Abstract
Introduction: Kshara (alkali) is a unique kind of Ayurvedic dosage form, known for its hot, piercing and scraping nature. Chincha kshara is one such kshara preparation, prepared from the plant Tamarindus indica Linn., and is indicated in Agnimandya (poor digestive power), Shula (abdominal pain), Gulma (abdominal lump), Mutrakrucchra (dysuria), and Ashmari (renal calculi) etc. The study was aimed for the preparation of three batches of chincha kshara and their preliminary physico-chemical analyses.
Materials and methods: The preparation of chincha kshara was done by burning the wood of Tamarindus indica Linn. and dissolving the ash in potable water followed by filtration of dissolved ash to obtain clear fitrate, which later was concentrated by heating to get the kshara. The drug was analysed for physico-chemical parameters including elemental analysis by Energy Dispersive X- ray Analsis (EDAX) analysis.
Results: There was 0.63% of yield with respect to wood and 17.36% with respect to ash used. In physicochemical analysis, there was an average of 3.23% of loss on drying, 75.13% of total ash, and 0.39% of acid insoluble ash and an average pH was 10.2 showing it as strong alkaline. The elemental analysis revealed that it mainly contains oxygen, sodium, and magnesium. Conclusion: Chincha kshara is an inorganic compund containing more of oxygen, sodium, magnesium and chorine with the lesser amount of silicon, sulphur, potassium and calcium.The yield kshara with respect to the wood used is very minimal, even lesser than one percent and with respect to ash is less than twenty percent.

Key words: Alkali, Chincha, EDAX analysis, Kshara, Magnesium, Sodium, Tamarind