PHYSICOCHEMICAL STANDARDIZATION OF SIDDHA HERBAL FORMULATION NAAVAL NEI (NN)

Introduction: Siddha medicine is a traditional system that emphasizes herbal formulations for disease management. Standardization is essential to ensure quality, safety, and reproducibility. Physicochemical analysis plays a key role in establishing quality control parameters. Aim and Objective: To evaluate the physicochemical parameters of the Siddha herbal formulation Naaval Nei for standardization. Materials and Methods: Naaval Nei was prepared using Syzygium cumini, Momordica charantia, Allium cepa, and cow’s ghee as per classical Siddha methods. The formulation was subjected to organoleptic evaluation, solubility analysis, and physicochemical parameters including viscosity, refractive index, weight per ml, iodine value, saponification value, acid value, and peroxide value using standard pharmacopoeial procedures. All experiments were performed in triplicate and values expressed as mean. Results: The formulation was greenish, semisolid, viscous, greasy with a mild odour. It was soluble in chloroform and ethyl acetate. Physicochemical analysis revealed viscosity of 61.89 Pa.s, refractive index of 1.44, weight per ml of 0.88 g/ml, iodine value of 114.68 mg I₂/g, saponification value of 170.58 mg KOH/g, acid value of 0.87 mg KOH/g, and peroxide value of 4.23 mEq/kg. Conclusion: The obtained physicochemical parameters provide standard reference values for identification, quality control, and reproducibility of Naaval Nei, supporting its scientific standardization and safe therapeutic use.