STANDARDISATION OF MURUNGAI NEI: A SIDDHA FORMULATION

Abstract

Murungai Nei (Moringa ghee) is a multi-herbal formulation indicated as an aphrodisiac and spermatogenic in Siddha literature. The study aims to standardise the Murungai Nei’s quality, purity, and safety through its physicochemical, microbiological, chromatographic, and biochemical parameters. Physicochemical parameters like loss on drying, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, water-soluble ash, water-soluble extractive, alcohol-soluble extractive, and pH were found to be 0.03%, 0.0499%, 0.0199%, 0.07%, 0.1934%, and 18.49% respectively, which denote the purity and quality of the drug in this study. Qualitative preliminary phytochemical analysis reveals the presence of major phytochemicals: alkaloids, carbohydrates, saponin, phenols, tannins, flavonoids, diterpenes, quinones, gum, and mucilage. High-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprinting analysis of the test drug reveals the presence of seven eminent modes relevant to the presence of seven different phytocomponents within it, whose Rf values range from 0.03 to 0.24. Biochemical analysis reports the presence of carbonate, sulphides, phosphate, ferrous, and magnesium. The results obtained from all the analyses of this study provide data on the pharmacogenetic (physical, chemical, and biochemical) properties of the Siddha poly-herbal formulation Murungai Nei. In the future, these data can be utilised as references for standardising the drug Murungai Nei.