In order to have the global acceptance of the traditional medicines such as ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy, an evidence based research into the adverse effects of the drugs is the need of the hour,opine some of the experts.
At the same time the Ayurveda manufacturing industry, practitioners of ayurveda medicine and academia across the country have started discussions to set standards for ayurveda medicines produced in the country.
Recently Dr. Pulok K. Mukherjee, director of the School of Natural Product Studies, Jadhavpur University, Kolkata called for collaborations among Ayush manufacturers, government bodies, academia and research institutions to study and establish the side effects.
Professor Rabinarayan Acharya of Gujarat Ayurved University said Ayush drugs should also have clear labels of their content and adverse reactions.
According to the dean of SRU, Dr. S.P. Thyagarajan,to allay international fears about the safety of Ayush drugs, pharmacovigilance should be included in the curriculum. Similarly, studies should be conducted in Ayush drug safety, adverse reactions and events should be recorded and researched. Ayush drug information services should be made available for all the stakeholders of the systems.
Ayurgenomics research
In the meanwhile researchers and scientists working in the field of ‘Ayurgenomics’ are expected to get full government support for taking up innovative research to discover low cost solutions to reduce the disease burden of the country.
As part of its Make in India programme, Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences(MSTES) under Central government is planning to support scientists and researchers in the field of Ayurgenomics in a big way.
According to Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, in the coming days Ayurgenomics would get full government support as it holds exciting possibilities in mankind’s search for low-cost solutions to the global disease burden. The inter-disciplinary efforts towards translational and innovative research through Ayurgenomics in the CSIR Unit - TRISUTRA, he felt can catalyze future leadership in molecular medicine.
In fact, Ayurgenomics is relatively a new field of medical science linking the traditional Indian System of Medicine, Ayurveda, with genomics. Mitali Mukerji, a principal scientist at the CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) was the first Indian scientists to coin the word Ayurgenomics. She has been awarded with prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 2010 for her notable achievement in the field of human genomics.
As part of Make in India project, scientists and technologists working on genomics and integrative biology are also urged to focus on common diseases afflicting Indians and to translate their work into more effective cures.
Scientific basis for ayurvedic medicine
At the same time researchers at Center for Scientific and Industrial Research-Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) in Hyderabad have found scientific evidences for the ancient ayurvedic medicine, through genome analysis.
Practice of ayurvedic medicine is coming since ages in India, but its practice has been sidelined with the advent of advanced allopathic system of medicine. Lack of research and constant initiatives to find new drugs in Ayruveda has left it behind. Now with CCMB taking a lead and initiating a successful research correlating the Ayurvedic Prakriti with genetic diversity, there is new hope that the ayruvedic system of medicine will flourish globally in the coming days.
“For the first time we could successfully link India’s ancient wisdom with modern sciences. Our scientists were able to discover that the ‘dosha prakriti’ or phenotypic classification of traditional Indian medicine has indeed a genetic basis,” said Mohan Rao, director of CCMB.
Explaining further Mohan Rao said CCMB research team took up the challenge to find out the correlation between Ayurvedic Prakriti classification and genetic diversity. “Interestingly, although we had individuals from different ancestries and communities, they all got classified into these three classifications. This was a sign that there was real science behind this ayurvedic classification,” he said.
While the Chinese traditional medicines has got its worldwide recognition with a noble price, the Indian ayruvedic medicine is still lagging behind due to no scientific proof. But with this breakthrough development from CCMB this new discovery will be beneficial to both ayurvedic and allopathic practitioners. This work will eventually lead to establishing Ayurveda on a sound footing along with modern medicine.
Ayurveda is an ancient medical system. Its documented history dates back to 1,500 BC and had been in practice for a few thousand years much earlier. Ayurvedic physicians believe that there are three doshas - Vata (related to space and air), Pitta (fire and water) and Kapha (water and earth). Each individual would have different levels of these doshas, hence the diversities. “Whether such phenotypic classification has any molecular basis has been a matter of debate. A few groups had found some correlation when they looked at one or two specific genes. However, the association with Prakriti classification was lacking,” Rao said.
Standardizing ayurveda
In the meanwhile debates have been initiated by the ministry of Ayush, after questions were raised about the quality of ayurveda medicines sold in the south Indian states. Regional discussions are being led by officials of Ayush and the central council for ayurveda research, which also monitors the clinical trials in ayurveda.
There already are standards under the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API) and Ayurvedic Formulary of India (AFI). But when concerns were expressed about the standards followed by different companies they came forward claiming that they had used formulations based in classical texts.
"It was then the question of whether the standards mentioned in the API and AFI suited the commercial requirements came up," said Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Association of India (AMMOI) general secretary Dr D Ramanathan.
The confusion is also triggered by the different styles followed in North and South India. While North Indian ayurvedic system has a lot of medicines in the forms of bhasmas (powders), Kerala and to some extent Karnataka have got more medications in the form of thailams (oil-based preparations). The oils used in the preparation of some medicines in Kerala is coconut oil while elsewhere it is sesame oil. This is enough to make a legal objection. Similarly, some medicinal plants have different names in different regions. For example, brahmi is the name given to centella asiatica, particularly in North India, and in Kerala, it is identified as muttilor or koda kan.
Ayush remedies for cancer care
The Minister of State for Ayush Shripad Yesso Naik speaking at the symposium organized to mark the World Cancer Day with the theme- Ayush for Cancer Care, in Delhi, has called upon the scientists and researchers to take up systematic evaluation of Ayush remedies and practices in cancer care. He said that the traditional systems of medicine are based on strong fundamental principles, time-tested experiences and holistic concepts of application, and not only advise the treatment of patients with drugs, but also have the concept of modulating the life-style, dietary regimen, seasonal regimen and behaviour to prevent and cure the diseases.
He stated that a scientific eye and mind is required to explore the value from the vast knowledge base of Ayush for healthcare of cancer patients. “We must emphasise highlighting the solutions that do exist or can be developed from Ayush systems to help controlling the menace of cancer and which are within our reach and resources”. Pointing out that Ayush systems emphasise more on the preventive aspect of health having a stronghold in lifestyle management, he stated that they may thus contribute in reducing the incidence of cancer.
He added that integration of Ayush with conventional healthcare system is another important area to be explored to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and to prevent the recurrence and metastasis and improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
Naik stated that looking at the global scenario of cancer management, it must be understood that stand alone modern medicine may not be sufficient to meet health needs of the society ailing with this dreaded disease.