Analysis of Marketed Herbal Formulations Containing Withania somnifera for its Withanolides content by HPLC Technique

Abstract

Standardization is the process where we can make sure about the quality of the product; broadly it covers the qualitative and quantitative part of analysis. Qualitative analysis mainly covers the identification of the component present in a particular compound, whereas the quantitative analysis covers the estimation of the components, which are, present in that particular product. Standardization refers to the process of delivering a product with a specified minimum level of one or more plant constituents. In some cases this is accomplished by measuring the level of a chemical in a crude herbal extract and establishing a standard amount of that chemical for future production. The standardization of herbal formulations has become very essential as there is increase in the demand and frequent usage of the herbal formulations by the people. Monoherbal formulations containing Withania somnifera extract were collected from the commercial market and standardized for their withanolides content by High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Technique (HPLC). The total peak area of standard (withanolides) and the corresponding peak area of samples were compared and the amount present in it was calculated. The results reveal that there are lot of variations between the samples and the content of withanolides is not uniform. The present study indicates the necessity of development of analytical procedures for all herbal formulations available in the market to ensure the quality and efficacy of the products.