Quality Assessment of Five Different Brands of Chyawanprash Marketed in Nepal

Abstract

Chyawanprash, a polyherbal formulation, is popular for its nutritional value and is widely used as a tonic, rejuvenator, immunomodulator, and enhancer. This study aimed to evaluate the quality profile of five different brands of Chyawanprash marketed in Nepal. Proximate analysis, estimation of heavy metal, physicochemical analysis, determination of microbial contamination, estimation of vitamin C, and detection of heavy metals were carried out to assess the therapeutical values and compare the quality control parameters. All the analyses were carried out based on standard procedures. The data analysis revealed that the presence of moisture content (11.83 ± 1.61%–19.90 ± 0.92%), ash content (1.2–2.3%), energy (316.12 ± 1.96–363 ± 11.90 Kcal/100g), acid-insoluble ash content (0.12 ± 0.05–1.47 ± 0.26%), pH (5.12–5.34), vitamin C (9.92–28.58 mg/100g), and heavy metals was not detected in ppm in any of the brands. Chyawanprash holds tremendous amounts of nutritional value suitable for treating different types of illness. Thus, stringent quality control parameters should be implemented from the government level for product consistency and to reduce variation among different brands.

Biomedical waste generation at Ayurveda hospitals in South Asia: A mini review of the composition, quantities and characteristics

“…Medicinal liquid wastes (except for oils) also contains some water, but the volume is variable depending on the medicinal type or formulation (published sources are not available and any labels and information leaflets as inserts inside the packages on commercially or already manufactured and formulated medicines often do not clearly specify the ingredients and their quantities). Moisture content of solid and semi-solid medicinal wastes is in the range of 2.1-20.8% by wet weight (Aryal et al, 2021). Normally, the moisture content of solid and semi-solid medicines is controlled since the moisture content is the leading factor responsible for the deterioration of the products (excess moisture will proliferate microbial growth, especially fungi) (Aryal et al, 2021).…”

“…Moisture content of solid and semi-solid medicinal wastes is in the range of 2.1-20.8% by wet weight (Aryal et al, 2021). Normally, the moisture content of solid and semi-solid medicines is controlled since the moisture content is the leading factor responsible for the deterioration of the products (excess moisture will proliferate microbial growth, especially fungi) (Aryal et al, 2021).…”

“…Panchakarma (detoxification treatment) procedures are widely used for internal purification and cleansing. Most of the Ayurveda remedies or medicinal items are derived from the roots, flowers, leaves, fruits, bark and/or seeds of medicinal plants (more than 50,000 flowering plant species are used for medicinal purposes) such as Aloe vera , Centella asiatica , Calendula officinalis , Cucumis sativus , Camellia sinensis , Clitoria ternatea , Piper betel , Tagetes erecta , Phyllanthus emblica , Sida cordifolia , Tribulus terrestris , Withania somnifera , Bacopa monnieri , Piper longum and Asparagus racemosus and so on (Aryal et al, 2021; Bhandari et al, 2015; Ranasinghe et al, 2015).…”