Characterization of Hg-based ayurvedic drug Kajjali: Classical and contemporary approaches

Abstract

This communication presents characterization of Kajjali, a mercury (Hg) based Indian traditional ayurvedic drug, by both ancient and contemporary methodology. For preparation of Kajjali, 225 g each of Shuddha Parada (purified mercury) and Shuddha Gandhak (purified sulphur), initially purified through traditional methods of purification as described in ayurvedic literature, were manually triturated using stone mortar and pestle until it became a very fine black coloured powder. This preparation process took up to ~78 h. Thereafter, Kajjali was characterized by classical and contemporary methods. Kajjali passed the classical tests like Rekhapurnatwa, Slakshanatwa, Nishchandratwa and Varitara. XRD study confirmed that Kajjali contains mercury sulphide (HgS), identified as metacinnabar (cubic form of HgS), in addition to free sulphur. Composition of Kajjali has been determined by EDXA method, which validated the presence of 88.84% mercury and 11.16% sulphur. SEM studies substantiated particle size distribution of Kajjali, which varied from 60 nm to 2 μm range. Such integration of classical and contemporary studies is important, because such vital medicines should be characterized properly for safety and efficacy before their appropriate use for diseases. © 2018, Current Science Association.