Churna or Choorna or Ayurvedic herbal powder – These are powders which are to be consumed with water, milk, honey or any other liquid as directed by the physician. Churna is the type 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 (Asafoetida) may also be roasted before grinding them into a powder.
To prepare churnas, herbs (parts of herbs) mentioned in a particular formulation are cleaned and dried properly. They are finely powdered and sieved. Where there are a number of drugs in formulation, the drugs are separately powdered and sieved. Powder of each drug is weighed separately and mixed thoroughly. This will ensure proper mixing in comparison to mixing the drugs and preparing the powder of the drug-mix. In industry, however, all the drugs are cleaned, dried and powdered together by disintegrators. Mechanical sifters are also used. Salt, sugar, camphor (the material with water content, when mentioned) are mixed with the rest at the end. Asafoetida and salt may also be roasted, powdered and then added. Sometimes it is necessary to use plant ingredients in fresh form in such a case drug paste is prepared, dried, and then added. The powder should be fine at least of 80 mesh sieves. It should not adhere together or become moist. The finer the powder, the better is its therapeutic value.