The pH estimation of decoction of hingu (Ferula foetida Regel,), chitraka (Plumbago zeylanica Linn), dhataki (Woodfordia fruticosa kurz), shatavari (Asperagus racemosus willd), shunthi (Zingiber officinale Rosc), maricha (Piper nigrum Linn), gokshura (Tri

Abstract

The pH is measured on a scale of 0-14 with lower values indicating high H+ which is more acidic and higher values indicating H+ ion activity which is less acidic. The pH of 7 is considered as neutral. The acids are the substances that produce free hydrogen ions(H+) when dissolved in water. Bases are substances that produce hydroxyl ions(OH-) when dissolved in water. Acidic solutions are rich in hydrogen ions and basic solutions are poor in hydrogen ions. Some acids dissociate only partly, releasing large amounts of H+ ions, and are called as strong acids. In same way, bases that dissociate partly are called weak bases and those that dissociate completely are called as bases. The acidic or basic property of substances is measured in terms of pH. It is a measurement of the hydrogen ion concentration. pH is defined as the negative logarithm(Base 10) of hydrogen ion concentration. pH= - log[H+] If the hydrogen ion concentration id very high, the pH value is very low. This is determined using a scale ranging from 0-14 called the pH scale. It was introduced by a Danish chemist Soren Peder Lauritz Sorensen. Substances with pH lower than 7 are acidic, those with pH equal to 7 are neutral and those with pH greater than 7 are basic in nature. The pH of water is 7. In the present work the decoction of Hingu(Ferula foetida Regel,), Chitraka(Plumbago zeylanica Linn), Dhataki(Woodfordia fruticosa kurz), Shatavari(Asperagus racemosus willd), Shunthi(Zingiber officinale Rosc), Maricha(Piper nigrum Linn), Gokshura(Tribulus terrestris Linn) and Chandana(Santalum album Linn) were subjected for experimentation. The observed values were tabulated. The pH estimation helps to determine the acidic and basic strength of acids and bases.