Types of Adulterants

• Types of Adulterants:

  • Unintentional adulteration
  • Intentional adulteration
• • Confusion in vernacular names between indigenous systems of medicine and local dialects
  • Lack of knowledge about the authentic plant
  • Nonavailability of the authentic plant
  • Similarity in morphology and or aroma
  • Careless collection
  • Other unknown reasons

  Unintentional adulteration may be due to the following reasons:
• 1. Adulteration using manufactured substances
  2. Substitution using inferior commercial varieties
  3. Substitution using exhausted drugs
  4. Substitution of superficially similar inferior natural substances
  5. Adulteration using the vegetative part of the same plant
  6. Addition of toxic materials
  7. Adulteration of powders
  8. Addition of synthetic principles

  Intentional Adulteration may be due to the following reasons:
• Substance prepared to resemble original drug are used as substitutes.


  Adulteration using manufactured substances
• This practice is done for costlier drugs.

  Adulteration using manufactured substances
• Example: Compressed chicory in place of coffee

  Adulteration using manufactured substances
• Example: Paraffin wax made yellow colored and substituted for beeswax

  Adulteration using manufactured substances
• Example: Properly cut and shaped basswood for nutmeg

  Adulteration using manufactured substances
• Due to morphological resemblance to the authentic drugs, different inferior commercial varieties are used as adulterants which may or may not have any chemical or therapeutic potential as the original natural drug

  Substitution using inferior commercial varieties
• This is the most common type of adulteration

  Substitution using inferior commercial varieties
• Example: Arabian Senna and Dog Senna have been used to adulterate Indian Senna (Cassia senna)

  Substitution using inferior commercial varieties
• Example: Medicinal Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is replaced by Japanese ginger (Zingiber mioga)

  Substitution using inferior commercial varieties
• In this type, the same plant drug is admixed but it is devoid of any medicinally active constituents as they are already extracted out. (no active medicinal components as they have already been extracted out)

  Substitution using exhausted drugs
• This practice is most common in case of volatile oil-containing materials like clove, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, etc.,

  Substitution using exhausted drugs
• Example: exhausted clove to clove

  Substitution using exhausted drugs
• Example: exhausted ginger to ginger

  Substitution using exhausted drugs
• The substituents used may be morphologically similar but will not be having any relation to the genuine article in their constituents or therapeutic activity.

  Substitution of superficially similar inferior natural substances
• Example: Ailanthus leaves are substituted for belladona, senna, etc. saffron admixed with saff flower; peach kernels and apricot kernels for almonds

  Substitution of superficially similar inferior natural substances
• Example: Peach kernel oil used for olive oil

  Substitution of superficially similar inferior natural substances
• The presence of vegetative parts of the same plant with the drug in excessive amount is also an adulteration.


  Adulteration using the vegetative part of the same plant
• Example: The lower plants like Moss, Liver warts and epiphytes growing on plant (bark) portion are mixed with Cinnamon or Cinchona

  Adulteration using the vegetative part of the same plant
• Example: Stems portions are mixed along with leaf drugs like Lobelia, Senna, Datura, etc

  Adulteration using the vegetative part of the same plant
• In this type of adulteration the materials used for adulteration would be toxic in nature.

  Addition of toxic materials
• Example: limestone in asafoetida

  Addition of toxic materials
• Example: pieces of amber colored glass in colophony

  Addition of toxic materials
• Example: addition of rodent waster matter to cardamom seed is a very harmful adulteration

  Addition of toxic materials
• Example: white stones in rice

  Addition of toxic materials
• Powdered drugs are found to be adulterated very frequently.

  Adulteration of powders
• Adulterants used are generally powdered waste products of a suitable colour and density.

  Adulteration of powders
• Example: powdered olive stones for powdered gentian, liquorice or pepper

  Adulteration of powders
• Example: brick powder for barks

  Adulteration of powders
• Synthetic pharmaceutical principles are used for market and therapeutic value

  Addition of synthetic principles
• Example: Citral is added to lemon oil

  Addition of synthetic principles
• Example: Benzyl benzoate is added to balsam of Peru

  Addition of synthetic principles