UTILITY OF HERBS WITH ITS PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETER IN ORAL HEALTH: A REVIEW

Oral hygiene is the key to one's healthy life. Maintaining oral hygiene is directly related to the body's first line of defence mechanism. It maintains both oral as well as systemic health. Oral microflora plays a very important role in oral hygiene. It is a complex ecosystem of several species of micro-organisms such as streptococci, Neisseria, Veillonella, Actinomyces and other obligate anaerobes. This microbiome is mainly affected by an acidic diet and the acidic environment of the oral cavity. Poor oral hygiene decreases the rate of survival of the oral microbiome and causes dental caries, periodontal diseases, halitosis oral pain & discomfort. Hence, it becomes very essential to maintain the environment of oral cavity friendly to oral microflora. Ayurveda is the science of preserving one’s health has described various herbs to maintain oral hygiene such as Khadira (Catechu tree), Sunthi (Ginger), Da- ruharidra (Indian Berbery), Tankana (Borax), etc. But, to attain its global acceptability physicochemical parameter is used to describe their action. Based on physicochemical parameters herbs seem to be effective in the maintenance of oral hygiene and can reduce the chances of oral diseases. Keywords: Oral hygiene, Oral microflora, physicochemical parameter, pH, etc.

Pharmacognostical standardization of balamula churna (Sida acuta Burm.f. root powder)

In this study, an effort was performed to produce the data on, physicochemical parameters, preliminary phytochemical screening, histochemical studies, and HPTLC data required for the standardization of Balamula Churna concerning root powder of Sida acuta. The physicochemical parameters such as water-soluble extractive, alcohol soluble extractive, and loss on drying at 105 °C, total ash, and insoluble acid ash were determined according to standard methods. HPTLC studies were carried, and Rf values were documented. Physicochemical parameter values were recorded as pH (6.73 LOD (114.2gms) water-soluble extractive value (4.48%), alcohol soluble extractive value 6.88%) total Ash (11.00%) and Acid Insoluble Ash (2.72%). Preliminary phytochemical screening reveals the presence of glycoside, alkaloid, carbohydrate, phenol, flavonoid, and saponin. HPTLC screening showed the occurrence of significant phytoconstituents with Rf values 0.07, 0.21, 0.54, and 0.86. The obtained results from this study can be effective in the evaluation of quality, detection of adulteration and substitution, and highlighting the importance of standardization

Water Quality Assessment of Gowrivakkam Lake

Water is an important precious natural resources on the earth. It is used in irrigation, industries and domestic usage. In this study of water quality assessment of Gowrivakkam lake was carried out. Total of 8 samples was collected from different parts of the Gowrivakkam lake and analysis for various physicochemical parameter like as pH, Alkalinity, Hardness, Chloride, TDS, Fluoride, Ammonia, Phosphate and Nitrite. The analyzed parameter were compared with BIS standards. Quality of lake water in the study area was calculated. The WQI of this lake was found to be good. Therefore, the water can be used only after treatment.

Application of thresholding algorithms for brown bread porosity evaluation

The bread is one of the most popular foods in Bulgaria. It’s quality is regulated by approved standards. This paper presents a computer based approach for evaluation of bread porosity which is one of physicochemical parameters of bread quality. The proposed approach includes image processing techniques. A Java program is developed to binarize images of bread and calculate ratio of white pixels to all (coefficient of diversity). This coefficient corresponds with physicochemical parameter- bread porosity. It is used an open-source plugin Auto_Threshold for image binarization. This plugin implements seventeen different algorithms to find global threshold value of a grayscale image. The results show that global thresholding is appropriate for evaluation of bread porosity. The correlation analysis shows that algorithm HisAnalysis could be used for fast and effective evaluation of bread porosity using image processing. Practical applicationsThe use of image processing accelerate the process of bread porosity evaluation. Presented research proves practical benefit to apply image processing for evaluation of physicochemical parameter- bread porosity. The results show that seven algorithms which are included in Auto_Threshold plugin and HisAnalysis algorithm are suitable for bread porosity evaluation. The fastest algorithm is HisAnalysis and it could be used in practice for fast evaluation (in real-time processing) of physicochemical parameter- bread porosity.

STANDARDIZATION OF BALAMULA CHURNA (SIDA CORDIFOLIA L. ROOT POWDER)

Objective: In this study, an attempt was made to generate information based on, physicochemical parameter preliminary phytochemical screening and HPTLC data needed for proper identification and authentication of Balamula Churna. Methods: The physicochemical parameters such as water-soluble extractive, alcohol soluble extractive and loss on drying at 105 °C, total ash and acid insoluble ash were determined according to standard methods. HPTLC studies were conducted and Rf values were documented. Results: Physicochemical parameter value were documented as pH (6.81%), LOD (7.5%), water-soluble extractive value (6.32%), alcohol soluble extractive value (5.92%) total Ash (9.00%) and Acid Insoluble Ash (1.60%). Preliminary phytochemical screening reveals the presence of glycoside, alkaloid, carbohydrate, phenol, flavonoid and saponin. HPTLC screening showed the presence of significant phytoconstituents with Rf value 0.02, 0.27, 0.34 and 0.96. Conclusion: All the results obtained from this study can be helpful in evaluation quality, detection of adulteration and substitution and emphasizing the importance of standardization.

Characterization and Botanical Differentiation of Monofloral and Multifloral Honeys Produced in Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt Using Physicochemical Parameter Analysis and Mineral Content in Conjunction with Supervised Statistical Techniques

Thirty-four honey samples donated by beekeepers and purchased from supermarkets were collected during harvesting years 2010–2014 from Cyprus, Greece, and Egypt. The aims of this study were to characterize honey samples and, if possible, to differentiate honeys according to the honey type on the basis of physicochemical parameter values, mineral content, and their combination using supervised statistical techniques (linear discriminant analysis (LDA)). Physicochemical parameters (colour, pH, free acidity, total dissolved solids, salinity, electrical conductivity, and moisture content) were determined according to official methods, while minerals (Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Si, Ti, Tl, V, and Zn) using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The majority of honey samples analyzed met the quality criteria set by the European directive and national decision related to honey. Implementation of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and LDA on specific physicochemical parameters, minerals, or their combination provided a satisfactory classification of honeys according to floral type. The overall correct classification rate (based on the cross-validation method) was 79.4% using 7 minerals and 91.2% using 8 physicochemical parameters. When the 15 parameters were combined, the classification rate of Egyptian honeys was improved by 25%.