Analysis of a polyherbal galactagogue Batrisu vasanu, an indigenous Indian ethnomedicine

Abstract

Batrisu vasanu, katlu or battisa is an ethnobotanically popular polyherbal galactagogue and postpartum remedy in western India. It is only traditionally practised and is not reported scientifically. This study was focused on qualitative analysis of the ingredients added and their variations among marketed Batrisu vasanu products. Samples were collected in Gujarat (India) and from the ingredients mentioned on the pack, their botanical details were analysed using Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India – Part I. Relative frequency of citation (RFC), number of herbs shared (N_h) by samples, and Jaccard coefficient was calculated to find the consistency in ingredient. A Cluster dendrogram was prepared to show diversity in sample ingredients. The composition of 16 collected samples showed 24.5±6.33 herbs per sample with a range of 26 herbs. Total 69 medicinal herbs of 64 species, from 58 genera belonging to 38 diverse plant families were reported. Gokshura was the only common herb present among all the samples. Further, N_h of 12.80±4.62 and average Jaccard coefficient of 0.35 suggests very poor similarity of samples. It is concluded that samples were added with diverse types of herbs, and were having a highly inconsistent polyherbal composition. These findings raise serious concerns about the quality of this ethnomedicinal product.