Physical, Proximate and Toxicological Properties of Andrographis Paniculata Herbal Powder Beverage Mix

This study investigated the physical, proximate and toxicological properties of Andrographis paniculata (A. paniculata) herbal powder beverage mix. The herbal powder, A. paniculata with high medicinal value was formulated with non-dairy creamer and sugarto enhance the taste, nutritional and economic values, thus making itgood and safe for human use. The physical properties of the formulated herbal beverage mix was determined: Particle size, pH, moisture content, bulk and tapped densities, were measured to determine Carr index and Hausner ratio which were indices of flowability. The proximate analysis such as ash, lipid, fibre, carbohydrate and crude protein contents of the beverage mix was determined. Toxicological study on the formulated beverage mix was performed using healthy male wistar rats to ascertain the safety of the product. The formulation of the pure A. paniculata herbal powder into a beverage mix enhanced the particle sizes with reduction in moisture content making the beverage to be "free flowing". The formulated A. paniculata beverage mix had a pH of 7.49 0.11 which is suitable for the human system. The formulated beverage mix was a good source of carbohydrate (87.81 0.30%) and protein (8.00 0.24%). However, the data revealed that the formulation was not a rich source of fat, making it recommendable to people with high lipid profile. The safety of the mix was ascertained after the acute oral and sub-chronic toxicity studies carried out for 28 days revealed no apparent adverse effect on the histology ofboth the liver and kidney of experimental animals.