Ayurveda - Science topic

Abhijit Mitra

Rudraksha (Elaeocarpus ganitrus) is considered a natural tranquilizer. It has magnetic properties that restrain heart rate and blood pressure. Rudraksa beads have been used since ancient times to treat various ailments like anxiety, analgesic, asthma, depression, hypertension, migraine, neuralgia and epilepsy, and stress. This plant also displays various bioactivities like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, nephroprotective, immunostimulatory and anti-cancer activity.

Thanks!

Try to publish in JRAS which is the official journal of Ayurveda or you can go for AYU. If you don't have enough time, you can go for JAIM.

Ayurveda employs various nonpharmacological treatments such as dietary adjustments, lifestyle modifications, herbal remedies, massage therapy, yoga, meditation, and specialized Ayurvedic procedures to promote holistic health and wellness.

acceptance or objection to the depends on the paradigm from which the we see.

From the standpoint of the Vaidik foundation... YES

I have been working in this field for quite a few years, results are being written and hope to be available in the books by the mid of coming year.

Dear Prashant, I am very happy to share you that I also working on this clinical condition. it probably happen due to long time standing work as well as in old age. I started with local Basti along with some herbal preparations. I will share my experience within couple of days.

yes, definitely dear Sir. If we proactively follow our traditional system of medicines we can prevent so many common seasonal diseases as well as minimizes the use of modern medicine except emergency conditions.

In ayurveda they mentioned skin layers, beej, beejbhaga, beejbhagavayava with the help of Divyadrishti,Dhyan, aatmgyaan. Today we may not believe in , but this is fact.

Shilajit is an ingredient used in most of the ayurvedic formulations used to treat urinary tract and urogenital disorders. It is purely Ayurvedic ingredient mentioned in all most all the ancient Ayurvedic literatures. Some of local vendors and others are selling other resins in the name of Shilajit which may not have any medicinal properties, therefore it should be used after proper identification as mentioned in Ayurveda.

Can you combine the following herb powders all together? My vata dosha is out of balance, and I'm currently suffering from constipation and hair loss. * Triphala * Moringa * Neem * Amla * Harad * Ashwaganda * Brahmi

ashgandha , Bramhi ,jatamasi ,shankhpushpi ,Amla are wonder drugs for Alzheimer's.

CCRAS , UGC are some agencies , but we have to sent proposal through proper channels.

No-one tried it... But it is possible..

Given the nature of MPH in the recent decade where graduates from different backgrounds join the course, I feel it is better to allow the entire first year with a basic understanding of key subjects like epidemiology, Biostatistics, and research methodology. In our University the scholars select the subject of their interest and prepare a note that is cleared by respective guide and also discussed with examiners in the second-semester exam to get additional inputs to freeze the sample, methodology, etc. The actual data is collected in the third semester, analyzed and a draft report is made. Then the dissertation is reviewed by the guide and presentations are made to the examiners in the third semester, which is finalized in 4th semester taking into account the inputs of the examiners.

These are the 5 drugs which are used mostly in Skin disorders-

Good day, Debashish Mukharjee

Most of the ointment you want is a cream in cosmetics, usually composed of water and oil phases. The water phase is generally composed of water, colloids(or gel) and preservatives. The oil phase is typically an emulsifier that stabilizes the oil and then adds it depending on which phase your active ingredient belongs to. I have some stable cream body formulas on hand that I can provide you if you need them.

Thanks, dear Mahesh Golla for your kind suggestion.

Honey or Madhu should not be taken with warm items or not to be processed. Only one condition i.e. as Shodhana dravya as Oushadha it is given in lukewarm. Vamana Oushadha Kalpana.

Ashwin Chandra Chiluveri

Sir! in the ayurvedic text a wide description is available related to curd. use of curd in relation to seasons when to eat or when not to eat. it is also described when to eat on daily basis, with the mixing of other substances. these all are for healthy individuals.

in some cases it is contraindicated because of its property.,

I don't think such a huge description will be available in other traditional medicines.

Asthapana and Anuvasana types of Basti (enema) for the cure of Vatika Vikara because immediately after entering the colon, they strike at the very root of the vitiated Vata and when it is overcome in the colon, even the entire vitiated

Vata dwelling in other parts of the body automatically alleviated.

Greetings sir , Anand Chaudhary

its a very relevant question in the current scenario, when the country is drowning through this pandemic wave .... myself an early stage traditional medicine researcher, Indian traditional medicine is very rich in terms of immunity-boosting power and create a shield against this virus but we have to take care of this things also...

When a formulation improves the overall immunity then it is effective against viruses. Riders include healthy blood cell count (Erythrocyte, Leucocyte & Platelets), Hb (good Hb levels infer good oxygenation blood capacity), etc.

there are several herbs like giloy, mulethi, aswagandha, guduchi , amla ......

components like withaferin , EGCG , have proven their activity , we need more research on this regards and the main clinical study

Why don't we conduct an experiment on neonatal rabbits for instance to prove/disprove that claim?

Sundarapandian Vaidyanathan

Also, have a look at this useful RG link.

Thanks!

Formulations restrain 2 or more than 2 herbs are called polyherbal formulation. Drug formulation in Ayurveda is based on 2 principles: Use as a single drug and use of more than one drug. The last is known as polyherbal formulation. The idea of polyherbalism is peculiar to Ayurveda even though it is tricky to explain in term of modern parameters.

Dear Dr Jasmine Ritesh Gujarathi , You have made a valid point.

My take on this.

1. The assumption behind publishing in high impact journal is that a) It follows a well established (blind) peer review system, (there by your research is vetted by your peers).

2. Researchers very often read/cite high impact journals (that is the reason these journal have high impact factor) - more reference/citation of your article affirms your article quality is high.

Drawbacks/ Shortcomings in this types of Preference

1. Local (issue) research is not get publishes. For example, A good research conducted in Southern India, but may not be generalized/applied in other places, - is not accepted for publication in such journals (their focus is global audience).

2. These journals take 1-3 years to publish an article.

3. Even if I get the article published, ( just like what you have correctly pointed out) this article information never reaches the local people (technology, language and other barriers).

Warm regards Yoganandan G

One of the most important ways you can strengthen your longevity is by boosting your immune system. There is typically a direct correlation between declining immune vitality and declining lifespan. This is common sense since our immune system protects us from infections and helps us respond to various challenges to our healthy homeostasis.

The less efficient your immune system is, the more prone you are to inflammation as well. The good news is that the more you boost your immune system, the better you’re able to cope with the health challenges of daily life regardless of your age

Holistic management is a key concept in management of any ailment. Even WHO acknowledges the varied spectrum and dimensions of health. Aurvedic medicines have been accepted even by the Westerners and stood the test of times. In addition allopathy has borrowed much from traditional medicines. Yoga is also a great supplement to other therapies as it focusses on physical fitness as well as breathing exercises which further improve our respiratory system. Moreover allopathy has not provided yet any concrete evidence of management and are recommending only hit & trial therapies or symptomatic/supportive management. Therefore it's a great initiative to include such alternative system of therapies for the management so that we can enrich our arsenal for the fight against this pandemic.

Vinamra Sharma Sir, the paper just mentions 'The human dose of Ghrita as practiced traditionally is approximately 10 g per person', without reference. Is there a classical reference for this dose?

Apurva Priyadarshi Sir, can you help me find the classical reference for this? (In Abhyantar snehan karma it varies from 1 tola (12 gm) to even more than one Pala (70-80 gm).)

Please see the RG links below.

Check out here also

Have a look at this link.

@Ajay Kumar Meena,

Thank you very much. I'll go through it.

An important factor, often not recognized, is that at the end of the winter season (so February / March on the northern hemosphere) our immune status and ability to overcome viral diseases is at its nadir. This is associated to or caused by the annual nadir in vitamin D status ( 25OH vit D3 ) as shown in the next publications

You can buy from raw material supplier in India and can authanicate them through pharmacopoeial standards.

@ Dr. Md Rabiul Alam

In rural and semi-urban India, traditional medicines are still the first option for treatment of diseases. People of all generations understand the importance of traditional medicines, that's why they are gradually shifting towards natural and plant based medicines as stated by Professor Amit Baran Sharangi Sir in his post.

Thanks!

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China have spectacular results by treating diabetic foot. They were developed different herbal creams which are accepted by Chinese Food and Drug Administration and they are used in hospitals in China. The most terrible wounds can be treated by that medicines with great success. I saw it in Shanghai in Shuguang Hospital during my workshop at Shanghai TCM University.

Thanks Shantanu Shekhar Singh

If you want to analyze the drug for analytical purpuses, such as HPLC, UPLC, etc. (quality assurement) there are no rules for the number of analytes; however, it is recommended that they are chemically defined and, if posible, specific for the species, they can be either active or not.

If you want to standardize the extract for the activity, you should focus on the active compounds, usually from one to three compounds are preferred, since the methods are to be repeated several time, simplicity is desired. In that way, you could make mixtures of different samples to produce a standardized extract.

If the excipients and API composition is above the qualified/approved limit, yes.

Ayurveda approach of individualistic treatment is very scientific as disease condion is very much different in each individual and genetic profile of each individual is different. Further, contemprary science also have concept of pharmacogenetics, which is taken care by Ayurveda while treating any individual. RCTs also have limitation as they are performed in very controlled environment and conditions. Now,scientists are talk more about N of 1 trial. So Ayurveda can not be denied as a science, only Ayurvedic Research design has to be modified accordingly.

Any topic, it is a matter of depth and originality, mostly. Be free to think.

No, there is no need to test ayurvedic medicines scientifically as Ayurveda is a 5,000 year old science.

World Health Organisation has recognized ancient AYUSH system (and its parts- Ayurveda and Yoga) as science. World is celebrating International Yoga Day. It is funny to see scientific scholars of 21st sanctuary still questioning the scientific basis of Ayurveda and Yoga.

Ancient wisdom like Yoga, Ayurveda and the like are proven scientific sources of knowledge as they are based on time-tested theories proven by observation, trial and error and experimentation. Number of facts narrated in these ancient texts are scientifically proven/validated now-a-days. We have several published evidences in reputed Journals in this regard. Based on this traditional knowledge several scientific advancements are being made.

Though available tools/techniques/few school of thoughts are not compatible to understand and prove some of these ancient hypothesis/theories. Different school of thoughts should come and work together to fill this gap in knowledge and explore these ancient facts for future benefit of mankind.

The answer is no. The BBB is highly selective and only particles found in blood can reach it.

ok, I got your question now...

I got good result with Mulethi churna but it was not that much quick as Rasa medicines were.

Dear Dr. Mahesh Kumar,

The answer to your question in short is yes. Please have a look at this useful ResearchGate link.

Good luck!

Only validation required otherwise dosage form and dose both are well established with shelf life by various ancient scientists of Ayurveda

Paravat skrit is the stool of dove..

In Ayurved it has been mentioned as a potent anticoagulant..

Thanks dear Cherly Holler Miller for providing a very useful article..

Dear Rajib and Jafar, thanks a lot for your suggestions ...

Same thing is also with Ayurveda Treatment, both are individualized therapy, there are many variables in each case ... actually i was trying to do some stratification on which latter i can do a subgroup analysis....

Logical questionncient about Chyavanprash, which is manufactured by the pharma industries claimed as a health tonic or immuno buster. But the contents of chyavanprash are varried from pharma. To pharma. However, none of them follow the classical norms, which is mentilned in Ayurvedic text Charaka samhita (Ch. S. Chi. 1-2/63-69). In this classical formulation total 47 ingredients are mentioned in which Amala as a principle ingredient along with 36 drugs used in the form of decoction + fine powdet 6 drugs as prakshep drugs + khanda + goghrira × tila taila + Mahdi. In due course of time pharma. Industries came in existence in between physician and patients and they are making chyvanaprash in their own way for the earn of money by altering the classical ingredients and added some new one. Although, which are not mentioned in the real texts of Ayurveda. The drug of Ashtavarga (Riddhi, jivaka, rishabhaka etc) are not available now a days and the drugs used in place of it are also not easily available. So, identity of ingredients of chyavanaprash and theirproper knowledge are required to justified the story behind it.

Dear Simran

Goood!!!

Check e mail from our company.

I am unsure of what you are specifically asking- if they are not water soluble, they cannot be extracted by water... Unless you have very specific equipment (as I have learned, but have no experience with). However if you can use another solvent (Alcohol, Apple cider vinegar, Vegetable Glycerin) they'd become more available. Prepared as a Galenical (tincture) would be your best technique.

Glycyrrhiza glabra may be used for Hydrocortizone as per dosage forms extract, decoction or oil or deglycyrrhized extract may be used. For Ciclopirox and Ketoconazole may be used Acyranthus aspera,= apamarg kshar, Tankan bhasma = Borax compound, Panchavalkala=Five latex of five trees like Ficus etc.may search on google.

Very interesting. It will be surely worth considering. But please reveal the species of those plants...

Calcium in human and animal originates calcium both are organic in nature

Dear all,

In our clinical practice, after proper bio-purification regimens, we found promising results of Bhasma based prescriptions, e.g. Mall Sindura, Hartala etc along with suitable herbal adjuvants in Psoriasis. Nevertheless, appropriate diet & life style must be followed by patient, else recurrence is often the common failure found in therapy.

The below mentioned report on Researches conducted at Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar may add some knowledge in regard to its Ayurvedic management (achievements or failures of trials).

Regards

Dr Rohit

A standardized validated questionnaire was used in a published report (Bhalerao et al.:Prakriti (Ayurvedic concept of constitution) and variations in platelet aggregation. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012:12:248.).

Step 1: Download the article by follow the link: http://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-12-248#MOESM1

Step 2: Click on 'Additional file 1: TNMC Prakriti 2004' and the word file of questionnaire can be obtained.

Dear Ayurveda stakeholders, knowledge on recent developments in this regard are welcome to discuss on this RG platform. Kindly share updated information, if any. Thank you.

I agree with Ashok Wali as this coniferous botanical has been well studied to treat various breast, lung, and ovarian cancer, as well as Kaposi's sarcoma....Dabur recently perfected methods to extract taxol and has been selling its Taxus based products in chemotherapy...even billions turnover are having companies with Taxol. However wide area of research is left untouched yet and clinical trials to test it against other types of cancer and in combination with other therapies is needed..

We use Dhaatki flowers or yeast for fermentation in Asava/Arishta. For better bio-fermentation and quality desirable product, yeast should be avoided and natural methods of fermentation viz. Dhaatki or Kinv should be adopted.

Fermentation is incomplete oxidation of sugar into Ethanol and Co₂ in the absence of oxygen, brought about by enzymes - 'Invertase and Zymase' secreted by yeast cells.

Process undergo 2 steps:

STEP 1

Sugar/Jaggery + Water ---------> Invertase acts upon it ---------> Glucose + Fructose

STEP 2

Fructose ---------> Zymase acts upon it ---------> Ethanol + Co2

Ya definitely you are right Jyoti. When it comes to Mandagni we consider up to 120-250°C, this is specifically in the context of kupipakwa rasayana. As there is no specific standardization available for Dhoomagni you can consider this by keeping your objective of Arka(Distillation ) in minnd

For type 1 diabetes, daily (multiple) measurement(s) of blood glucose levels is a necessity.

For type 2 diabetics, it is very useful for patients to have a good idea as to how their changes in life-style are helping them, hopefully it serves them well and keeps them motivated. In the absence of a routine test, complacency often works in the negative direction... just a matter of human nature. There are, of course, exceptions, but they tend to be less prevalent.

Please check this PDF attachment also.

 Thank you Dr Vasant and Dr Jyoti

Even kasisadi tail nasya is described in treatment. It may shrink the size. 

Hello Hemant

This is an interesting question. I don't know if there is anything new to you in these papers:

Shrivastava, A., & Gupta, V. B. (2012). Various treatment options for benign prostatic hyperplasia: a current update. Journal of mid-life health, 3(1), 10.

McVary, K. T., Roehrborn, C. G., Avins, A. L., Barry, M. J., Bruskewitz, R. C., Donnell, R. F., ... & Ulchaker, J. C. (2011). Update on AUA guideline on the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The Journal of urology, 185(5), 1793-1803.

This is the full text:

This is the RG link:

Zegarra, L., Vaisberg, A., Loza, C., Aguirre, R. L., Campos, M., Fernandez, I., ... & Villegas, L. (2007). Double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study of Bixa orellana in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms associated to benign prostatic hyperplasia. International braz j urol, 33(4), 493-501.

Very best wishes,

Mary

There is a article in Sri Lanka, but it is in Sinhala language. Will try to translate and send a summery of it

Arkaprakāśa composed by Rāvaṇa gives a description of the vessel to be used for preparing arka. The one I studied was translated by S.R. Vaisya and published by Sri Venkitesvar Steam Press, Bombay. It may be available with Chaukhamba Orientalia or Motilal Banarssidas.

Ayurveda medicine is holistic or comprehensive of body, mind ans spirit; the conventional one is symptomatic rather than treating root cause. Ayurveda believes that body is "Dosh=Functional humors, Dhatu=Body tissues and Mala=Excretory matter"  -"Doshdhatumalamulamhishariram".

Ayurveda medicine either herbal or mineral or herbo-metalic are the aggregation of many molecules acting on different targets in synergistic way. No doubts the action is slow takes much time, hence it is better and potent in chronic and life style related diseases. The Ayurveda medicine is safe and nature friendly.

More emphasis is given on prevention of diseases, during treatment also dietetic and activity=Karmabhyas is advised along with medical preparations.

The number of single, compound, marine, mineral, herbal, metalic drugs are more than one lac.  

Polyherbal formulation has its own advantage to have upper hand in treatment.  Actualy if we see polyhebal in broader sense, it do management of disease apart from treatment. If we see ayurvedic formulation closly and criticaly, we will find special combination of constituent in formulation and prepared by seeing patient and disease to treat disease along with management of complecations or to prevent forther growth of complication due to that disease. Also polyherbal formulation do not cause drug resistance and can be used for long time. Polyherbal formulation have one very important advantage of having its tannins, polyphenols  etc that act as antioxident and free radcal scavenger that remove harmfull metabolite and toxins from the body giving increase immunity too. 

Other reason may be that synergistic effect of constituents over other viz piper sp. used in formulation act as bioenhancer along with boost activity of other constituent. Likewise several constituent in polyherbal formulation act as to treat disease, to add synergistic effect, to subside drug resistance, to improve pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of major constituents, as excipients etc. 

That is why, seeing the value of polyherbal formulation GoI has drafted Gazette on Phytopharmaceutical to control and boost its market on data based evidence for herbal sector.

Curd test is one of the classical test mentioned to check the quality of bhasma specially copper containing. Most of the copper bhasma and other minerals having copper bhasma are in the form of CuO and CuS in final product. It is a test to check free copper metal, because when free copper reacts with lactic acid (one of the component of curd) copper salts are formed which gives blue colour and it is toxic in nature and produces nausea, vomitting beacuse of free copper ions, then again we have to go for further incineration process to pass curd test and get genuine quality of copper compound bhasma. 

I don't know much about the ayurvedic AVASTHHA -PAK and NISTHAA-PAK as much in detail but to my limited knowledge Avastha-pak is some thing like a passage of drugs or eatables after eating, churning from mouth to large intestine during which absorption takes place... this is not Phase I metabolism as Phases of metabolism starts in liver only and avastha-pak has nothing to do with liver... now coming to nishtha-pak which seems final metabolism of the absorbed juices after which the drug action or nutrition starts... This seems to me like the real metabolic phases in liver classified under single name nishtha-pak. Correct me if am wrong. !!!!

As far as i have understood, i can say that ADME is a concept learn't to understand the drug and its metabolites movement through out the body compartments (blood, liver, kidney, protein-bound, etc) and this concept being a universal concept for all the categories of drugs let it be allopathy, ayurvedic or homeopathic remains same.  This means, ADME can be determined for any category of drug similar to any allopathic drug provided the measurement tools say LC-MS, NMR-MS, LC-NMR-MS, etc are precisely accurate even in NM or sub-NM concentration to measure the least amount of drug or metabolite in any compartment. The ADME is so universal that not only drugs, even food material can be evaluated for their metabolites. Hope my answer satisfy your doubts.

Above answer are best supporting to your answer. You may search in ayurvedic journal AYU, JAIM, ASL, IJGP, IJAM etc. And best if you want then just contact scholar of BHU, GAU and Ayurvedic universities to look into MD and Ph. D thesises. 

Dear Jyoti

Although I was follower of this question. I review the link  sent by Ashok Nahata and discussion on it. As  we know plant is cosmos of chemicals and even till date we are not sure how many chemicals remain undiscovered in particular medicinal plant, how can we put particular palnt for pharmaccokinetics? Turmeric and Neem are thoroughly investigated. There are evidence that curcumin negative fraction also have activity as well as Azadirachtin negative fraction also have antimicrobial activity. I think Ayurvedic Principles are more subtle and simply can not explain on the basis of present chemistry.

Oleoginous medicaments (Sneha kalpana) have wider range of therapeutics because of different types of herbs and liquid medias are used during their pharmaceutical process. Regarding detection of marker in medicated oil, it was challenge because of the presence of different phytoconstituents. May be attached articles show you right path.

Thanks

I think instead if using any kind of animal models we see the effects in patients with anaemia and comparing it with the standard treatment of Ferrous/ferric salts.

COMPARATIVE TLC IN HERBAL MEDICINE AND AAS IN HERBO MINERAL PREPARATION

Dear Suri, based on my experience of Ayurvedic psychology, I have made the following observations that relate to your question. 

Sattva prakruti is prediminant in those who can sustain choiceless awareness or pragya and discern subjective and objective aspects of reality through pragyana. Pragyaparadha, the mistaken sense of reality that is accompanied by psychophysical actions - fear-control, sadness-anger and rejection-disassociation - produce vikruti through predominance of rajas and tamas.

The difference between the different sattvik states relates to one's natural or inborn inclinations. For instance a leader would have an indra prakruti, while a teacher would have a varuna prakruti, and one who has a calm presence, will have a brahma prakruti. 

Reference: 

Monsanto, C. Lakshmanan, S. (2015). Awareness and Discernment lead to Homeostatic Integration., published in Ayurvedic - Vedic Journals

This is a very important question, and research is still ongoing in identifying the compounds that are crucial to the beneficial effects of a plant. As mentioned in the discussion, the accurate methods to identify these compounds are long processes, relying on targeted isolation of the metabolites in the tissue of the plant and testing them individually. This has been demonstrated to work and indeed many medicinal molecules have been identified this way. However, I would argue that Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes balance of the doshas, and that focusing on the single compound that is most important to the beneficial effect of a plant or tincture may not provide the same benefit when taken alone, as when prepared with the other compounds present in the plant with that specific molecule. By isolating these compounds, you may lose the additive (or even greater) effects of all compounds working together. I am not suggesting it is not a good idea to try to decipher from the wide array of compounds which are beneficial, but I think there is an argument to be made that many of our modern methods for purification will reduce the system to individual components that on their own contribute little to the symptom they are treating, and the community will gain little from having purified compounds as opposed to how they are currently produced. To gain greater insight, perhaps look at commonly used plants in Ayurvedic medicine and see if you can find common groups of metabolites. This can also be expanded outside of Ayurveda, and look at the plants identified for medicinal use by ethnobotanists around the world. You may find that the presence of enzyme families in these species are common to those in Ayurvedic practice that have the same effect when used (e.g. plants from the Lamiaceae (basil, mint) family are used in Europe and southern Asia) and could help suggest targets for identification. However, you may need to combine many of these compounds to find a mixture that has similar effects to the traditionally processed plant material. This is also why in the US, regulatory agencies have a hard time allowing herbal supplement companies to make claims about health benefits directly on their product, since in laboratory testing does not often conclusively show many of the benefits associated with the plants that these compounds are derived from, due to the nature of the processing. Instead, companies choose to make whole tissue extracts, or ground tissues in capsules, without specifying what in the mix is directly providing the benefit.

An example of work done to identify the important compounds in Neem is presented here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658365513000423

and a good discussion of how to extract compounds is here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218439/