Preparation and physicochemical characterization of ghee and murcchita ghr̥ta.

BACKGROUND: Ghr̥ta murcchana is a process of pre-treatment recommended in Ayurveda to purify ghee before it can be used for siddha ghr̥ta which is claimed to improve the properties of the ghee in general and that of the prepared siddha ghr̥ta. OBJECTIVE: This work is aimed at studying the physiochemical properties of ghee and murcchita ghr̥ta in order to understand the impact of ghr̥ta murcchana process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ghee and murcchita ghr̥ta were prepared from the milk of local Pahadi, Jersey and Holstein cows. The samples were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and free fatty acid measurements. RESULTS: Among the samples studied, the Holstein cow ghee was found to contain the least amount of free acid (1.34%) whereas ghr̥ta murcchana process led to further decrease in the free acid content polymorphism was observed in the samples as evidenced by multiple melting points. In most cases, murcchita ghr̥ta was found to contain less solid fat than the corresponding ghee implying that the high melting compound was converted to low melting one during the process. CONCLUSION: The observed lowering of free fatty acid and solid fat contents in the ghee samples may provide a possible validation to the performance enhancement of the ghr̥ta murcchana process.

Characterization and Antimicrobial Property of Some Heavy Metals Containing Ayurvedic Drugs.

Ayurvedic medicines are often used in different formulations, the heavy metals, which are generally referred to as being toxic. In this work, we report on the physicochemical characterization and biological activity of some typical Ayurvedic drugs available in the market that contain arsenic, mercury and lead with the emphasis on their antibacterial performance. Among the formulations studied, some of the drugs with 'amorphous' texture (and higher solubility) were found quite active against some bacterial strains whereas the formulations possessing crystalline texture (and low solubility) were found practically ineffective. The moderate activity of some drugs against Gram-negative bacteria fairly suggested the presence of the small-sized polar molecules which was also supported by the FTIR spectroscopic data.