Toxicological study of arsenic containing Ayurvedic drug Haratal Bhasma

Background: Drug standardization is the need of the era for proper validation of Ayurvedic medicines, specially the Ayurvedic bhasmas due to their herbo-mineral nature. There are several poisonous drugs used in Ayurveda which are used in practice without proper documentation. Haratal Bhasma is an important arsenic containing Ayurvedic drug used in Ayurveda for the treatment of several ailments. They are prepared from raw Haratal by the distinct Ayurvedic procedure. Objective: The raw Haratal is purified and converted to its bhasma form and was subjected to histopathological and toxicological study to evaluate the safety of this arsenic containing Ayurvedic medicine. Materials and Methods: 40 Adult Charles Foster Albino Rats of either sex, among them are grouped (Haratal, Haratal Bhasma) for the whole study. Toxicological and histo-pathological study of brain, liver, kidney etc were performed after 28 days in a maintained dose. Results: Haratal Bhasma and Raw Haratal exhibited nearly non toxicological profile, when administered in the dose of 60-65 mg of the drug/kg body wt. of the rats except minute inflammation and tubular dilatation in the vital organs. Conclusion: Haratal Bhasma is non toxic and safe, which may be attributed to compound form of arsenic in Haratal which is insoluble in nature in human body.