Marker analysis of polyherbal formulation, Triphala – A well known Indian traditional medicine

Abstract

379-383Triphala is one of the ages old; most commonly used polyherbal preparation in Indian System of Medicine (ISM) particularly in Ayurveda. A rapid, simple, and accurate method with high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) has been developed to standardize Triphala and its individual component using gallic acid (GA) as analytical marker compound. Methanol extracts of Triphala, Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia belerica were used for HPTLC on silica gel plates. The Rf of GA was found to be 0.80 with densitometric scanning at 254 nm and the calibration plot was linear in the range of 400 ng to 1800 ng of GA. The correlation coefficient, 0.999, was indicative of good linear dependence of peak area on concentration. The GA content in Triphala with its individual constituents like Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula and Terminalia belerica, was found to be 14.38, 17.50, 16.60 and 11.92 mg g⁻¹. This method permits reliable quantification of GA with good resolution and separation of the same from other constituents of extracts of Triphala and its constituents. Recovery values from 96.86 to 98.71% showed the reliability and reproducibility of the method. The proposed HPTLC method for quantitative monitoring of GA in Triphala and its constituents can be used for routine quality testing and similar methods can be developed for other herbal formulations