Churna – Ayurvedic Powder

October 21, 2017Last Updated: April 8, 2020

2 minutes read

Churna (also known as ayurvedic powder) is a category/group of ayurvedic medicines in which single herb or a specific number of herbs are ground to make a fine powder. In addition to herbs, Churna can also contain fine powder of salts, sugar, and other ayurvedic ingredients. Some ingredients like HING (Asafetida) may also be roasted before grinding them into a powder.

Preparation of Churna

Churna is prepared from dry and clean herbs. Before making churna, herbs are washed properly to remove dust. Some ingredients are dried in the sun and some are dry in the shade depending on the aromatic and volatile content of herbs.

Herbs are also checked for their quality if they are good, healthy and mature to make Churna. Herbs should also be checked for adulteration.

Clean and Dry herbs should be crushed into small pieces.
Grind each ingredient separately. Make a fine powder of each herb.
If churna is polyherbal, then weigh each ingredient and mix them together.

Important Notes about Churna

If a churna formula contains salts, then it should be added in the end.
HING (Asafetida) should be roasted and then ground before adding to the churna.
Some herbs like Shatavari and Guduchi may be used fresh and these herbs are crushed and a paste is prepared. However, the paste is dried and then ground again into a fine powder before adding in the churna preparation.
Each herb should be dried separately, and it should become moisture free. If herb contains moisture, it will spoil the Churna soon.
Churna should be stored in glass or Chinese clay pots. The containers should be air-tight.
Churna can have good potency for 1 to 2 years when stored in air-tight containers.
The shelf life of Churna is 2 years when stored in air-tight containers.
Churna that contain KSHAAR can have shelf-life up to 1 year when stored in an airtight container.
After opening the containers, churna should be consumed within 1 to 3 months.