Physicochemical evaluation of Triphala churna

Standardization of herbal formulation is essential in order to assess the quality of drugs for therapeutic value. In the present study the marketed formulation has been standardized in order to assess the quality of marketed formulation based on the physiochemical characters (loss on drying, extractive values, ash values and pH), physical characters viz. (bulk density, tapped density, angle of repose, hausner’s ratio and carr’s index), phytoconstituents and HPTLC analysis according to pharmacopoeial and standard methods. The set parameters viz. loss on drying (12% w/w), water soluble extractive (46.2% w/w), alcohol soluble extractive (8.6% w/w), total ash (10.2% w/w), pH value (6.2), bulk density (0.4879 gm/ml), tapped density (0.6455 gm/ml), angle of repose (22.3?), hausner’s ratio (1.3230) and carr’s index (24.415) were found to be sufficient to standardize the Triphla Churna and can be used as reference standards for the quality control/quality assurance study. HPTLC analysis of the formulation showed an Rf value, 0.54 for gallic acid which confirmed the presence of tannins in the formulation. The results obtained may also be considered as tools for assistance to the regulatory authorities, scientific organization and manufacturers for developing standard formulation of great efficacy.