Medicinal Quality of Turmeric and Andrographis Raw Materials and Capsules Dispensed in Regional Hospitals

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the chemical quality of the raw materials used and that contained in capsules of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) and andrographis herb (Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. ex Nees) currently produced and dispensed in 45 hospitals in 31 provinces of Thailand. The samples were submitted in 2007 to the Medicinal Plant Research Institute, Department of Medical Sciences for quality certification; of the 124 samples received, 40 and 24 of them respectively were raw materials and 35 and 25 of them were medicinal capsules of turmeric and andrographis herbs. The results of the test revealed that 42.5 and 87.5 percent of the turmeric and andrographis raw materials, and 22.85 and 76 percent of the turmeric and andrographis medicinal capsules, respectively, reached the standard specifications of the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia (THP), showing that the chemical quality of about 75 percent of andrographis raw materials
and 85 percent of andrographis capsules precribed in those hospitals met THP standards, while the quality of most turmeric raw materials and medicinal capsules posed a serious problem. In conclusion, the herbal medicinal materials and herbal medicines produced and used in these hospitals need to be upgraded in quality in order to comply with the government policy to lessen the use of modern pharmaceuticals and promote the use of herbal medicines in the public health service of the country.