Objective – This study aimed to evaluate the quality and consistency of self-prepared mother tinctures from four indigenous plants (Abroma augusta, Eucalyptus globulus, Ficus religiosa, and Justicia adhatoda) by comparing them with the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India (HPI) standards.
Key Words – Standardization , High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography , Aroma augusta ,Eucalyptus globulus , Ficus religiosa , Justicia adhatoda.
Material & Method – Mother tinctures were prepared, and their physicochemical properties, including alcohol content, moisture content, specific gravity, total solids, weight per ml, pH, lambda max, and HPTLC profiles, were analyzed. Significant deviations were observed in alcohol content, moisture content, and total solids between the self-prepared tinctures and HPI standards.
Result – Minor differences were also noted in specific gravity and weight per ml. Lambda max values were largely consistent with HPI, except for Abroma augusta. pH values were generally within the HPI range, with Eucalyptus globulus exhibiting a lower pH. HPTLC profiles showed no statistically significant differences.
Conclusion – These results indicate that self-prepared mother tinctures may not consistently meet HPI quality standards, highlighting the need for standardized preparation protocols to ensure quality and safety in homeopathic practices.
Introduction – This article delves into the quality assessment of self-prepared homeopathic mother tinctures derived from indigenous plants, focusing on High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), physicochemical parameters, and Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India (HPI) standards. It begins by outlining the basic principles of homeopathy, emphasizing the “like cures like” concept and the use of highly diluted solutions. Mother tinctures, the foundational liquids in homeopathy, are prepared through maceration or percolation, followed by dilution and potentization.
The article highlights the significance of indigenous plants in traditional medicine, emphasizing their biodiversity, ecological, and cultural importance. It then addresses the research gap concerning the quality and standardization of self-prepared mother tinctures, particularly in relation to HPI guidelines.
The research objectives center on preparing mother tinctures, evaluating their physicochemical properties, and standardizing their quality based on HPI parameters. The methodology includes detailed descriptions of maceration and percolation techniques, along with the specific HPI parameters analyzed, such as alcohol content, weight per ml, pH, total solids, TLC, lambda max, and HPTLC.
A comparative analysis is conducted to assess the self-prepared tinctures against established pharmacopoeia standards, aiming to ensure their safety, effectiveness, and compliance. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of quality assessment in validating the efficacy and safety of homeopathic mother tinctures, and the potential impact of this research on improving standards within homeopathy and herbal medicine practices.
Material and Methods – This study employed an exploratory experimental and comparative design to evaluate the quality of self-prepared homeopathic mother tinctures against Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India (HPI) standards. Data was collected through analyses conducted at the Government Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital in Bhopal, with HPTLC performed at RGPV Bhopal. Plant materials were sourced from local herbal shops, botanical gardens, and registered homeopathic pharmacies, focusing on fresh leaves from various plants. Four mother tincture samples were prepared, and eight parameters—pH, total solids, alcohol content, weight/ml, HPTLC, specific gravity, moisture content, and lambda max—were analyzed. Statistical analysis utilized Student’s paired t-tests for comparison. The study included mother tinctures prepared according to HPI standards (Group I) and self-prepared tinctures (Group II), excluding samples from diseased plants or those showing signs of deterioration. Detailed procedures for maceration and percolation were employed, with specific protocols for Abroma augusta, Eucalyptus globulus, Ficus religiosa, and Justicia adhatoda. The analytical methods adhered to HPI guidelines, encompassing total solids, weight/ml, alcohol content, pH, HPTLC, moisture content, specific gravity, and lambda max, along with purity tests for ethyl alcohol and distilled water. This comprehensive approach ensured a thorough evaluation of the tinctures’ quality and compliance with HPI standards.
Observations
Macroscopy
Abroma augusta- The plant is a large shrub or small tree with distinctive features: leaves 8-15 cm long with a specific base structure and texture, deciduous linear stipules, auxiliary flowers on 4 cm peduncles, lanceolate calyx-lobes, and a large capsule.
Euclyptus globulus– The plant’s leaf is lanceolate, scythe-shaped, bifacial, and coriaceous, ranging from 8 to 30 cm in length. It has a twisted petiole, an acute or acuminate apex, an unequal, obtuse or rounded base, and an uneven, revolute margin. The leaf’s surfaces are greyish-green to pale yellowish-green, glaucous, glabrous, and glandular-punctate, with brown dots. Venation is pinnate-reticulate, with veins forming a margin-parallel vein. It emits an aromatic odor and has a bitter, cooling taste.
Ficus religiosa– The tree is large and glabrous, often starting as an epiphyte, with grey bark that flakes irregularly. Its leaves are coriaceous, shining, and drooping, ranging from 10 to 18 cm in length, and are ovate-rotund with long, linear-lanceolate tails. The leaf base is broad, rounded, truncate, or sometimes cordate in young leaves. The tree has slender, long petioles and minute, ovate, acute stipules. Receptacles are paired, axillary, and sessile, becoming dark purple when ripe. Male flowers are few and located near the mouth of some receptacles, while gall and fertile flowers are sessile or pedicelled.
Justicia Adhatoda – The plant is a dense, evergreen shrub, typically 1 to 2.5 meters tall, with yellowish bark and ascending branches. Its leaves are elliptic-lanceolate, 12 to 20 cm long, acuminate, tapering at the base, and have a dark-green upper surface and a pale lower surface. Flowers are arranged in short, dense, axillary spikes, with stout peduncles and elliptic bracts. The calyx is hairy, and the filaments are hairy at the base. The ovary and lower style are also hairy. The capsule is clavate and pubescent, containing orbicular seeds.
Ficus Religiosa Eucalyptus Globulus
Abroma Augusta Justicia Adhatoda
MICROSCOPY –
Abroma augusta – Microscopically, the leaf displays various hair types (stellate, simple, glandular, peltate), closely placed vascular bundles in the petiole, dorsiventral structure, frequent crystal clusters, differentiated palisade and spongy parenchyma, ranunculaceous stomata on the lower side, and mucilaginous receptacles.
Euclyptus globulus – The leaf features thick-walled epidermal cells with sunken stomata, chlorenchymatous mesophyll with 3-4 rows of palisade cells containing oil glands, spongy parenchyma with calcium oxalate crystals, and fibrovascular tissue. The midrib and petiole have lignified pericyclic fibers. The plant is distributed in Australia, Tasmania, Southern Europe, and California.
Ficus Religiosa– The leaves exhibit glandular and non-glandular hairs, glandular spots, and a multi-layered epidermis with silicified or calcified cell walls. The leaf is dorsiventral with ranunculaceous stomata on the lower surface. The mesophyll lacks distinct differentiation and contains palisade tissue, cytoliths, and laticiferous secretory cells. Calcium oxalate crystals are distributed around vascular bundles in both the leaf and petiole.
Justicia Adhatoda– Microscopically, the leaves exhibit sinuous epidermal cells with caryophyllaceous stomata on both surfaces, more numerous on the lower. Trichomes are few, 1 to 5-celled, and glandular trichomes have a unicellular stalk and 4-celled head. Cystoliths are elongated and cigar-shaped, and calcium oxalate crystals are present in acicular and prismatic forms. The palisade ratio is 5 to 8.5, and the stomatal index for the lower surface ranges from 10.8 to 18.1.
Physiochemical Study – Standardization of row drug , formulation of mother tincture and it’s standardization surmised in table no 1-3
TABLE 1 – STANDARDISATION OF RAW DRUG
| S.NO. | PARAMETERS | ABROMA AUGUSTA | EUCLYPTUS GLOBULUS | FICUS RELIGIOSA | JUSTICIA ADHATODA |
| 1. | MOISTURE CONTENT | 75 | 45.6 | 43 | 48.4 |
TABLE 2 – FORMULATION OF MOTHER TINCTURE ( MACERATION ) to make one thousand millilitres of the Mother Tincture.
| S.NO. | ABROMA AUGUSTA | EUCLYPTUS GLOBULUS | FICUS RELIGIOSA | JUSTICIA ADHATODA | |
| DRUG STRENTH | 1\10 | ||||
| PREPARATION | |||||
| moist magma containing solids 100g and plant moisture | moist magma containing Solids 100 g and Plant Moisture 400 ml 500 g | moist magma containing solids 100 g and plant moisture approx. 100 ml 200 g | moist magma containing solids 100 g and plant moisture 265 ml | moist magma containing solids 100 g and plant moisture 270 ml 370 g | |
| Strong Alcohol | 478 ml | 914 ml | 765 ml | 900 ml | |
| Purified Water | 159 ml | ||||
TABLE 3 – STANDARDIZATION OF MOTHER TINCTURE
| S.NO. | PARAMETERS | ABROMA AUGUSTA | EUCLYPTUS GLOBULUS | FICUS RELIGIOSA | JUSTICIA ADHATODA |
| 1. | WEIHGT\ML | 0.998 | 0.882 | 0.863 | 0.867 |
| 2. | ALCOHOL CONTENT | 77.9 | 28.60 | 73.50 | 88.52 |
| 3. | LAMBDA MAX | 254 | 272 | 266 | 272 |
| 5. | SPECIFIC GRAVITY | 0.976 | 0.877 | 0.859 | 0.867 |
| 6. | TOTAL SOLID | 0.6 | 3.2 | 1.99 | 0.399 |
HPTLC AND LAMBDA MAX –
LAMBDA MAX
ABROMA AUGUSTA
EUCALYPTUS GLOBULUS
FICUS RELIGIOSA
JUSTICIA ADHATODA
RESULT – This study investigated the quality of self-prepared Abroma augusta mother tincture compared to the parameters set by the Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India (H.P.I.) Four parameters showed significant differences between the self-prepared tincture and the H.P.I. standard:
- Alcohol Content: The alcohol content in the self-prepared tinctures was significantly higher than the H.P.I. specifications for all four plant materials tested (Abroma augusta, Eucalyptus globulus, Ficus religiosa, and Justicia adhatoda).
- Moisture Content: The moisture content in the self-prepared tinctures was significantly lower than the H.P.I. specifications for all four plants.
- Total Solids: There was a significant difference in total solids content between the self-prepared and H.P.I. reference for the all plants.
CONCLUSION – The study’s statistical analysis, employing t-tests, indicated that the null hypothesis, suggesting slight differences between self-prepared mother tinctures and Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of India (HPI) parameters, could not be rejected. While moisture content exhibited a statistically significant difference, with self-prepared tinctures likely possessing higher moisture levels, parameters like alcohol content, specific gravity, total solid content, weight per ml, pH, lambda max, and HPTLC profiles showed no significant variations. However, despite statistical non-significance in several areas, notable inconsistencies, particularly in alcohol content, were observed. The small sample size (n=4) limits the study’s generalization, and the focus on only eight parameters may not provide a comprehensive quality assessment. Therefore, it is recommended to implement standardized preparation methods for self-made tinctures, establish robust quality control measures, and conduct further research with larger sample sizes and additional quality markers to better understand and mitigate quality variations.
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About author
Dr. Megha Kaithwal – MD Scholar (Homoeopathic Pharmacy)
Guide by – Dr. Chetna Pandey (HOD) Department of homoeopathic pharmacy, Government Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital Bhopal (M.P.)
