A Comparative Phytochemical Study of Abrus precatorius before and after Shodhana

. Among the many traditional health care streams of the world, Ayurveda is unique in its sound foundation of documented theories and operational guides. However, the present global aspirations and challenges that this tradition needs to encounter make it imperative that the complex layers of its principles and Applications are validated in a manner that is understood by the global man. Photochemistry is the branch of science that deals with the study of chemical composition of plants. Plants have enormous variety of organic & inorganic substances and a complete knowledge of these substances is very important to understand the Pharmacodynamics of the Drug. Ayurveda has its own methodology of explaining the nature of a plant and its properties. The Rasapanchaka1 theory of composition is the main foundation of Ayurveda drug action. The action of a drug is attributed to the Rasa, Guna, Veerya, Vipaka, and Prabhava according to Ayurveda. But this is also true that the drug acts on the body by the Physical and Chemical properties it holds. Plants produce a diverse range of bioactive molecules, making them rich source of different types of medicines2. Higher plants, as sources of medicinal compounds, have continued to play a dominant role in the maintain of human health since ancient times. So modern Pharmaceutical industry has given much importance to the active constituents of drugs for their medicinal use but Ayurveda has the principal of using drug as a whole. Still, a complete knowledge of the chemical constituents of a drug can help to understand the drug activity up to a greater extent. Shodhana is one of the fundamental principles of Rasasastra. Shodhana means not only purification of substance but it makes substances free from impurities and toxicity.