Occurrence of resveratrol and pterostilbene in age-old darakchasava, an ayurvedic medicine from India.

'Darakchasava' is a well known Indian herbal preparation of which the main ingredient is Vitis vinifera L. This 'ayurvedic' medicine is prescribed as a cardiotonic and also given for other disorders. HPLC analysis of this age old formulation revealed the presence of polyphenols like resveratrol and pterostilbene. These phenolic compounds are now known as antioxidants, cancer chemopreventive agents, and also known to reduce mortality from coronary heart disease by increasing high density lipoproteins like cholesterol and inhibiting platelet aggregation (Soleas, J.S., Diamandis, E.P., Goldberg, D.M., 1997. Resveratrol: a molecule whose time has come? and gone? Clin. Biochem. 30 (2), 91-113). The study of darakchasava becomes interesting in the light of these findings. A brief introduction of this medicinal preparation, its formulation, its analysis by HPLC, and some of its properties are discussed in this article.