of herbal origin was selected and investigated for its phytochemicals by subjecting it to the phytochemical screening. Based on the standard literatures Vishamirtha Chooranam was screened for the presence of phytochemicals like Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Steroids, Terpenoids, Cucumarin, Phenol, Tanin, etc. Vishamirtha Chooranam is a polyherbal composed of a variety of herbs. In this study phytochemical screening was performed using both solvent and aqueous extracts which showed the presence of Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Steroids, Terpenoids, Cucumarin, Phenol, Tannin, Protein, Saponin, Sugar, Anthocyanin in both the extract and absence of betacyanin and cardiac glycosides. The presence of the phytocompounds ensured that this has medicinal value. The phytochemicals have a strong role like antitumor, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-viral, antibacterial and analgesic properties. In many developing countries, a large proportion of the population believe that traditional medicine has the potential to meet their health care needs.

Keywords: Vishamirtha chooranam, phytochemical, Siddha polyherbal formulation.