ADULTERATION (Introduction, Reasons, Types, Examples, Evaluation method) S.N. TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED OBJECTIVES 1 Introduction about adulteration In this section we will understand what adulteration is 2 Factor causing adulteration We will know about different factors which are involved in adulteration, by which we can figure out any adulterated drug 3 Reason of adulteration Know about the different causes due to which adulteration of crude drugs occur 4 Types of Adulteration To know about the different methods by which intentional or deliberate adulteration takes place 5 Methods of adulteration with examples Explanation of each types of Adulteration with common examples for better understanding 6 Evaluation Method of adulteration Different laboratory method for the detection of adulteration by which we will able to know that our drug is adulterated or not ADULTERATION (Let’s Know about What is Adulteration by its Definition and General Introduction) S.N. 1 2 TERMS DEFINITION Adulteration Adulteration is a practice of substituting the original drug completely or partially with other similar looking substance The substance, which is mixed, is either free from or inferior in quality in terms of chemical and therapeutic properties. The substance which is added with the original drug is called adulterants. Adulterants Adulterants are either of substandard verities of the original crude drug or inferior drug or artificially prepared or other substance which are present in the original drug which decrease its quality. In general term adulteration is devaluation of any substance by adding or subtracting any thing with the original substance which decreases the quality of that substance and may be injurious to health and may cause variety of adverse effects from mild, moderate to severe life threatening reactions. It has been studied in many report that the adverse drug reaction happens not due to the administration of genuine drug but due to the presence of adulterants in it. So, understanding of all the methods of adulteration and its evaluation technique is necessary to rectify this illegal act and maximizing consumers' safety. This adulteration may be done intentionally or unintentionally. Intentional adulteration is a criminal act and punishable offense, usually in case of crude drug. The motives behind the intentional adulteration are normally commercial one and originate mainly with the intention of enhancement of profits. ADULTERATION (Factors creating adulteration in authentic crude drug) S.N. Factors Explanation Example 1 Spoilage Impairment of the quality or value of drug by the attack of microorganism. Spoilage caused by fungi or bacteria with a result the crude drug will be not suitable for human consumption 2 Deterioration Distraction of quality of drug by the removal of constituents by the distillation method or due to moisture, heat, insects and rat. Removing maximum amount caffeine by over roasting the coffee beans Admixture Addition of one substance to the other due to the ignorance or carelessness or by accidents or collection of two similar species Addition of soil and stones to the roots or rhizomes and stem part to the leaf accidently at the time of collection 4 Sophistication Intentionally or deliberately, addition of inferior material with genuine drug. Glucose powder is added to acacia gum powder. Addition of yellow colored starch powder in Zingiber officinale (ginger) powder. 5 Substitution Completely different substance is given in place of the original drug Cotton seed oil in place of pure olive oil 6 Inferiority Any natural substandard drug containing chemical constituent less than the standard drug value Seeds of Strychnus nuxvomica containing less than 1.15 % of the strychnine than it is considered as inferior. 3 Reasons of Adulteration (Know about the different causes due to which adulteration of crude drugs occur) Two main types for reasons of adulteration Unintentional or Indirect Adulteration Intentional Adulteration or Direct Adulteration Reasons It occurs without any bad intention of manufacture or suppliers. Mainly occur due to the following reason Reasons It occurs intentionally by manufacture or suppliers. Mainly occur due to the following reason Due to similarity in morphology and or aroma Lack of knowledge about authentic source Lack or no availability of authentic plant Absence of proper means of evaluation Name confusion in vernacular name Careless collection or storage Due to the high price of the drug in the market Due to the Scarcity of drug To earn more profit Reasons of Unintentional Adulteration (Know about the different causes due to which adulteration of crude drugs occur unintentionally) Reason Description Example Confusion in vernacular names Confusion occur due to same vernacular name of different species and vice versa and due to which the two herbs are interchanged or adulterated. Ashoka is the vernacular name of medicinal plat Saraca asoca and ornamental plant Polyalthia longifolia Lack of knowledge about authentic source This is one the reason by which adulteration takes place in which supplier is unaware of authentic source Mesua ferrea (Nagakesara), market samples are adulterated with flowers of Calophyllum inophyllum (Punnaga) Similarity in morphology Reason of adulteration is due to the similarity in appearance of adulterant with the genuine drug Mucuna pruriens adultered with other similar Papilionaceae seeds like Mucuna utilis (White variety) & Mucuna deeringiana (Bigger variety) Unscientific Collections and storage of drug Carelessness at the time of collection of herbs Saileyam or Shilapushpam (Parmelia perlata), a lichen usually admixed with Parmelia perforata & Parmelia cirrhata. Lack of authentic plant Due to the limited availability of certain species In India limited availability of Hypericum perforatum, H. patulum sold in the name of same Similarity in color In the course of time the drug material changed to or substituted due to similarity in color Ratanjot original only source in past is Ventilago Madraspatana but the present source is Arnebia euchroma. Types of Intentional Adulteration Substitution with inferior Adulteration by artificially commercial varieties manufactured substance Addition of synthetic principles Usage of vegetative part of the same plant Addition worthless heavy material/toxic materials Substitution by superficially similar but cheaper/inferior natural drug substance Substitution by exhausted drug Different Methods used for Intentional Adulteration Methods Description Substitution with inferior (substandard) commercial varieties Due to the morphological resemblance inferior quality drugs adulterated to the original drug Japanese ginger to adulterate medicinal ginger Substitution by superficially similar (Inferior/ cheaper natural substance) Drug which is used for adulteration physically very similar to the original drug Indian dill with European dill or caraway Belladonna and Senna leaves substituted by Ailanthus leaves Substitution by exhausted drug In this method active constituent of drug extracted out and are used again. Clove, Fennel after extracting volatile oil. Used tea leaves dried and mixed with genuine drug. Adulteration / Substitution by artificially manufactured substance Substance are artificially made to look like similar to adulterate the original drug Compressed chicory in place of coffee, Artificial invert sugar for honey Usage or presence of vegetative matter from the same plant Presence of excessive amount of vegetative part of same plant Adulteration by faulty collection excessive amount of stem in Senna, Starmonium, lobelia. mosses, liver worts and lichens growing on bark are mixed with the cinchona or cascara Adulteration by worthless heavy material Generally stone and gravels are added to the drug to increase its weight A large number of stone with liquorice root Limestone pieces with Asafoetida Additions of synthetic substance to the original drug Citral to lemon oil, Benzyl benzoate to balsam of peru the addition material/toxic Addition of synthetic principles Example Substitution with Inferior Commercial Varieties The adulterants used resembles the original crude drug by morphological, chemical or therapeutic characters, but are substandard in nature/ inferior in quality and hence cheaper in cost. This is rather most common practice of adulteration. Example Hog gum for tragacanth gum, mangosteen fruits for bael fruits. Original Drug Adulteration Strychnous Nuxvomica Strychnous Potatorum Original Drug Adulteration Zingiber officinalis Japanese ginger Substitution with Inferior Commercial Varieties Original Drug Adulteration Original Drug Capsicum minimum Capsicum annum Indian Senna Adulteration Arabian Senna Adulteration by Superficially Similar Looking but Inferior Natural Substance Substitution of the original drug by superficially similar cheaper natural substance. The substance which is used for adulteration is physically very much similar in appearance to the original drug but not having any relation to original drug and may or may not have any chemical or therapeutic value. Original Drug Adulteration Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) Papaya seed (Carica papaya) Original Drug Saffron (Crocus sativus) Adulteration Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Adulteration by Superficially Similar Looking but Inferior Natural Substance Substitution of the original drug by superficially similar cheaper natural substance. The substance which is used for adulteration is physically very much similar in appearance to the original drug not having any relation to original drug and may or may not have any chemical or therapeutic value. Original Drug Adulteration Original Drug Adulteration Indian Dill Caraway Belladona leaves Ailanthus leaves Adulteration by Superficially Similar Looking but Inferior Natural Substance Substitution of the original drug by superficially similar cheaper natural substance. The substance which is used for adulteration is physically very much similar in appearance to the original drug not having any relation to original drug and may or may not have any chemical or therapeutic value. Original Drug Almond Adulteration Peach Kernel/Apricot kernel Original Drug Fresh Cloves Adulteration Clove with Clove stalk Substitution by Exhausted Drug Same drug is used again after removing/extraction out the medicinally active constituents. Practice is most common in case of costly drug such as case volatile oil containing drug (clove and fennel). Examples are Balsam of tolu devoid of cinnamic acid. After extraction, saffron and red rose petals are recolored by artificial dyes. Original Drug Adulteration Original Drug Clove Exhausted clove Fennel Adulteration Exhausted fennel Substitution by Artificially Manufactured Substance Substance are prepared/manufactured in such a way so that it look similar in appearance with the original drug and these artificially manufactured substance are than used for adulteration. Examples are ergot adulterated with flour dough molded in correct size and colored with red and writing ink. Original Drug Adulteration Bees wax After Yellow coloration of Paraffin Wax Original Drug Honey Adulteration Artificial invert sugar Substitution by Artificially Manufactured Substance Substance are prepared/manufactured in such a way so that it look similar in appearance with the original drug and these artificially manufactured substance are than used for adulteration. Examples are ergot adulterated with flour dough molded in correct size and colored with red and writing ink. Original Drug Adulteration Coffee Beans Compressed Chicory Root Original Drug Nutmeg Adulteration Properly cut, shaved Basswood Adulteration by Vegetative Matter Adulteration due to the presence of vegetative matter from the same plant due to the faulty collection or intentionally adding excessive vegetative matter from the same plant. A part of same plant which is devoid of therapeutic action are mixed with the same drug. Examples Clove is mixed along with leaves and petioles, excessive amount of stem in lobelia and Starmonium leaves Original Drug Senna leaves Adulteration Excessive amount of Stems in Senna leaves Original Drug Adulteration Cinchona Bark Moss, liverworts and lichens growing on bark are mixed with the cinchona bark Adulteration by Synthetic Principles Using synthetic drugs/chemicals are used to enhance natural character, market and therapeutic value. Examples, Citral is added to citrus oils (like lemon oil and orange oil), Benzyl benzoate to Balsam of peru. Apart from this, the herbal product labeled to improve sexual performance in men when analyzed contain Sildenafil, Sleeping Buddha contain Estamazole, Diabetes Angel containing Glyburide and Phenformin Original Drug Lemon oil Adulteration Citral Original Drug Balsam of Peru Adulteration Benzyl Benzoate Adulteration by Worthless Heavy Material or Toxic Substance Drugs are also adulterated by the addition of worthless heavy material or the material that would be toxic in nature. Generally stone and gravels are added to the drug to increase its weight in order to gain more profit. Piece of lime stone in Asafoetida, Mentanil Yellow in Turmeric powder, Lead shot in Opium, Addition of rodent fecal matter in Cardamom seed, Argemone seed in Mustard seed, White oil in coconut oil. Original Drug Adulteration Mustard seed Argemone seed Original Drug Turmeric Powder Adulteration Mentanil Yellow Adulteration by Worthless Heavy Material or Toxic Substance Drugs are also adulterated by the addition of worthless heavy material or the material that would be toxic in nature. Generally stone and gravels are added to the drug to increase its weight in order to gain more profit. Piece of lime stone in Asafoetida, Mentanil Yellow in Turmeric powder, Lead shot in Opium, rodent fecal matters in Cardamom seed, Argemone seed in Mustard seed, White oil in coconut oil. Original Drug Asafoetida Adulteration Original Drug Adulteration Piece of Lime Stone Liquorice Root Other hard woods (Toxic) Adulteration of Powders Powdered drugs are found to be adulterated very frequently. Adulterants used are generally powdered waste products of a suitable color and density. Examples: Olive stones in powdered Gentian, Liquorice or Pepper, Brick powder in barks, Red Sander wood into chillies, Dextrin in powdered Ipecacuanha, exhausted powder ginger in ginger Original Drug Powdered Gentian Adulteration Original Drug Adulteration Olive stones Red chillies Powder Brick Powder + Colour Evaluation Methods of Adulteration Evaluation means determination of identity, quality and purity of any drug. There are different evaluation methods available by which we can detect any type of adulteration in the original drug. Evaluation Identity Identity means to Purity determine Quality the Purity evaluation means to check the Quality means to determine the authenticity or exact biological source presence of foreign material, either organic concentration of drug. Whether the drug we are using or inorganic which may be present in the active constituent present in the drug are from the same biological source or drug accidently or intentionally added to the and comparison with the standard from different source. drug to earn more money value so that the drug produce of therapeutically desirable therapeutic effect. Evaluation Methods of Adulteration Different methods are available for the evaluation of crude drug and detection of adulteration in crude drugs Sr. N. Evaluation method Description 1 Morphological/Organoleptic Evaluation In this type of evaluation, drugs are evaluated with the help of sense organs 2 Microscopic Evaluation In this type of evaluation drug or its powder are examined under the microscope to study the arrangement of tissue and characteristics of powder 3 Physical Evaluation In this type of evaluation physical constant of drug is determined wherever possible 4 Chemical Evaluation This method is used to determine the active constituent in a drug by the chemical test or chemical process 5 Biological Evaluation In this type of evaluation biological activity of drug is determined 6 Chromatography and spectrophotometry Different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques were used to check the quality and purity of drug Morphological and Organoleptic Evaluation of Adulteration Morphological and organoleptic evaluation includes characters like color, odor, taste, size, shape, special features like touch, texture etc of crude drug. In organoleptic evaluation drugs are evaluated with the help of sense organs like color, odor, taste and texture. Morphological and organoleptic features of various part of plants are very useful in identification of crude drug and also gives an idea about the presence of adulterants in crude drug. Examples 1. Wavy shape- Rauwolfia , Disc shape – Nuxvomica , Conical shape Aconite, Quills of cinnamon 2. Strength of odour like musty, moldy, rancid, fruity, 3. Aromatic odour of umbelliferou fruit 4. Sweet taste Honey and liquorice 5. Bitter taste Gentian and chirata 6. Brown color of cinnamon 7. Pungent taste Capsicum and ginger 8. Mucilaginous taste Ispaghula 9. Fractured Surface- Chichona, cascara bark, quassia wood Microscopic Evaluation of Adulteration Medicinal plant dealers have discovered the scientific method in creating adulteration of such a high quality that it very difficult to trace out the adulteration without microscopic and chemical analysis. In this type of evaluation, drug or its powder are examined under the microscope to study the arrangement of tissue and characteristics of powder. This can be performed by powdering crude drug or cutting a thin section or preparing a macerate of the crude drug. The characteristic feature of cell wall, cell content, starch grains, calcium oxalate crystal, Trichome, fibers, vessel etc. have been studied Sr. N. Examples 1 Powder of clove stalk contain sclereids and calcium oxalate crystal but cloves does not contain these two 2 Sclerenchyma absent in Rauwolfia Serpentine root but present in Rauwofia micratha, R.densiflora 3 Glandular Trichome of Mint and warty Trichome of Senna 4 Stone cell present in frangula bark and absent in cascara bark 5 Lignified Trichome and plasmodesmeta in nuxvomica Click here to see the microscopy of Fennel by Solution-Pharmacy (Works in PDF) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOmgf9Q539A Click here to see the microscopy of Adhatoda Vasica by Solution-Pharmacy- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmbh-Yd1UV0 Quantitative Microscopy Quantitative microscopy is an analytical technique to analyze the powder drug when chemical method of evaluation of drug fails to measure the accurate quality of drug. It includes Lycopodium spore method, Stomatal number, Stomatal index, Palisade ratio, Veinlet terination number, Vein-islet number Stomatal number: - The average number of stomata per square millimeter of epidermis is termed as Stomatal number Stomatal index:- Stomatal index in defined as a portion of stomata against the total number of cell in the epidermis (epidermal cell plus the stomata) reduced to percentage Stomatal Index = S ×100 E+ S Palisade ratio: - Palisade ratio is defined as the average number of palisade cell beneath each epidermis cell of the leaf Veinlet termination number- It is defined as the number of veinlet termination per square mm of the leaf surface midway between the midrib and margin Vein-Islet number- It is defined as the number of veinislet per square mm of the leaf surface midway between the midrib and margin Physical Evaluation Methods of Adulteration This type of evaluation method is very essential for the determination of quality and purity of drug. In this type of evaluation physical constant of drug is determined wherever possible. Different parameters to physically evaluate the drug are described below Parameter Description Examples Moisture content The presence of excessive moisture content in a drug will deteriorate its quality due to activation of enzymes which causes chemical changes or due to the growth of microorganism. It is determined by Karl Fischer method or loss on drying method at 1050 C in an oven to constant weight. Click here for Our Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfxHot6BLZk Starch- Moisture content Not more than15 % Digitalis not more than 5% Melting point It is useful parameter for determining the purity of solid, fixed oil and waxes. Pure phytochemical gives very sharp and constant melting point Bees wax- 62-65o C Wool fat -34-40o C Refractive index It is very useful for evaluation of volatile oil and fixed oil. It is physical constant. It is measured by refratomreter Arachis oil 1.4678- 1.470 Clove oil 1.527-1.535 Optical rotation Certain substance have the property of rotating the plane of polarized light in the pure state or in the solution. They are optically active and property is known as optical rotation. Dextrorotatory (+) and Laevorotatory (-) Caraway oil + 75o to + 80o Clove oil 0o to – 1.5o Foreign matter It is the part of the plant present other that main drug part. Weigh accurately 100 g of drug taken and spread in a thin layer on the paper. It is examined at 6X magnification and percentage recorded Garlic not contain more than 2%,Saffron 2%, Shatavari 1% The Clevenger apparatus is used to determine volatile oil content Fennel not less than 1.4 % Dill not less than 2.5 organic Volatile oil content Physical Evaluation Methods of Adulteration Parameter Description Examples Solubility In this parameter drugs solubility in specific solvent is taken into consideration Colophony in light petroleum Balsam of Peru in chloral hydrate solution Melting point It is useful parameter for determining the purity of solid, fixed oil and waxes. Pure phyto-constituents gives very sharp and constant melting point, incase of crude drug melting point has been fixed due to mixture of chemicals Bees wax- 62-65o C Wool fat -34-44o C Agar melts at 85oC Refractive index It is very useful for evaluation of volatile oil and fixed oil. It is physical constant that changes the speed of light. It is measured by Refratomreter Castor oil 1.4758 Clove oil 1.527-1.535 Optical rotation Certain substance in the pure state or in the solution are optically active, having property to rotate the plane of polarized light. This property is known as optical rotation. Dextrorotatory (+) right side rotation and laevorotatory (-) left side Caraway oil + 75o to + 80o Clove oil 0o to – 1.5o Eucalyptus 0 to + 100 Swelling index Swelling index is the volume in millimeter taken up by the swelling of 1g of plant material in under the specific condition. Plant containing mucilage. Click here for our video on it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPFUWYFjq0w Ispaghula not less than10 Physical Evaluation Methods of Adulteration Parameter Description This method determine the approximate amount of chemical constituents present in the given amount of medicinal plant material when extracted with solvent. The solvent used of extraction dissolve appreciable quantities of substance. Solvent Extractive value Water soluble extractive value Water soluble extractive value it is used for drug containing water soluble active constituent of crude drugs such as tannin sugar, plant acid, mucilage, glycosides Alcohol soluble extractive value Alcohol is ideal solvent for extraction of various chemicals like tannin, glycoside, resins etc. the solvent strength of alcohol varies from 20-95%. The solvent strength has to be chosen depending on the nature of drug to be extracted Examples Aloe Not less than 25% w/w Glycyrrhiza Not less than 20% w/w Aloe Not less than 10% w/w Glycyrrhiza Not less than 50% w/w Click here for our video on it- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU4nr0xxMo0 Ether soluble Extractive value Volatile ether soluble extractives which represent volatile oil content of drug Linseed Not less than 25 %w/w Non volatile ether soluble extractives represent resin, fixed oil or coloring matter present in drug Capsicum Not less than 12 % w/w Physical Evaluation Methods of Adulteration Parameter Description Examples Total Ash value The amount of residue/ash left after the incineration is knows as ash value of the drug. The quality of drug also determined by the quantity left after ignition. It simply represent the inorganic salt naturally occurring in Durg or adhering to it or deliberately added to it as a form of adulteration. Low grade drug, exhausted drug and excess of sand or earthy matter is detected by ash value. Click here for videos by us- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR5Ti89TP-Y Guduchi Total ash Not more than 16%, Ginger 6% Acid insoluble ash Ash insoluble in dilute HCl. By this we can detect the presence of excessive earthy matter which is likely to occur with roots and rhizomes Guduchi Acid insoluble ash value Not more than 3% Water soluble ash It is used to detect the presence of material exhausted by water 6000C Ginger 1.7% Sulphated ash Done by addition of sulphuric acid in order to get sulphate salts Specific gravity It is also known as relative density. The ration of mass of a solid or liquid to the mass of an equal volume of distilled water Coconut oil 0.925 Castor oil 0.95 Viscosity Viscosity is the resistance of a liquid to flow. Viscosity of a liquid is constant at a given temperature and hence used as an evaluation parameter Pyroxylin viscosity 1100-2450 centistoke Chemical Evaluation Methods of Adulteration Determination of active constituent in a drug is referred to as chemical evaluation. In this method different specific chemical test are applied to check the purity of crude drug. These includes qualitative and quantitative chemical test, chemical assay and instrumental analysis Sr. N. 1 Methods of chemical evaluation Qualitative chemical test Description Examples Identification test for various for various Phytoconstituents like glycoside, alkaloid, tannin. Click here for all phytochemical tests videos- Copper acetate test used to detect colophony as adulterant for resin, balsam and waxes Van urk’s test for ergot Vitali mori for tropane alkaloid https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtEqsPSBZlXtrmxwgiv_0z7 xgWceBQCdy Quantitative chemical test This test include acid value, saponification value, ester value, acetyl value Esters value of balsam and volatile oil , Acetyl value of volatile oil, Acid value of resin and balsams 3 Chemical assay Assay of alkaloids, resin, volatile oil, glycosides, vitamin or other constituent present in drug Assay of total alkaloid in belladonna herb Assay of resin in jalap and vitamin in cod liver oil 3 Chromatography & Instrumental analysis Used to analyze the Phytoconstituents using chromatographic and spectroscopic method PC, TLC, HPTLC, HPLC, GC, UVVisible, IR, MS, NMR 2 Biological Evaluation Methods of Adulteration When physical and chemical method of are not able to produce satisfactory result then the drug are evaluated by biological method of evaluation. This method of evaluation is also knows as bioassay or biological assay in which plant or extract are evaluated by various biological method to determine pharmacological activity. These assay are conducted by determining the amount of drug of known quantity required to produce a definite effect on suitable test animal or organ under standard condition. These method are performed on living animal, isolating living organ and tissue, animal preparation and microorganism. When the living bacteria, yeast and molds are used for assaying vitamin and to determine the activity of antibiotics drugs then it is called microbiological assay. Click here for Hot plate video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQqbGAZqyhw Chromatographic & Spectroscopic Techniques for Evaluation of Adulteration Different types of chromatographic techniques are available for separation and analysis of component present in the drug and also to check the purity and quality of drug by using different types of spectroscopic techniques. In the spectroscopic techniques measurement and interpretation of electromagnetic radiation absorbed or emitted when the molecules or atom or ion of a molecule of sample move one energy state to other. These methods are used for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of drugs. Examples- TLC, HPTLC, HPLC, GLC, UV-Visible spectroscopy, IR, Mass, NMR Click here for all chromatographic video by us- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtEqsPSBZlXu4dJUFMnNmM5zQuKUIQjbu Test for Genuinely of Drugs Plants Test for Genuinely of Drugs Kumkuma (Crocus sativus) Adulterants are Stamens of Safflower, Stamens of Marigold. Test for Genuinely: When sprinkled with concentrated H2SO4, the stigmas turn blue immediately, gradually changing to purplish red. Haridra (Curcuma longa) On addition of Concentrated H2SO4 or a mixture of concentrated H2SO4 and alcohol to the powdered drug: A deep crimson colour is produced, if the sample is genuine. Hingu (Ferula asafoetida) Freshly broken surface when touched with concentrated H2SO4: A bright red or reddish brown colour is produced, changing to violet when acid washed off with water, if the sample is genuine. Guggulu (Commiphora mukul) Adulterants used are sand, wood pieces, pieces of bark and shallaki exudates. When small particles put on water, the particles become round. When put on fire, first liquefies then gives white fumes. Sarja (Vateria indica): Slightly soluble in Alcohol in which it forms a jelly like mass, insoluble in petroleum ether forming white precipitation. Kunduru (Boswellia serrata) Trituration with water forms an emulsion. When immersed in alcohol (90%),a tear of Kunduru is not altered much in form, but becomes almost opaque and white. When a drop of concentrated H2SO4 is added on a freshly fractured surface, it becomes cherry red which when washed with water changes to white emulsion, then turn to a buff color.