The present study deals with standardization of an in-house standard preparation and three marketed samples of Brahmi vati, which is a
traditional medicine known to be effective in
mental disorders, convulsions, weak memory, high
fever and
hysteria. Preparation and standardization have been done by following modern scientific quality control procedures for raw material and the finished products. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis showed the reduction of metals and minerals (particle size range 2-5 µm) which indicates the proper preparation of bhasmas, the important ingredient of Brahmi vati. Findings of EDX analysis of all samples of Brahmi vati suggested the absence of
Gold, an important constituent of Brahmi vati in two marketed samples. All the samples of Brahmi vati were subjected to quantitative estimation of
Bacoside A (marker compound) by HPTLC technique. Extraction of the samples was done in
methanol and the chromatograms were developed in
Butanol:
Glacial acetic acid: water (4.5:0.5:5 v/v) and detected at 225nm. The regression analysis of calibration plots of
Bacoside A exhibited linear relationship in the concentration range of 50-300 ng, while the % recovery was found to be 96.06% w/w, thus proving the accuracy and precision of the analysis. The
Bacoside A content in the in-house preparation was found to be higher than that of the commercial samples. The proposed HPTLC method was found to be rapid, simple and accurate for quantitative estimation of
Bacoside A in different formulations. The results of this study could be used as a model data in the standardization of Brahmi vati.