ABSTRACT
Ayurvedic formulations are mostly comprised of herbal and metal/mineral materials along with some animal products. Among the thousands of herbal materials used to prepare Ayurvedic compound formulations, some poisons materials have very significant role towards the therapeutic effect of such formulations. List of poisonous materials are authenticated in Schedule-E (I) of Drugs and cosmetic Act 1940 to propagate their therapeutic potency for well being of human health within the perimeter of rules there on; provided that these materials require some pharmaceutical treatment before their intended use. During the Samhita period different toxic herbals were used successfully to cure many critical diseases in their short term as well as in long term use. Later on these treatment principle, by using poisonous materials are carried forward confidently with involvement of modern techniques of pharmaceutical processing’s. In this review write up it is tried to acknowledge the frequently used herbal poisonous materials like bhallataka, vatsanabha, kupilu, jayapal etc with their commonly practiced pharmaceutical processing, therapeutic use, dose and toxic effects. It is hoped this article will help the practitioners of traditional medicines. Also it is tried to convey the contemporary knowledge regarding these materials for the benefit of students and teachers of the traditional medical system.
Keywords: – Traditional medicines, Ayurveda, herbals, poisonous drugs