PHARMACEUTICO-ANALYTICAL STUDY OF NAGARADI KWATHA VIS-a-VIS VARIOUS CONCENTRATIONS OF PRESERVATIVES

<p>With the advent of commercialization, longer shelf life has become the need of hour, especially for the Kwatha (decoction) which are highly perishable. Now-a-days, preservatives are added to Kwatha to increase their shelf life. While the use of preservatives is inevitable what causes damage is their indiscriminate usage. Often, the use of preservatives exceeds the ratio recommended and as a result patients develop gastric irritations and nausea, etc. <em>Nagaradi Kwatha</em> <em>(Amruthothara kashaya)</em>, a widely used formulation in <em>Jwara</em> (fever), is taken for the study to evaluate the effect of Sodium Benzoate Methyl Paraben and Propyl Paraben as preservatives, which are widely used in Kwatha to increase the shelf life. The study compares the shelf life of Kwatha without preservatives and with preservatives in different ratios at different intervals of time by means of physico-chemical and chromatographic parameters. The samples are assessed up to six months for any changes and the study found that the shelf life of Kwatha can be increased with the combination of these three preservatives that too at a lower recommended ratio.<em> Nagaradi Kwatha</em> is prepared in thicker concentration to reduce the water activity and microbial contamination. The study showed significant change in organoleptic of sedimentation and sodium estimation after six months, indicating the interaction between the Kwatha and preservative. Chromatographic result showed formation of new spot representing the new component formed during preservation. In Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) study using Sodium Benzoate (0.3%), a new component was found when the sample was tested on 120^th day.</p>