# Ayurvedic Formulations in AYUSH > Ayurvedic formulations in AYUSH Pharmacy: asava and arishta fermentation, bhasma shodhana marana, Schedule T GMP and ASU licensing under the Act. - Canonical URL: https://prepelephant.com/topics/allied/pharmacy/ayurvedic-formulations-ayush - Exam / course: Allied Health · Subject: Pharmacy - Publisher: PrepElephant (https://prepelephant.com) — Prepared and reviewed by the PrepElephant Academic Review Team - First published: 2026-10-02 - Last updated: 2026-10-02 - How to cite: "Ayurvedic Formulations in AYUSH", PrepElephant, https://prepelephant.com/topics/allied/pharmacy/ayurvedic-formulations-ayush ## Direct answer Ayurvedic formulations are the classical dosage forms of the Ayurvedic (and, in parallel, Siddha and Unani) systems — defined in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 as ASU drugs and manufactured under their own rules: Schedule T prescribes their good manufacturing practice, state AYUSH licensing authorities grant licences, and the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia and Formulary of India set standards. The forms are a coherent pharmaceutical technology: churna (powders), vati and gutika (pills), kwatha (decoctions), asava and arishta (self-generated alcoholic preparations fermented with jaggery and dhataki flowers), taila and ghrita (medicated oil and ghee), avaleha (chyawanprash-type confections), guggulu, and bhasma — metal and mineral preparations carried through shodhana (purification), bhavana (levigation with herbal juices) and marana (incineration) to a fine ash. The framework runs through panchakarma, rasayana and anupana (vehicle) logic that students must translate into modern quality vocabulary. ## What you must remember - **Regulatory frame:** ASU drugs defined in Section 3(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; manufacture under the ASU rules (with Rule 158B-type requirements), GMP through Schedule T, standards in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia and Formulary; the Ministry of AYUSH, created 2014 from the 2003 department, oversees policy. - **Schedule T:** GMP for ASU drugs — premises, section-wise machinery for each dosage form, qualified staff including an ASU pharmacist, and quality-control arrangements. - **Asava versus arishta:** an arishta ferments a decoction (kwatha); an asava ferments drugs in water without prior decoction; both self-generate alcohol over weeks to months using jaggery or honey with Woodfordia fruticosa (dhataki) flowers. - **Bhasma pathway:** shodhana (purification), bhavana (repeated levigation with herbal juices) and marana (incineration in closed crucibles, putas graded by heat) until classical tests pass — rekhapurnata (fills fingerprint lines), varitara (floats on water), nishchandratva (lustreless); lauha and yasada bhasma are the quotable examples. - **Safety debate:** heavy-metal content in bhasma and the need for validated, standardised manufacture and labelling — why GMP and standardisation dominate modern AYUSH quality discourse. ## Reading a classical formula as a formulation scientist Take an arishta listed in the Ayurvedic Formulary. The recipe specifies drugs, decoction volume, jaggery weight, honey and dhataki flowers, and a sealed fermentation vessel kept for a defined period — a controlled fermentation extraction: the yeast-bearing flowers ferment sugars to ethanol, the ethanol extracts resinous and glycosidic constituents water alone would leave behind, and the generated alcohol with lowered water activity preserves the product for years without chemical preservatives; final filtering and maturation standardise taste and clarity. The classical end-point tests — no residual sweetness, characteristic aroma, clarity — are organoleptic specifications in modern dress. Walk a bhasma the same way: purified metal triturated with herbal juices, incinerated, re-levigated and re-incinerated, each bhavana adding organic material that fragments particles, until the product floats on water and fills fingertip lines — particle-size tests avant la lettre. The lesson: these are unit operations — extraction, fermentation, size reduction, standardisation — under different names, the exact bridge the syllabus wants built between classical texts and modern GMP. ## How the exam frames AYUSH content Two framings dominate. The regulatory framing asks for the statutory spine: ASU drugs defined under the D&C Act, manufacture licensed by state AYUSH authorities, GMP under Schedule T, standards in the API and Formulary, ministry created 2014 — mixing these with allopathic Schedule M forms is the built-in trap, so answer each system with its own schedule. The technological framing asks the pairs: asava versus arishta (decoction fermented or not), shodhana versus marana (purification versus incineration), taila versus ghrita (oil versus ghee base) — one distinguishing sentence of payload each. A third angle rewards honesty about quality: the strong answer holds classical end-point tests and GMP standardisation together, since that is the current regulatory direction. Quote at least one classical test with its meaning (varitara — floats on water) to show you have met the primary literature. ## Frequently asked questions ### How does an arishta differ from an asava? An arishta is prepared by fermenting a decoction of the drugs, whereas an asava ferments the drugs directly in water without prior decoction — both use jaggery or honey with dhataki flowers and self-generate preserving alcohol. ### What is Schedule T of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules? It prescribes good manufacturing practice for Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines — premises, dosage-form-wise machinery, qualified technical staff and quality control — the ASU counterpart of Schedule M. ### Describe the stages of bhasma preparation. Shodhana purifies the metal or mineral, bhavana levigates it repeatedly with specified herbal juices, and marana incinerates it in cycles until classical tests such as rekhapurnata (fills fingerprint lines) and varitara (floats on water) declare it complete. ### Which standards govern Ayurvedic drugs in India? The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India for single drugs and the Ayurvedic Formulary of India for compound preparations, enforced through the ASU provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by state AYUSH licensing authorities. ### Why do asavas and arishtas keep for years without added preservatives? Fermentation generates enough alcohol and lowers water activity, both extracting further constituents and suppressing microbial growth — a self-preserving design built into the formula.