Abstract
Rasapanchaka i.e. Rasa (taste), Guna (property/ quality/ attribute), Virya (potency), Vipaka (bio-transformed Rasa ), and Prabhava (exceptional activity) enumerate drug action. Amongst these, Rasa (taste) is perceivable by the tongue. However, this conventional method is moreover subjective and has its limitations; hence it is essential to explore a modern available technique to get an objective and reliable result of taste. Hence, an electronic taste sensing machine i.e. E-Tongue was evaluated in the assessment of Rasa(taste)of Dravya(Substance). For this, Vrikshamla - Garcinia indica (Thouars)Choisy [Kokum butter], Kiratatikta- Swertia chirata Buch-Ham.ex Wall,[Chireta], and Udumbara- Ficus racemosa L. [Cluster Fig] samples were selected as examples of Amla(Sour), Tikta(Bitter), Kashaya Rasa (Astringent taste), respectively. Whereas Haritaki- Terminalia chebula Retz. [Myrobalan] was selected as a representative of Pancharasa Dravya (Presence of Five Taste) for the determination of taste by using E-Tongue, TS-5000Z. The results of the E-Tongue were mostly correlated with the reported Rasa (taste) of the sample, mentioned in the classical text. The sample of Vrikshamla showed the dominance of Sour taste (85.75mv), whereas maximum bitterness (1.58mv) was recorded in the sample of Kirattikta which exactly correlated with the reported taste of these drugs in Ayurveda. Results obtained in the sample of Udumbara and Haritaki also matched the textual references and some specific observations recorded in the E-Tongue. E -Tongue is a valuable tool for assessing and predicting taste and can be applied after in-depth studies in the standardization of taste (Rasa) of Ayurvedic and Extra-Pharmacopeial plants.

Key words: Rasa Nirdharana, Haritaki, Vrikshamla, Udumbara, Kirattikta, TS-5000Z