Parameters For

Quality Control of
Herbal Drugs
 What are Herbal Drugs?

Herbal drugs are derived

from plants or their
parts by converting them
into phytopharamaceuticals
through simple processes like
harvesting, drying, and storage.
 Quality Control of Herbal
Drugs involves the process
of identification and
determination of the purity
of raw material, and
maintaining the quality and
validity of the manufactured
drug
So, what are the parameters for quality
control of herbal drugs?
A. Macroscopic Examination

Identification of plant material based

on its colour, size, shape, odour,
surface characteristics, texture, and
appearance of the cut surface
B. Microscopic Evaluation

Involves microscopic
analysis of the plant
structure like pollen
morphology, stomatal
number, vein islet
number, starch grains
etc.
C. Determination of foreign matter

Involves determination of
contaminants like mould,
insects, excreta, sand, stones,
and poisonous and harmful
chemical residues in the
plant sample
D. Determination of ash content

To determine the ash content, the plant sample

is burnt and the residual ash is measured as the
total and acid-insoluble ash

It measures the amount of silica present in the

plant sample
E. Determination of heavy
metals

Involves determination
of toxic metal
contaminants like
mercury, copper, lead,
cadmium, and arsenic
in herbal remedies
 F. Determination of microbial
contaminants and aflatoxins

Involves determination of microbial

contaminants like E.coli, Salmonella,
Pseudomonas, and Staphylococcus Aureus

Also determines any other micro-organism and

aflatoxin producing fungi in the herbal drugs
G. Determination of swelling index

Swelling index is the volume in ml taken up the

swelling of 1gram of plant material under
specified conditions
H. Determination of pesticide
residues

Involves determination of
unsafe levels of harmful
pesticides in herbal drugs,
especially the pesticides
that contain chlorine and
phosphates
 I. Analytical methods

 Involves quantitative
determination of constituents
in herbal remedies

 Colour chromatography,
liquid chromtography, and
other techniques are used for
standardization and quality
control of the raw material
and final product
 Is isolation of phytochemicals
and chromatographic analysis
of plant extracts challenging for you?
Do you find it difficult
to perform and
interpret these
quality control tests?
Then, take an expert support of a hi-tech
herbal testing laboratory
 A proper protocol, laboratory expertise
and complete sophistication are all
obligatory for the effective phytochemical
isolation and quality control