PHARMACOGNOSTICAL AUTHENTICATION OF AGNITUNDI VATI BY POWDER MICROSCOPIC EVALUATION

Background: Agnitundi Vati is a classical herbo-mineral Ayurvedic formulation widely used for the management of Agnimandya. Standardization and authentication of classical formulations are essential to ensure their quality, purity and reproducibility. Powder microscopy serves as a reliable pharmacognostical tool for identifying diagnostic characteristics of powdered formulations. Objective: To evaluate the powder microscopic characteristics of Agnitundi Vati and authenticate the formulation by comparing the observed microscopic features with standard reference characteristics. Materials and Methods: A market sample of Agnitundi Vati procured from Vadodara, Gujarat, was subjected to powder microscopic examination. Slides were prepared using glycerin as the mounting medium and examined under different magnifications. Diagnostic microscopic features were documented and compared with standard pharmacognostical references of the constituent ingredients. Results: The powder microscopy revealed several characteristic diagnostic features. Out of 65 diagnostic microscopic characters described in the reference standards, 19 characteristic features were identified in the marketed formulation such as stone cells, fibres, starch grains, cork fragments, endocarp tissues, pigment cells and vessels corresponding to different ingredients of the formulation. Although some reference characters were absent due to processing and fine powdering during pharmaceutical preparation, the majority of important diagnostic features confirmed the presence of genuine ingredients in the formulation. Conclusion: Powder microscopic evaluation proved to be a simple, rapid and reliable method for authentication of Agnitundi Vati. The observed diagnostic characters support the identity and quality of the formulation and provide valuable pharmacognostical reference data for its quality control and standardization.