Natural resources such as plants, animals and minerals have always been used by mankind to develop drugs and marine world is no exception. Marine by-products like conches, pearls, mother of pearl shells, corals and so forth have been used by traditional Ayurvedic practitioners for centuries. The unique methods of these preparations are scientifically designed to eliminate unwanted impurities and convert them into bioavailable form. In this study, Conch (Xanchus pyrum) was used as a marine resource of calcium carbonate and was converted pharmaceutically from its aragonite form to calcite. All the steps of preparations and changes in the properties therein were documented and validated. Further, traditional as well as modern analytical tools were used to study its physical and chemical characters to develop a monograph. The physical characterization included particle size, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR). Metal composition and heavy metal limits were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICPOES). This study revealed the rearrangement of aragonite crystals into calcite form by grinding, trituration with aloe vera juice and incineration under controlled conditions. Moreover, the finished product was found to be devoid of organic matrix that is nacre. This study creates a foundation for the development of a master formula for commonly used Shankha Bhasma in Ayurvedic medicines.

Plant-based Ayurvedic formulations such as medicated oils, confectioneries, etc. are developed with a rationale of selecting specific compounds for targeted action and minimal side effects. It is imperative to develop an analytical method to simultaneously identify and quantify the targeted compounds for good resolution with low retention time. The present assay using reverse phasehigh-performance liquid chromatography is optimized to resolve glycyrrhizin, glabridin, and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid simultaneously at retention times of 6.6, 8.1, and 10.2 min, respectively, using acidified mobile phase from Glycyrrhiza glabra utilized in Ayurvedic lipid (cow's ghee and sesame oil) based formulations. Raw material, its decoction, and residues formed during preparation steps were extracted in methanol while lipid formulations were extracted using a binary solvent system of methanol and n-hexane. The separation was performed on Hypersil gold column maintained at 40 • C using 0.2% ortho-phosphoric acid with pH 3.5 in water and acetonitrile as binary gradient mobile phase. The compounds were detected at wavelengths 230 (glabridin) and 254 (glycyrrhizin and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid) nm. The method revealed de-glycyrrhized finished products containing glabridin and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid having medicinal value.

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Liver disorders are one of the major concerns globally. Various conventional therapeutics used in the treatment of liver diseases are sometimes not enough and associated with serious side effects. Therefore, herbal medicines could be promising to defeat the above problems, and to treat diseases effectively. Aim of the current investigation is to screen the hepatoprotective activity of the ethanolic extract of Allophylus cobbe (EEAC) leaves against Paracetamol (PCM) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. EEAC (200 and 400 mg/kg) were administered to the rats for 7 days and hepatotoxicity was induced by administration of PCM (3 g/kg) on the 8th day. After 24 h of toxicity induction, the blood samples were collected and serum and tissue biochemical parameters like- serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), alkaline phosphatase(ALP), acid phosphatase (ACP), Creatinine, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), lipid peroxidation (LPO) and total proteins were analyzed. Livers of the animals were isolated and were studied for histopathological changes. The extract treated animals were compared with the animals treated with standard hepatoprotective Silymarin (100 mg/kg). Administration of PCM causes hepatotoxicity to the animals, EEAC and silymarin prevented the PCM induced hepatotoxicity. The level of the increased blood biochemical parameters were significantly decreased by oral administration of EEAC and silymarin. PCM hepatotoxicity raised the LPO activity of the liver tissue which was significantly decreased by EEAC and silymarin. Decrease in protective tissue enzymes (SOD, CAT and GSH) and the proteins by the PCM hepatotoxicity were significantly increased by the EEAC and silymarin. Histopathological observation of the PCM treated group showed the marked degeneration of the liver cells and liver damage which was significantly restored when the animals were treated with the EEAC and silymarin. Allophylus cobbe showed the presence of bioactive components in the plant having the antioxidant potential; which might be responsible for hepatoprotective activity of the plant. The present study showed that EEAC restored the levels of altered biochemical parameters and prevented the liver from the toxic effects of PCM revealing the hepatoprotective potential of Allophyluscobbe.  

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