Ayurvedic Bhasmas are safe: Says AYUSH research

Answer to JAMA's false claim

American Medical Journal had reported high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the drugs and the Health Ministry clarified that detoxification was done and no side effects were reported

The government has validated the safety of eight ‘bhasmas’ -- used in several Ayurvedic drugs -- through rigorous animal trials. These drugs have often been criticised in the Western countries for heavy metal content in the form of ‘bhasma.’

“Trials have found that these bhasmas are safe and the results will be published shortly,” reliable sources in the Department of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) told The Hindu.

Concern

There was concern against the use of Ayurvedic medicines -- which is growing in popularity in the West -- when in 2008 a research published in the Journal of American Medical Association reported detection of ‘extremely high’ quantities of lead, mercury and arsenic in such drugs.

Then the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said that “these metals are used after proper detoxification process and no significant adverse drug reactions have been reported regarding their use in India.”

Awareness project

Subsequently, the Department of Ayush had launched a project called Golden Triangle to scientifically validate Ayurvedic drugs.

The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research are the two other partners in the project which have now come out with the scientific validation of the eight bhasmas.

In fact, the government has started in the United States a Centre for Research in Indian Systems of Medicine for promoting Indian systems of medicines there.

Symposium

The Centre has already held a symposium on ‘Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani Drugs: Development and Marketing’ here to emphasise the need for quality assurance and standardisation of these drugs.

Another major initiative taken up by the government is the setting up of industrial clusters for Ayurvedic drugs where common testing facilities will be set up to manufacture the products more scientifically. The government plans to set up 10 such clusters across the country.

Ensuring quality

Each cluster has been given an initial fund of Rs.10 crore and the clusters have made a buy-back arrangement with the cultivators of medicinal plants to ensure quality of the products.

The government has tied up with the Quality Council of India (QCI) to start a voluntary certification process. The QCI has identified 29 drug testing centres that can certify the manufacturing units.

Source: The Hindu

Ayurvedic bhasma oldest form of nanotechnology: BARC prof

TNN 14 December 2009, 11:11pm IST

SURAT: The bhasmas' used in Ayurveda for treatment of various diseases for the past several centuries is the oldest form of nanotechnology, said head of solid state chemistry section at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Prof AK Tyagi.

Tyagi was in the city to take part in a one-day seminar on Nanotechnology and its application' at department of chemistry in Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU).

"We are preparing to use it again for various purposes," Tyagi said. The seminar was organized with funds given to the department of chemistry by University Grants Commission (UGC) under special assistance programme. The department is also awarded five research scholarships.

Apart from Tyagi, Dr PA Hassan, Dr V Sudarshan and Dr Dimple Dutta, all from BARC, participated in the seminar and delivered lectures.

In his lecture Tyagi said the nano particles are 1 crore times smaller than a hair and due to its small size, the basic characteristics also get changed. Due to change in electrical, thermal, magnetic, optical, chemical and biological characteristics, the particles can be used for various products. Use of nanotechnology has already been started in food technology and medical technology. Research is on across the globe for use of technology in robotics and at advance level of health facilities. Gradually, the technology will become part of routine life of human beings, he added.

VNSGU vice-chancellor BA Prajapati, head of chemistry department P Bahadur and faculty member KC Patel were also present at the event.

Source: Times of India

Oman Insurance to offer cover for all 12 Complementary and Alternative Medicine treatments at Dubai Healthcare City

Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), a member of Tecom investments, today announced Oman Insurance Company (OIC) will be the first to cover all 12 streams of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments licensed by its regulatory body - the Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality (CPQ).

Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Unani Medicine, Osteopathy, Therapeutic Massage, Naturopathy, Chiropractic, Tai-Chi, Pilates, Yoga and Guided Imagery are included in the complementary and alternative treatments offered in the cluster. These can be obtained at DHCC clinics listed within OIC's Alternative Medicines Network.

Dr. Ayesha Abdullah, Senior Vice-President, Dubai Healthcare City, said:

"Integrated medicine, which combines Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) as well as conventional medicine, is gaining popularity among medical practitioners and healthcare providers. With the outstanding global growth of this trend, we have realised it is imperative on our part to provide CAM services and educate the community about these medical streams that have been receiving wider acceptance."

CPQ along with ABC Coding Solutions has developed more than 421 new codes with descriptions to further regulate and measure the outcomes of CAM procedures within DHCC. The codes assist health insurance agencies to recognize effective CAM services, facilitate clinical audits and validation, performance management and improvements, as well as research.

Dr. Ayesha added, "Oman Insurance is the first to offer coverage for all 12 CAM services, which further demonstrates DHCC's commitment to expand the scope of healthcare services. This is also part of our ambitious drive to raise regional healthcare excellence. We are proud of the remarkable success we have registered hitherto, and look forward to more partnerships for offering high quality patient care and meet the community needs."

Abdul Muttalib Mustafa Al Jaidi, CEO, Oman Insurance Company, said, "As a market leader, innovations and development of new products that benefit our customers is one of our responsibilities to the market. We have developed a special health insurance product insuring Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) services provided by clinics in Dubai Healthcare City."

Al Jaidi added, "We are happy to announce that all 12 CAM services are being insured by us, a major milestone that integrates both western medicine and CAM. In fact, this is the future of medicine, and opens up a whole new world of choices for our esteemed customers in the UAE. It's our privilege to collaborate with Dubai Healthcare City and the UAE Center for Healthcare Planning and Quality who have put in place stringent regulations for the protection of patients."

Headquartered in the UAE with 10 branches in all the emirates, Oman Insurance Company (OIC) is one of the premier insurance service providers that also has a presence in Oman and Qatar. Its high quality products reflect a true customer-focused approach in providing top-notch insurance coverage.

DHCC is currently working with more insurance companies to raise the awareness of CAM and to introduce new schemes for CAM treatment in DHCC clinics.

Established in 2004, CPQ ensures high-quality patient care throughout DHCC, while offering tools and measures to healthcare providers to drive continuous improvement.
 
Source: AMEinfo

Ancient Indian medicines to be patented in 5 foreign languages

2009-11-30 21:40:00

Medicinal formulations in the classical Indian texts of Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha are being transcribed and then would be patented in five international languages, including German and Japanese, to prevent their misappropriation, the Lok Sabha was informed Monday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Health and Family Affairs S. Gandhiselvan said: 'Medicinal formulations present in classical texts of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Tamil Languages are being transcribed in patent application in five international languages - English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese for sharing with International patent offices, including United States Patent Office and European Patent Office.'

About 6,000 to 7,000 plants are estimated to be in use in the Indian systems of medicines, the Lok Sabha was informed Monday.

He said according to a study conducted by the National Medicinal Plants Board through the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition, 960 medicinal plants are in use in trade.

The minister said the department of AYUSH - or the department of Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy under the ministry - has established the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in the ministry of science and technology to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge by multinational companies.

Source: SifyNews