Standardization of sulaharan yoga: an ayurvedic tablet formulation.

Quality assurance of herbal products may be ensured by proper quality control of the herbal ingredients and by means of good manufacturing practice. We have developed a simple scheme for the standardization and authentication of Sulaharan Yoga a poly herbal formulation. Sulaharan Yoga was prepared as per Ayurvedic Formulary of India. In-house and marketed preparation has been standardized on the basis of organoleptic characters, physical characteristics and physico-chemical properties. The set parameters were found to be sufficient to standardize the Sulaharan Yoga and can be used as reference standards for the quality control/ quality assurance study.

Conformal rotation therapy with central axis beam block is a feasible alternative to intensity-modulated radiotherapy for chordomas of the cervical spine.

AIMS: Paraspinal tumours, such as chordoma, represent a treatment challenge for oncologists, requiring high dose to the target volume without exceeding the tolerance dose of the spinal cord. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is helpful in achieving sharp dose gradients and conformation of dose to the target volume. We present a simpler technique--conformal rotation therapy with a central axis beam block (CRT + BB), which can provide similar dose distributions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A patient with a cervical chordoma developed postoperative recurrence and was treated with high-dose palliative radiotherapy. Treatment was delivered using CRT + BB, with three fixed beams and three coplanar arcs. A dose of 62 Gy in 31 fractions was delivered to the 100% isodose, giving a maximum spinal cord dose of 49.6 Gy. The patient relapsed 2 years later, and was re-treated using the same technique to a dose of 57 Gy in 30 fractions. Estimates of spinal cord repair rates in primates were used to determine the tolerance dose of the spinal cord for re-treatment. The patient remained well for a further 25 months before developing local recurrence, which was treated with palliative chemotherapy. RESULTS: Re-treatment plans using CRT + BB and IMRT were compared. Dose-volume histograms show equivalence of dose to the spinal cord, although the IMRT plan delivered a slightly higher dose to tumour and lower dose to surrounding soft tissues. CONCLUSION: Treatment using CRT + BB requires careful planning and discussion with neurosurgeons before surgery. The normal curvature of the cervical spine must be eliminated if possible, and the patient must be immobilised with the neck horizontal. If these geometric constraints can be satisfied, then CRT + BB can be used as a safe and effective alternative treatment to IMRT for tumours at this site.

Comparative pharmacognosy of medicinally important Indian vitex species.

Vitex genera is reputed for their medicinal properties. Of the 12 species reported to be present in Indian only 8 species are medicinally useful. Of these six species were colled and their pharmacognostic characters were studied and described.