Estimation of shelf-life of Balachaturbhadrika syrup containing different sweetening agents

Abstract

Background: Stability being the potential of any particular preparation in a noteworthy container/closure set up to abide within its physical, microbiological, chemical, toxicological, therapeutic stipulations which is invariably manifested in respect of shelf-life. Main aim of present analysis is to ascertain the shelf-life of Balachaturbhadrika Syrup prepared with different sweetening agent viz. Sugar (Sample I), Jaggery (Sample II), Honey (Sample III) and Stevia (Sample IV). The study was performed under accelerated storage conditions. Methods: Accelerated stability study was conducted for 3 months as per ICH guideline QA1 (R2) and the changes in physico-chemical traits viz. pH, refractive index, specific gravity, alcohol content and sedimentation rate were inscripted for quadruple alliance of 0, 15, 30 and 90 days. The statistical analysis was done using mean ± SEM, student paired t- test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results: Remarkable changes were found in both organoleptic and physico-chemical traits. Extrapolated shelf-life of Sample I, II, III and IV from physico-chemical attributes in conformity with the weather conditions prevailing in India were 73.514 month (6.12 year), 76.080 month (6.340 year), 58.05 month (4.83 year) and 37.05 month (3.09 year) respectively. Conclusion: The syrups prepared using Sugar, Jaggery and Honey were found to be more stable than those prepared using Stevia as the value of physical parameters was found more prominent for honey, jaggery and sugar.