TLC Densitometric Methods for Quantification of Gallic Acid in Triphala Churna for Routine Quality Control

Quantification of active principles through modern analytical tools is essential for establishing the authenticity, creditability, prescription and usage of Ayurvedic medicines/herbal formulations. Triphala churna is one of the popular Ayurvedic preparations, official in Ayurvedic formulary of India. The present study is an attempt to develop a fingerprint method for Triphala churna with TLC Densitometric Methods (HPTLC) using gallic acid as a standard. The gallic acid is a major content in all the three ingredients of the formulation. The method was validated for linearity, accuracy, limit of detection, limit of quantification, inter-day and intra-day assay precision, repeatability of measurement, and repeatability of sample application. The concentration of gallic acid present in raw material was found to be 3.10±0.41% w/w in Emblica officinalis, 8.47±0.82% w/w in Terminalia belerica, and 4.63±0.49% w/w in Terminalia chebula. Gallic acid content in three identical laboratory batch of Triphala churna TP-I, TP-II and TP-III, was found to be 5.39±0.48%, 5.42±0.46% and 5.41±0.52% w/w respectively with mean value 5.41±0.49%. The gallic acid content in all the three different batches is found to be in close proximities with each other. The results were comparable to marketed formulations.