Phytochemical characterization of <em>ayurvedic</em> formulations of <em>Terminalia arjuna</em>: A potential tool for quality assurance

Abstract

<em>Ayurveda</em> has gained worldwide attention due to its efficacy. With the growing need for safer drugs, attention has been drawn to their quality and standards of the Ayurvedic formulations. Ayurveda describes the formulation of <em>Terminalia arjuna </em>(<em>T. arjuna</em>) as a potent drug for dyslipidemia, cardiac disorders, and diabetes. It is administered as arishta, ghritah (medicated ghee) or as a powder. Thus, the main objective of the present work was to characterize Arjunarishta (AA) and Arjuna ghritah (AG) - ayurvedic formulations using arjunetin and arjungenin by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array Detector (HPLC-PDA) method. The presence of marker contents in the AA, AG, and <em>T. arjuna</em> hydroalcoholic extract (TAHA) was identified using retention time (Rt) and UV spectra matching with corresponding reference standards. The content of arjunetin and arjungenin was 0.47 and 8.22 mg/g in TAHA; 206.38 and 0.00 µg/mL in AA; 190.58 and 285.48 µg/mL in AG. These quantitative estimations were consistent with earlier reports on TAHA. The results of the present study indicate the charecterization of Arjunetin and Arjungenin phytochemical markers in AG, and AA formulations, which have not been, reported so far. These finding will certainly help in the quality assurance during manufacturing of AG and AA formulations.