Anti-vibrio effects of the precious Tibetan pill, Rinchen Drangjor Rilnag Chenmo (RDRC)

Abstract

Tibetan precious pills are an integral part of TTM (Traditional Tibetan Medicine). Among them, Rinchen Drangjor Rilnag Chenmo (RDRC) has been named “King of Precious Pills” due to its efficacy in treating a multitude of human disorders. RDRC has a complex formulation with about 140 ingredients, mostly from medicinal plants and a few precious stones and metals. Not many studies have been done on the experimental validation of antimicrobial properties of this important pill. The current study investigated the antimicrobial activity of the extracts of RDRC. Both aqueous and chloroform extracts were evaluated for their antibacterial potential against a total of seven different bacterial species, which are pathogenic, including three species of Vibrio, viz. V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus and V. harveyi using the well-diffusion method and also by assessing MIC and MBC values. Its antifungal potential was also studied against two fungal strains Aspergillus niger and Talaromyces islandicus. It was found that the chloroform extract of RDRC exerted a positive antibacterial effect on all the Vibrio species tested, and the least MIC of 3.33 mg/ml was observed for V. parahaemolyticus. This is the first study of its kind on the anti-Vibrio effect of the Tibetan precious pill, Rinchen Drangjor Rilnag Chenmo.