Aamar-e-Advia (shelf-lives of Unani drugs)

Aamar-e-Advia

(shelf-lives of Unani drugs)

Aamar-e-Advia is a life period of a drug until it retains its therapeutic property. It is defined as "the peri time during which an active pharmaceutical ingredient or a finished pharmaceutical product is expected to remain within the approved shelf-life specification, provided that it is stored as per the conditions outlined on the container label".  Aamar-e-Advia is also known as the expiration dating period, or conformance period, shelf-life of a drug.

Crude drugs are obtained from zoological, botanical, and geological sources, if these drugs are used therapeutically without compounding, then it called Mufrad (single) drugs. when after compounding from these crude drugs various formulations are prepared, called Murakkab (compound) drugs.

The factors affecting the medicinal properties of a drug are methods of cultivation, collection, preservation, storage, and climatic condition. Authenticated drugs should meet standards for purity, growth, preparation, and handling. Any change in physical properties (color, smell, taste, consistency, shape, weight, and luster) of a drug is an indication of the change in its therapeutic effect. The government of India and other regulatory organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) issue regulatory requirements and statistical methodology about the shelf of drugs. 

In 2009, the government of India issued a notification regarding shelf-life and date of expiry for Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani (ASU) medicines In this notification, the Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, reported implementation of the regulation “161B” regarding the display of the date of expiry of ASU drugs and proposed the shelf-lives of many Unani formulations, according to their dosage forms. It states that "the potency of ASU preparations is lost/reduced after a certain period. The Aamar-e-Advia is an important topic under the subject of ilmul Advia that is mentioned since ancient times. There is a different life span of the drug of different origins, it is different even in the same origin, for example, the life span of a root, stem, flower, fruit, or seed is different of the same plant. Similarly, if storage condition differs then the shelf-lives same drug is different.

The general description of the shelf lives of Mufrad advia is mentioned below.

Botanical Drugs:

1.     Roots, branches, and barks (Jad, shaakh aur chaal): Based on shelf life, there are two types of these drugs.

1-year shelf-life drugs: These roots, branches, and barks get verminous with termites in and around a span of 1 year. If changes in physical characteristics or termites are seen within a year then the root, bark, or branch should be considered expired (kharij-e-muddath). Ex: aslassoos, behman-e-surkh, behman-e-safed, beekh-e-anjabar, chob chini, turbud, zaranbad, zanjabeel, shiqaqal, aqarqarha etc.

 5–10 years shelf-life drugs: These drugs retain their medicinal property up to 5-10 years. Examples: juntiyana, daar chini, daroonj-e-aqrabi, zard chob, qust talkh, qust sheerien, wajj, etc.

2.     Leaves (Barg): In good storage condition, Leaves retain their medicinal property for 1-2 years. Ex: barg-e-sana makki, barg-e-gauzaban, barg-e-moorad, barg-e-neem, parsiyavishan, sazaj hindi (tez patta), etc.

3.     Buds and Flowers (Shagoofe aur phool): Its shelf-life is 1-2 in a proper . Ex: shagoofa-e-izkhar, gul-e-banafsha, gul-e-dhawa, gul-e-zoofa, gul-e-surkh, gul-e-suyuti, gul-e-gauzaban, gul-e-machkan, gul-e-nilofer, rasanghar, qaranfil (laung) etc.

4.     Fruits (samar): based on water content fruit is of two types –

Fresh fruits /seasonal fruits: they should be used within 10 days. Some. Or preserved for a longer period by special techniques, like murabba.

Dry fruits (khushk phal): These can be stored for 1-2 years. If the hard fruit coat is removed then it should be used within 10 days while some can be used for a year even after they are peeled off. Example: aalu Bukhara, aamla, aalu baalu, ilaichi khurd, ilaichi kalan, akhrot, badam, pista, chilghoza, etc. the dry fruits that contain oils can be used for a year. Ex: akhrot, badam, pista, chilghoza etc.

5.     Seeds (Tukhm): The shelf life of Seeds is usually 2-3 years. Oily contains seeds have shorter shelf life than non-oily seeds, as they lose their efficacy on evaporation of the oil. Example: hulba (methi), khashkhash, khayareen, rayi, zeera, kasni, kishneez, kunjad, haloon etc

6.     Botanical Oil (Roghan nabati): The shelf life of Roghan nabati (Botanical oil) is usually 2-3 years. Example: roghan-e-zaitoon, roghan-e-kahu, roghan-e-kaddu, roghan-e-kunjad etc. with few exceptions, like the potency of roghan-e-balsan increases with age.

7.     Gum (Simagh): The shelf life of gums are usually 3 years. Example: Ushaq, dam-ul-akwain, simagh-e-arabi, kateera etc.

8.     Extracts (Usara): Extracts of various drugs are of use up to 3 years of their procurement. Examples: Aqaqia (Acacia extract), Rasaut (Barberry extract), Rubbussus (Glycyrrhiza glabra root extract), etc.

9.     Dried latex (lubn, yatoo’): The shelf life of Seeds is variable, and generally varies between 20-50 years. Ex: opium can be used for 50yrs, Saqmoniya for 20 years and farafyun for 30-35 years.

Animal Drugs:

Different organs and excreta of several animals are of medicinal value. The shelf life of animal-origin drugs is different for different organs and also varies from species to species. Dried gall bladed (pitta/marrarah) can be used for 4-5 years. Dried sartan (crab), urusak and kenjwa/hayat (worm) can be used for 2 years. Salted fats can be used for 1 year. Seeng (horn), khar, nakhoon (nails) can be used for 2 to 3 years. Khoon (blood) gobar (dung) mengni (goat droppings) can be used for 1 year. Jundebedastar, ambar, mushk can be used for 5 - 10 years. If they lose their fragrance then they should be considered expired. Seep (sea shell) and marwareed (pearls) can be used for 5 - 10 years.

Geological Drugs: This is the major sources of drugs. There are three types of Geological Drugs, these are:

Metals (Zavil ajsad/ dhaat/ filli zaat): Different metals have different shelf life. Some metals can be used for millions of years while some for a thousand years. Some metals are destroyed when exposed to air and moisture. Example: loha. While some are not affected by air and moisture. Ex: sona. Other drugs that belong to this category are taamba, jast, zangar, chandi, seesa etc.

Nonmetals (Zavil arwah/updhaat): Nonmetals have a shorter shelf life than metals. These drugs evaporate at very high temperatures. Example: paara, daar chikna, raskapoor, samm-ul-far, shangraf, gandhak, hadtal etc Ø

Stones and clays (jawaher-o-arz): the shelf life of stones and clay varies a lot. Some can be used for a year whereas some can be used for thousands of years. When stones are finely powdered and stored, their shelf life decreases. It is difficult to predict the shelf life of stones like zamrud, sang-e-moosa, lal, heera and yaqoot. These can be used for millions of years. Aqleemiya, totiya, mardar sang, marqasheesha can be used for a few years. Gil-e-armani, gil-edaghtani, gil-e-makhtoom, gil-e-multani can also be used for a few years. Zangar and safeda-e-kashgiri can be used for 1 - 6 years.