STANDARDIZATION OF SURYA SHEKHARA RAS: A KUPI PAKWA RASAYANA

Demand and acceptance of rasa aushadhis would not increase until unless these mineral and metallic preparations, particularly those which contain heavy metals like Surya Shekhara Ras are standardized. Surya Shekhara Ras is a typical herbo-mineral Kupipakwa rasayana indicated for fever especially in viral fevers. The present work highlights the procedures and techniques adopted for the physico-chemical analysis and characterization of three different samples of Surya Shekhara Ras obtained by well defined process in Rasa Shastra text. Pharmaceutically prepared Surya Shekhara Rasa was subjected for physico-chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (X-RD), Inductive Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectrometry (I.C.P.O.E.S.), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FT-IR) with a view to standardize the drug through modern techniques. Values of Physico-chemical studies of all three samples were almost in the same range. HgS compound form was detected in X-RD study of 3 samples with Hexagonal crystal structure. I.C.P.O.E.S showed presence of 94 % Hg. FT-IR analysis reveals the presence of similar organic functional groups in three samples of Surya Shekhara Ras. As final results and quantity of elements in all three samples of Surya Shekhara Ras were in same range, it reveals the uniformity in quality of prepared medicine and purity of drug. Thus suggests that the adopted method of preparation can be taken as standard