Savitribai Phule Pune University’s department of Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences and Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology have proved that Triphala, which is one of the most popular and widely used ayurvedic formulations, can have therapeutic effects against a wide range of complex diseases like cardiovascular diseases, asthma, arthritis, diabetes and cancer.

The researchers proved that Triphala can give multiple and diverse actions based on its composition, dose, dosage form and vehicle of administration. Triphala formulation as a whole contains 174 bioactives.

The team of scientists Uma Chandran, Neelay Mehendale, Girish Tillu and Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan used a technique known as poly-pharmacology which is able to address the limitations with current drug discovery challenges.

Poly-pharmacology, also known as network pharmacology, attempts to understand drug action and interactions with multiple targets. It uses computational power and computer-based virtual high-throughput screening for docking studies to improve the efficiency of discovery process. Further, network pharmacology also attempts repurposing existing drug molecules for different therapeutic conditions, stated the researchers in their study which is published in the latest edition of the Indian National Science Academy Journal.

“Our network pharmacology analysis indicates that classical formulations like Triphala can have therapeutic effects against a wide range of complex diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, asthma, arthritis, diabetes and cancer,” said Prof Bhushan Patwardhan, professor & director, Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Triphala is an effective medicine used as a general health promoter, for cosmetic purpose to improve skin and hair quality and for diabetic wound management. It is considered as a good rejuvenator facilitating nourishment of all tissues. It is a choice for the treatment of several diseases, especially those of metabolism, dental and skin conditions and cancer. It has a very good effect on the health of heart, skin, eyes and helps delaying degenerative changes, such as cataracts.

One of the key ingredients of Triphala is Amalaki. Some studies have already shown the beneficial effect of Amalaki to suppress  neuro degeneration in fly models of Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s.

Many active compounds or bioactives from traditional medicine sources could serve as good starting compounds and scaffolds for rational drug design. Most of these compounds are part of routinely-used, traditional medicines and hence their tolerance and safety are relatively better known than any other chemical entities that are new for human use, said the researchers.

“We propose that formulations from traditional systems like Ayurveda might be useful in polygenic lifestyle and chronic disorders. A change in the discovery strategy from a single target, new chemical entity as a drug to multiple-target, synergistic formulation discovery has been proposed,” they said.

Integrating systems biology and network pharmacology can accelerate research for drug targets and help in designing new drugs, which can modulate multiple biological targets. The constructed network system can predict the main active components, and their corresponding targets, which can be helpful for the therapeutic applications of complex formulations of traditional medicine, stated the research team.