Synthesis and characterization of Vanga bhasma

Abstract

BackgroundBhasmas are unique Ayurvedic organometallic preparations used for medicinal purpose. Quality of bhasma depends upon quality of starting materials, processing ingredients, meticulous trituration and heating cycle. In Ayurveda, Vanga bhasma is traditional Indian medicine which is an organometallic preparation treated with plant extract. It is especially used in the treatments of diseases related to gastrointestinal tract and genitor urinary system. However detailed characterization studies after synthesis are important which shows authenticity of product. ObjectiveThe present study deals with the preparation of Vanga bhasma according to the procedure mentioned in the Ayurvedic literature. Synthesized bhasma was characterized by various analytical techniques and also compared with commercial sample. Material and methodDifferent steps involved in synthesis of Vanga bhasma include shodhan (purification/detoxification), jaran (heating and stirring), bhavan (levigation) and maran (incineration). Bhasma was incinerated (maran process) by traditional method of heating as well as using muffle furnace. These two products obtained from Maran (incineration) and commercial sample were analyzed for quality control checks, on the parameters described in Ayurvedic texts as well as modern techniques such as TEM, SEM, EDX, XRD, DLS and FTIR were done to find out the nature and form of the drug prepared. The in vitro gastric and gastrointestinal (pancreatic) bioaccessibility of Bhasma were also determined. ResultsThe study reveals that the synthesized Bhasma was converted into its nontoxic oxide form and had a highly reduced particle size observed from SEM images. These studies reveal that Vanga Bhasma prepared by traditional method of heating (Sn1) has 50% nanoparticles (150–300 nm range) that prepared by using electric muffle furnace (Sn2) has 100% nanoparticles (50–100 nm range) while commercial samples (Sn3) has 50% nanoparticles (100–300 nm range). ConclusionThe study confirmed the formation of organometallic compound (SnO2) at the end of the manufacturing process. The percentage bioaccessibility for gastrointestinal digestion is more than the gastric digestion. Hence, it is concluded that Vanga Bhasma can be useful nanomedicine.