The unique collaborative project of VCP Cancer Research Foundation (VCPCRF), Dabur India Limited and Shri Dhanwantri Ayurvedic College, Chandigarh to revalidate the clinical efficacy of ayurvedic formulations is proving to be highly successful with clinical results showing significant and speedy recovery in patients suffering from childhood asthma, headache, backache, nasal disorders and arthritis.

Of the 130 patients who have been enrolled for the treatment during the first six months of the programme from June 2002 to December 2002, all patients other than the 14 who were not able to start the therapy were found to have showed significant improvement. The treatment, being carried out by Vaidya Balendu Prakash of VCPCRF is witnessed by batches of ayurvedic practitioners from across the country. It is meant to share the experience of the Vaidya with ayurvedic doctors. The success of the therapy is also to help them develop more confidence in the system of medicine, which they practice.

While the regular clinic which is open during the first week of every month is in the Ayurvedic College, Dabur India has taken care of the funding requirement of the project. The programme, christened as I-3 CAP, refers to the individual, institution, industry tie-up and also the attempts to generate more Confident Ayurvedic Practitioners in the country. Speaking to pharmabiz.com, Vaidya Balendu Prakash said that the project is the first attempt in the country where age-old wisdom of Ayurveda is combined with modern scientific methodology. “The exercise is termed as observational research in modern parlance and may lead to development, modification or improvement of existing and new clinical entities”, he explained.

As part of the programme, a group of 19 common ailments was selected and diagnostic performs were prepared involving ayurvedic and modern scientific parameters to document past and present history, symptoms and details of the previous treatment and modern investigations of each patients separately. The performa was approved by a data monitoring and evaluation committee under the chairmanship of Dr Debashish Hota, Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, PGI, Chandigarh.

The list of diseases covered under Project I3CAP include abortions, backache, child hood asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, corns, epistaxis, gastritis, duodentis, colitis, headache, hyperlipidema, infertility, irritable bowel syndrome, liver diseases, nasal disorders, obesity, peptic ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, stress, insomnia, urticaria etc.

The response in childhood asthma, where seven patients underwent the treatment for six months, was excellent with the response in five of them rated as good and two, excellent.

Out of the 15 patients who took proper treatment for rheumatoid arthritis/Gout, 12 responded in a good manner. No positive change was observed in three of them. The evaluation committee has rated the results as 66.7 % success, which itself merits much attention.

Vaidya Prakash observed that India needs its own model of drug development. “The preliminary finding at CRU indicates that there is prima facie evidence of about the efficacy of Ayurvedic therapy in the treatment of headache, backache and rheumatoid arthritis. Majority of patients who had been suffering for years are satisfied with the therapy at the specially set up clinical research unit at Dhanwantary Ayurvedic College. The treatment is based on rasa-shastra- one of the eight clinical specialty in Ayurveda,” he explained.

The treatment protocol uses the logistics of ayurvedic principles in the diagnosis and treatment of selected diseases along with modern diagnostic and evaluation parameters.

The Dabur India Limited (DIL) got associated with the programme after it felt that the continuous medical education programmes for ayurvedic doctors initiated by the company was not sufficient to convert BAMS degree holders into confident ayurvedic practicioners. By becoming part of the I3 CAP project. Dabur is helping ayurvedic doctors to gain experience by working with Vaidya Bhanendu Prakash. The collaborators have decided to continue the programme for gathering more clinical data. The project was inaugurated on June 1, 2002 by Dr R A Mashelkar, director general of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.