STANDARDIZATION AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF TRADITIONAL POLYHERBAL FORMULATION FOR THE TREATMENT OF HEMORRHOIDS (PILES)

Polyherbal formulations are a collection of therapeutic entities that are formulated and prepared on the basis of the healing properties of individual ingredients with respect to the condition of sickness. The main objectives of the present study were to evaluate the pharmacognostic parameters of a traditional polyherbal formulation for the treatment of hemorrhoids (piles). The pharmacognostic parameters i.e., microscopic, physicochemical, phytochemical, antioxidant, anti-bacterial assay and FTIR analysis, was evaluated. The microscopic study of plant materials gives details about anatomical identity. The phytochemical evaluation of crude extract (methanolic and aqueous) of gutika revealed the presence of bioactive compound. In DPPH and H₂O₂ scavenging assay of methanolic extract (IC₅₀ 200 µg/ml) has better antioxidant activity than aqueous extract (IC₅₀ 250 µg/ml). The study also revealed that the methanolic extract showed the highest total phenolic and flavonoid content followed by aqueous extract. The FTIR spectra of both methanolic and aqueous extracts revealed the presence of polyphenols, terpenes and alkaloids. The antibacterial activity of methanolic extract shows highest zone of inhibition than aqueous extract. The highest zone of inhibition occurred in E. coli (16 mm in methanolic and 14 mm in aqueous) and lowest in E. aerogenes (11 mm in methanolic and 7 mm in aqueous) at 50 mg/mL concentration. The present study provided quality control standards of the traditional herbal formulation, which may help for the better utility and safe use of this formulation in the treatment of hemorrhoids.