Quantitative estimation of secondary metabolites of shadanga paniya classical ayurvedic formulation and constituent herbs

Background: In the present scenario, ayurvedic drugs and their formulations need standardization to understand their pharmacokinetics and to prevent any safety issues. Shadanga Paniya (SP) is a classical ayurvedic formulation composed of six herbs and most of the constituent herbs have been shown the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, and total phenolic contents (TPC). Materials and Methods: Preliminary qualitative estimations of alkaloids, flavonoids, and TPC in SP formulation and its constituent herbs were done using Dragendroff's method, sodium hydroxide solution, and ferric chloride solution. The quantitative estimations were done using bromocresol green, aluminum chloride colorimetric method, and Folin–Ciocalteu's phenol reagent method. Statistical Analysis Used: All the qualitative and quantitative analyses were replicated in three independent assays, and the results were reported as a mean ± standard deviation. Results and Conclusion: The results revealed that constituent herbs of SP formulation have the presence of flavonoids and total phenolic acid, whereas alkaloid was only found in Vetiveria zizanioides herb. The quantitative estimation of alkaloids, total flavonoids, and total phenolic acid contents of SP formulation was found as 86.105 ± 6.4 mgAE/g, 87.8 ± 4.0 mgRE/g, and 105.8 ± 3.8 mgGAE/g, respectively. This is the first report on the phytochemical estimation of SP formulation.