Physico-chemical study of Vaikranta bhasma

Background: Vaikranta has very important place in Rasa tastra and is placed under Maharasa and Upratna group. It has been mentioned that vaikranta can be used in the place of diamond, which is a very precious stone and whose use is beyond the limit of the common man. Vaikranta possesses pharmacological and therapeutic properties similar to diamond, but still very few researchers have worked on it. Aims and Objectives: The main aim of the present study is to analyze vaikranta bhasma by employing various organoleptic methods mentioned in Ayurvedic science along with analysis as per tools available today. Settings and Design: In the present study, vaikranta bhasma was prepared according to method mentioned in Rasa Ratna Samuccaya. Final product is prepared according to classical parameters described in Ayurvedic science. Materials and Methods: Ayurvedic scholars have described various parameters for the qualitative evaluation of vaikranta bhasma, but all those are subjective in nature and cannot be evaluated numerically for reproducibility of the result. With this in mind, in the present study, tests as per Ayurvedic science and analytical parameters such as scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry were adopted to analyze the final product. Results and Conclusions: Data suggests that vaikranta bhasma is a multi-mineral compound, which contains iron and silica as major constituents and others are present as trace elements. The data obtained in this study suggest that quality specifications for vaikranta bhasma can be developed using tests described in Ayurvedic science along with analytical tools available today.