Why Primary Processing of Herbal Raw Drugs is Important

The present study was carried out to analyse foreign matter (FM) in herbal raw drugs (HRDs), as it deteriorates the quality and therapeutic efficacy of the endproduct. A total of 35 HRDs representing 11 different parts were analysed. For each drug, 3–8 samples with each sample having 5–500 kg of drugs were collected. The FM was found to vary from 2.59% to 47.48%, and none of the drugs complied with the parameters of Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API). Nearly 48.57% of the drugs in the Indian market are traded with more than 10% of FM in them. The FM in most of the drugs is contributed by components other than official drugs of the same species. The quality of raw drugs can be enhanced by making them free of FM or reducing it to the permissible limits of API, with the execution of good agriculture and collection practices and good field collection practices. Proper supply chain management of quality raw drugs may be assured by developing infrastructure like establishment of new and strengthening of existing mandis (herbal collection and retail/wholesale outlets) having post-harvest processing facilities. Measures like, linkages between farmers and buyers, and buy-back interventions through on-line virtual platforms such as e-charak and e-NAM must also be taken into consideration. In conclusion, a comprehensive nationallevel policy/strategy is needed to address various issues pertaining to the quality and marketing of HRDs.