Physicochemical characterization of an Indian traditional medicine, Jasada Bhasma: detection of nanoparticles containing non-stoichiometric zinc oxide

Herbs and minerals are the integral parts of traditional systems of medicine in many countries. Herbo-Mineral medicinal preparations called Bhasma are unique to the Ayurvedic and Siddha systems of Indian Traditional Medicine. These preparations have been used since long and are claimed to be the very effective and potent dosage form. However, there is dearth of scientific analytical studies carried out on these products, and even the existing ones suffer from incomplete analysis. Jasada Bhasma is a unique preparation of zinc belonging to this class. This particular preparation has been successfully used by traditional practitioners for the treatment of diabetes and age-related eye diseases. This work presents a first comprehensive physicochemical characterization of Jasada Bhasma using modern state-of-the-art techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), elemental analysis with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our analysis shows that the Jasada Bhasma particles are in oxygen deficient state and a clearly identifiable fraction of particles are in the nanometer size range. These properties like oxygen deficiency and nanosize particles in Jasada Bhasma might impart the therapeutic property of this particular type of medicine.