The therapeutic activity of a plant medicine is determined by its quality,
security and efficacy. These must be controlled in an exact, precise and repeatable
process. Quality control is the set of technical operations employed to verify the
fulfilment of the quality requirements established. The variability of the plant material
depends on the identity of the plant, its origin (wild harvested or cultivated), the
harvesting time, the soil and climatic conditions, the organ or part of the plant used,
and the phenology and ontogeny of the plant. The plant or drug quality must be
determined by identification of the plant material, botanically, physically and
chemically.
Keywords: Aflatoxins, Ash, Chemical analysis, Chromatography, Distillation,
Drug, Extraction, Foreign matter, Haemolitic activity, Pesticides, Quality control,
Sampling, Swelling index, Tannins, Toxic metals.
