Standardization of a Traditional Polyherbal Malaria Prophylactic Formulation

Polyherbal preparations are well known in certain Indian communities for malaria prophylaxis. However, quality control and quality assurance of these formulations still remain as challenges because of the high variability in combination of herbs and their phytochemical compositions. Quality control is an essential operation of the pharmaceutical process to ensure the quality herbal formulation with safety and therapeutic activity. The present study consists of preparation and standardization of a traditional polyherbal malaria prophylactic formulation (in decoction form) for parameters like organoleptic, physico-chemical, phytochemical, microbial analyses, heavy metal and pesticide residue analysis. The polyherbal formulation revealed the presence of carbohydrates, saponins, phenolics and tannins. High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) carried out for comparing the decoction and the individual plants, revealed the presence of common bands. It provided unique fingerprints for the plants and the formulation that can be used as appropriate parameters for quality control.