Evaluation of marketed herbal medicines for the simultaneous estimation of steroidal adulterants using FTIR and RP-HPLC-UV

•A novel HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of selected steroidal adulterants including prednisolone, betamethasone, dexamethasone, triamcinolone acetonide and testosterone in herbal products.•Five selected steroidal adulterants were first identified by FTIR and then quantified by HPLC in the selected marketed herbal medicines.•The developed method was successfully applied for the screening of steroidal adulterants in different dosage forms and can be applied in biological fluids.•The proposed HPLC method can also be applied for standardization of herbal medicines.