Formulation, characterization and comparative evaluation of Trivanga bhasma: a herbo-mineral Indian traditional medicine.

Bhasmas are unique Ayurvedic-metallic preparations with herbal juices/fruits, widely recommended to treat variety of chronic ailments. Trivanga bhasma, a calcinated preparation, is used to treat Diabetes mellitus and as Diuretic. In the present research an attempt has been made to carry out a comparative standardization of formulated Trivanga bhasma (TB1) prepared as per Ayurvedic formulary and marketed Trivanga bhasma (TB2) integrating conventional and modern analytical tools. The formulations were evaluated for physical properties, chemical characterization using FTIR, AAS, SEM, TGA, XRD and AFM along with anti-diabetic, diuretic and toxicology studies. The X-ray Diffraction analysis of both formulations exhibited crystalline nature and nano-sized particles by Scherrer's equation. In SEM studies, Lead, zinc and tin oxides show well-defined plate like structures while TB1 showed spongy, relatively compact microcrystalline aggregates with loss of grain boundaries. AFM analysis confirmed the spherical morphology of TB1 and TB2 with an average particle size of 500 nm. The present study is the first report of fingerprinting of Trivanga bhasma using sophisticated analytical techniques. In vivo pharmacological screening revealed that both TB1 and TBK2 possess anti-diabetic and diuretic activity and less toxicity, thereby facilitating standardization of Trivanga bhasma.