Pharmacognostical Studies on Sweta Musli (Market Samples)

Sweta Musli, a classical herb is being used for therapeutic application in Ayurveda, Unani and Modern Medicine in general debility, as rejuvenator and aphrodisiac. It has been used in many life style disorders due to its antioxidant, immuno-modulatory, anti-stress, analgesic, anti-diabetic, and hypo-lipidemic activity. Presently increasing demand of Sweta Musli in global market has created a huge gap between demand and supply of the drug. Local suppliers and markets have been the basic source for procurement of raw drug which are not trust worthy for genuine drug. The Chlorophytum sp. and Asparagus adscendens are being frequently sold in crude drug market by the name of Sweta Musli. The present study aims to workout botanical sources of the drug in Crude drug markets and evaluate quality standards of market samples of Sweta Musli with respect to the parameters of crude drug mentioned in Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia of India. Study reveals that among the market samples procured from different regions, tubers of two different plants viz. Chlorophytum sp. and Asparagus adscendens were found to be sold in the market in the name of Sweta Musli.