Comparative standardization of a polyherbal Ayurvedic formulation Talishadi Churna

India is a land mark for traditional system of medicine from the past few centuries. Most of the traditional systems of medicine are effective but only one major drawback is lack of standardization. So, there is a need to develop a standardization technique to mingle this system of medicine in the main stream of health sciences. Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) has given preliminary guidelines for standardizing these conventional formulations. The present paper reports on standardization of Talishadi churna, an Ayurvedic formulation. Three marketed samples and in-house preparation were subjected to organoleptic study, physical characteristics, physiochemical screening and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) chromatogram. It was observed that all commercial samples and standard are similar in their organoleptic and qualitative chemical analysis but physical characteristic, fluorescence analysis and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) chromatogram of various formulations are not matching with each other, and it may be due to the raw material collection time, geographical variation, etc. Which can be further investigated for its pharmacological activity. This study provides ready reference for the selection of an appropriate formulation in the clinical practice and hence effective rational therapy, the overall theme of health sciences.