SIH26048 · Ministry of Ayush

iKwath - a pod-based smart Kwatha (Kadha) maker that prepares a fresh, AFI/API-standardized decoction from coarse powder (yavaku?a c?r?a) on demand, in the shortest practical time without altering the decoctions quality or yield

The problem

Background: Kwatha (kashaya / kadha) is among the most widely used Ayurvedic dosage forms and is most effective when freshly prepared, yet a fresh decoction must be consumed within a few hours, is laborious to make correctly, and needs a slow reduction step that limits convenience. Consumers therefore depend on concentrated, shelf-stable products that lose potency and are prone to adulteration. Preparing a standardized decoction at home — with the correct powder grade, water proportion, gentle heat and reduction defined by the pharmacopoeia — is impractical by hand, and no appliance does it for the range of Ayurvedic formulations in use. Description: The system is a compact, pod-based countertop appliance that prepares one fresh dose of Kwatha on demand for any formulation, for use at home or in Ayurvedic clinics. Each single-dose pod contains the standardized coarse powder (yavaku?a c?r?a) of one formulation and serves as the brew-bag, so the decoction stays clear and the spent powder is removed with the pod; a different formulation is handled simply by changing the pod. To prepare a dose, the user adds water and inserts a pod; the appliance soaks the powder, boils it at a controlled mild temperature (~85–90 °C), reduces the liquid to one-fourth, filters it, and dispenses a single fresh, warm decoction, ready to drink. The water volume, boil profile and dose follow the formulation's AFI/API specification encoded on the pod, and the appliance monitors weight and extract density so every dose is consistent. Because each dose is brewed only when needed, it is always consumed fresh. A central objective is to shorten the preparation cycle as far as practical while delivering a decoction identical to the classical preparation in both its constituent profile (qualitative) and its extractive yield (quantitative). Each cycle uses about 400 mL of water to yield a single ~100 mL dose, in a boiling chamber of about 1 litre. Pods are single-dose and supplied in course packs. The appliance is designed for easy cleaning: a removable, dishwasher-safe boiling chamber and filter, a disposable spent-powder pod, smooth food-grade stainless-steel contact surfaces, and a rinse cycle. It includes anti-boil-over and dry-run protection and uses potable water meeting the API Jala standard. Expected solution: A deployable, pod-based Kwatha appliance that reads each single-dose pod's formulation profile and automatically prepares a fresh, standardized dose — soaking, boiling at controlled mild heat (~85–90 °C), reducing the liquid to one-fourth, filtering, and dispensing — with easy, tool-free cleaning. The solution must minimise the preparation time without altering the final decoction: any acceleration has to be validated to reproduce the classically prepared decoction's extract density and constituent profile, holding the AFI/API water proportion and reduction endpoint constant. Acceptable approaches are those that preserve the mild process temperature and the dissolved extractive — for example, a larger evaporating surface, gentle removal of surface vapour, continuous stirring or recirculation, or reduced-pressure (lower-temperature) evaporation — while methods that could change the phytochemical profile are avoided. Pods of standardized coarse powder (yavaku?a c?r?a) are certifiable against the API/AFI by AIIA/PCIM&H. The solution should be evaluable on dose consistency and conformance to the AFI/API specification, temperature control, cycle time, ease of cleaning, and food-grade safety.

Dataset

<b>Standards and references for the pod profiles and the extraction logic; representative sources:</b><br><br> • PCIM&H AYUSH Kv?tha C?r?a formulary specifications (coarse-powder grade, water proportion, dose, reduction) — pcimh.gov.in<br> • Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API) & Ayurvedic Formulary of India (AFI) kwatha-churna m

← Back to all problems