Standardization of Unani Ointments - ‘Marham Quba’
S.H. Afaq, Tajuddin, Shamshad Ahmad, Abdullah and Azizur Rahman
Hippocratic Journal of Unani Medicine
Hippocratic Journal of Unani Medicine July - September 2012, Vol. 7 No. 3, Pages 91-98
सार
In India the Greco-Arab medicine that is derived from Greece about 2000 year ago is known as Unani medicine; and a number of herbal drugs (Unani drugs) and formulations are in place by various herbal pharmaceutical industries. During the past decade there is tremendous
demand, especially from developed countries, for drugs of herbal origin and this revival of interest is mainly due to the current widespread belief that Traditional Herbal Medicines are safe and more dependable than synthetic drugs. The SOPs (Standard Operational Procedure) and standardization, which are essential for efficacy of every batch of a drug, have not yet been thoroughly investigated and Ointments that are one of the important groups have not been screened; therefore, the work on different ointments was started and in the present paper the standardization and quality assurance of ‘Marhaam Quba’ is reported. The present formulation is an important ointment of Unani System of Treatment, used as topical applicant for cuts, pains and abrasions etc. The parameters that are selected are those that are recommended by National Unani Pharmacopoeia Committee. ‘Marham Quba’ is a red, semisolid compound with strong smell of mustered oil. Its action is mentioned as ‘Mubarrid’ and ‘Daf-e-Taffun’, in Unani literature and the mode of administration is topical (Anonymous, 1971; Anonymous, 2008). The parameters that are studied are Total ash (32.77%), Acid insoluble ash (2.17%), Water soluble ash (0.9%), Alcohol soluble matter (13.73%), Water soluble matter (14.17%), Pet. ether soluble matter (36.34 %), Water content (7.64%), Loss on drying (10.56%), pH of 1% & 10% solution (9.84 & 10.15 respectively) and Congealing point (64-700C). Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) profile are also used for finalizing the marker compounds. The heavy metals, Aflotoxins and Pesticidal residue are not detected. No microbs noted in the final product. In addition HPLC profile of ‘Marham Quba’ are also recorded for future reference.