Shelf Life Evaluation and Comparative HPTLC Profile of Hridya Yoga Churna

Background: Quality, safety and efficacy of medicines used form the back­bone of every health care system. Shelf‑life is the length of time, after which all substances start to degrade in their qualities and become unsuit­able for consumption or sale. The saviryatavadhi of churna is considered to be 2 months according to ayurvedic classics. The use of modern pack­aging technology and preservatives have increased the shelf life period of ayurvedic medicines and the shelf life period of churna is 2 years according to Rule 161‑B, Drugs and Cosmetics Act. To ascertain the quality, hridya yoga churna was taken up to assess its shelf life period. Methods: Accelerated stability study (includes evaluation of organoleptic and physic-chemical parameters, assay of active constituents and microbial load) and Comparative HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography) were done to evaluate the shelf life of the Hridya yoga churna. Atomic absorp­tion spectrophotometry was done to analyze the heavy metal content in the sample. Results and Conclusion: In the present study the shelf life period of Hridya yoga churna is found to be 3 years and 7 months. Similar R_f values obtained in HPTLC analysis of hridya yoga churna initially and after six months showed the minimum deterioration of the product. The presence of heavy metals namely arsenic, cadmium and lead were not detected and mercury was present within permissible limits.