Drug Adulteration & Reasons

Hello Guys, this article belongs to adulteration more precisely drug adulteration with their types, methods and reasons for it.

What is Adulteration and Drug Adulteration?

The term adulteration refers to addition of undesired material to desired one, and  Drug adulteration is define as it is a practice of substituting original crude drug partially or completely with others  spurious substance which  is either  free from or  inferior in chemical and therapeutic properties.

 Adulteration is done in following methods:

• Deterioration: it is impairment in quality of drug.

• Sophistication:  it is international or deliberate type of adulteration.

• Substitution:  in this method a totally different substance is added to original crude drug.

• Inferiority:  it refers to any sub standard drug adulteration in original crude drug.

• Spoilage: it occurs due to the attack of microorganisms in crude drugs.

• Admixture: it is the addition of one article to another article due to ignorance of any personal. 

Types of Adulteration:  

• Substitution with superficially similar inferior drugs:

                                Adulterants may or may not have Chemical or therapeutic value as that of original crude drug.
Example:
          Belladonna leaves are substituted with ailanthus leaves; saffron is admixture with dried flower of carthamus tinctorius. Bdellium is used for myrrh; mother clove and clove stalks mixed with clove.Beeswax substituted by Japan wax.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

• Substitution with artificial manufactured substances.

                          Adulterants are artificially prepared to resemble original crude drug and they are used as substitute to the original drug. 
Example:
         Compressed Chichori in place of Coffee; Paraffin wax made yellow coloured and substituted for Beeswax; properly cut and shaped Basswood for nutmeg and Inverted suger for honey.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

Original Drug	Adulterant

• Substitution with exhausted drugs. 

                          In it some drugs are admixed but they are devoid of any medically active constituent because medically active constituents are already exhausted or extracted from them. It is mostly occur in drugs containing volatile oils.
Example:
          It is most common in drugs containing volatile oils, like fennel, clove, coriander, caraway etc;  due to extraction some characters like colour or taste get changed, that is manipulated by addition of other additives like exhausted gentian made bitter with aloe, artificial colouring done with exhausted saffron.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

Original Drug	Adulterant

• Presence of vegetative part from the same plant.

                         Other miniature plants growing along with crude drug and are mixed with drug due to their resembling colour order and some constitutes. They do not have the same quality or any effect like original crude drug.
Example:
            Lower plants like moss, liverworts, epiphytes etc. are mixed with cascara or cinchona. Stem portion mixed along with leaf drug like lobelia, Senna,  stramonium.     

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

• Addition of harmful adulterants.

                         Waste from market is collected and admixed with authentic crude drugs. It is particularly done with liquid or unorganised drugs.
Example:
            Piece of Amber coloured glass in colophony. Limestone in asafoetida. Lead shot in opium. White oil in coconut oil. Coca butter mixed with stearin or paraffin. Rodent fecal matter to cardamom seeds is very harmful adulteration.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

• Adulteration of powders.

                         In this type the powder form of crude drug is adulteration with other powder substances similar in morphological character.
Example:
           Dextrin in ipicacuanha. Powdered liquorice or gentian admixed with Olive stone powder. Exhausted Ginger powder in powdered colocynth or Ginger. Red Sanders wood in Capsicum. Powdered bark adulterated with powdered brick, etc.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

• Adulteration with the use of synthetic chemicals. 

                         Sometimes other methods are employed like use of synthetic Chemicals to enhance natural characters of crude drugs.
Example:
            Addition of Benzyl benzoate to Balsam of Peru. Citral to citrus oils like oil of lemon or Orange oil etc.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

• Substitution with substandard varieties.  

                          In this type any morphologically, chemically similar substance but sub-standard in nature quality and cheap in cost is added to original crude drug.
Example:
        Strychnous nux blanda or S.potatorum in place of S.nux vomica.Capsicum minimum is replaced bycapsicum annuum.Indian Senna is substituted with Arabian senna and dog senna.Gentian substituted by kutki.Medicinal Ginger replaced by its inferior varieties like African, Japanese and Cochin Ginger.

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

Original Drug	Adulterant	Original Drug	Adulterant

Reasons for adulteration 
                There are different causes due to which adulteration of the crude drug occurs from which two main types are-

• Unintentional or indirect adulteration
• Intentional or direct adulteration      

Unintentional or indirect adulteration:
                                    It occurs without any bad intention of the manufacturer or supplier.
   Reasons are

1. Due to similar morphology - Due to similar appearance adulteration occurs with genuine drug.
2. Lack of knowledge about the source - When a supplier is unaware of authentic source adulteration occurs intentionally.
3. Lack of or unavailability of authentic plant - Limited availability of certain species leads to adulteration.
4. Confusion in Vernacular names of different species - due to which two Herbs are interchanged or adulterated.
5. Careless collection or storage by manufacturer or supplier leads to unintentional adulteration. 

Intentional or direct adulteration:
                                    It occurs intentionally by a manufacturer or supplier.
   Reasons are

1. The high price of the authentic drug in the market.
2. Due to scarcity or unavailability of drugs.
3. To earn more profit and money.