Indian Clinical Establishments (Registration & Regulation) Bill gets Cabinet nod

Monday, February 01, 2010 08:00 IST
Ramesh Shankar, Mumbai

The much-delayed ‘Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill' will be introduced in the budget session of Parliament as the Centre has approved the proposal of the Union Health Ministry in this regard. The Bill, which has been pending for several years, aims to bring in uniformity in the healthcare delivery sector by making the registration of all clinical establishments mandatory and prescribing enhanced penalty for the defaulters. The next session of Parliament is expected to commence in the last week of February.

The Union cabinet in its meeting recently has approved the proposal of the health ministry for the introduction of the Bill in order to achieve the mandate of Article 47 of the Constitution for improvement in public health. Once the Bill gets the approval of Parliament, initially the law will come into effect in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim and all union territories. It is expected that other states would also adopt this legislation later.

The Bill was to be introduced in the last session of Parliament and in fact it was also included in the legislative business prepared for the last session, but the health ministry could not complete the procedures for the introduction of the Bill.

The main purpose of the law is to provide a legislative framework for the registration and regulation of clinical establishments in the country and also seeks to improve the quality of health services through the National Council for Standards by prescribing minimum standards of facilities and services which may be provided by them. This would permit categorization and classification of different clinical establishments depending on their geographical location as well as services offered. It will also initiate the process for the creation of a national registry of clinical establishments existing in the country.

Even though several states have already enacted laws for regulating health care providers, the general perception is that current regulatory process for healthcare providers in India is inadequate or not responsive to ensure health care services of acceptable quality and prevent negligence.

Presenlty, the supervision and regulation of the quality of services provided by the health care delivery system to the people by both public and private sectors has largely remained a contentious matter and therefore, unresolved issue. The current structure of the healthcare delivery system does not provide enough incentives for improvement in efficiency. The private sector health care delivery system in India has remained largely unregulated and uncontrolled. Problems range from inadequate and inappropriate treatment, excessive use of higher technologies, wastage of scarce resources and problems of medical malpractice and negligence.

Once the law comes into effect, all the clinical establishments in the country have to follow the mandatory registration. As per the Bill, clinical establishment would include hospitals, maternity home, nursing home, dispensary, clinics and similar facilities with beds that offer diagnosis, treatment or care for illness or injury or pregnancy in any recognised system of medicine (Allopathy, Yoga, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha and Unani). It also includes any laboratory (either established as independent entity or part of an establishment) which offers pathological, bacteriological, genetic, radiological, chemical, biological and other diagnostic or investigative services. Furthermore, the establishment can be owned by the government or department of the government, a Trust (public or private), a corporation (including a cooperative society), a local authority and a single doctor establishment.

Source: PharmaBiz

Ayurveda medicine for Swine Flu- Research result

Chennai-based RRF launches Ayurveda remedy for swine flu 'Ayusrem'
Thursday, January 28, 2010 08:00 IST
Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in the Union Territory of Pondicherry has granted licence to Chennai-based Ramoni Research Foundation (RRF), an institute conducting research in Ayurveda medicines, to manufacture and market an Ayurvedic antiviral medication Ayusrem, which is a potential drug to prevent and treat H1N1.

The scientists at the foundation claimed that the drug is a potential choice to prevent and treat H1N1 flu and will prove to be a boon to the people as it is being launched at a time when the entire world is stepping up efforts to tackle the H1N1 pandemic. According to the scientists, the drug is made of extracts from anti-viral plants and antipyretic plants like Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma Longa and Vetiveria zizanioides. Extracts of Immunomodulant plants like Zingiber officinale and Piper nigrum have also been included. The Analgesic ingredients in the formulation are from Andrographis paniculata, Zingiber officinale and Cyperus rotundus.

Claiming that the herbal product can contain the spread of swine flu and other strains of viruses, RRF has written to the Department of Ayush to take measures to evaluate the effect of medicinal plants and formulations for antiviral activity. The letter says that the potential of medicinal plants is well known for their antiviral activity and the Herbal Sciences Department of the Madras University has initiated several studies on it. The Centre has generated scientific data on 130 plants so far, which will help millions of sufferers of virus diseases, the scientists told Pharmabiz.

The foundation hopes that the permission by the US FDA will reap results in a way that it will help RRF to penetrate into the huge Indian Ayurvedic market and the growing global market of Ayurvedic products when viral diseases are spreading alarmingly and taking lives across the world. RRF’s Ayusrem is the outcome of a joint venture with the Herbal Science Research Centre of Madras University.

The scientists in the foundation said US FDA in Pondicherry is the first regulatory authority to certify and approve the drug for sales after its invention by Chennai based institutes six months ago. The inventors of the remedy have claimed that within this short span of time, the medicine could cure various kinds of viral diseases of about 2000 people including those affected with A H1N1 viruses.

RRF has invented the medicine Ayusrem, after years of researches associating with the Centre for Herbal Sciences at the University of Madras. When the drug was launched in September last year, it was a formulation of Ayurveda and Siddha preparations. Later, the formulation was completely restricted in Ayurvedic method only, said the inventors of the product, Dr K Balasubrahmaniam and professor Dr A Raaman.

Last week, in a function organized in Pondicherry Lt Governor Dr Iqbal Singh inaugurated the official launching of the medicine by handing over a strip of 10 tablets of Ayusrem to the Health & Family Welfare Minister E Valasaraj. Public health minister A Namasivayam was also present on the occasion.

After the invention of Ayusrem, Ramoni Research Foundation has bagged three Awards of Excellence. National Citizen Excellence Award from Intellectual People and Economic Growth Association, New Delhi for Outstanding Contribution, International Achievers Award for invention of Ayusrem by International Achievers Forum, Thailand, and Bharath Gaurav Award from India International Friendship Society for meritorious services.

D Balasubrahmaniam, the chairman of the foundation said RRF has signed an agreement with Pondicherry based Dr Milton’s Laboratories to manufacture the drug and inked another contract with Chennai-based Berjayaa Marketing Private Ltd for domestic marketing. They have also signed certain pacts with Leonex Systems of Malaysia to market the Ayurvedic antiviral remedy.

Source: PhamaBiz

Journey of Ayurveda - Milestones in the development

• Divine origin of Ayurveda from Lord Brahma - Dates back to origin of human race

• Mention of various references on Health, Diseases and Medicinal Plants in Rig-veda and Atharv-veda -5000 BC

• Origin of Attreya and Dhanwantari School of Ayurveda -1000 BC

• Documentation of Charaka Samhita - 600 BC

• Documentation of Sushruta Samhita- 500 BC

• Advent of Muslim Rulers and start of the Decline of Ayurveda - 1100 to 1800

• Resurrection of Ayurvedic system of Medicine under the rule of Peshwas. - 1800 AD

• Classes in Ayurvedic medicine opened in Government Sanskrit College, Calcutta - 1827

• Discontinuation of classes in Government Sanskrit College by British - 1833

• Dr. Komar Commission (one-man commission) to make investigation in indigenous system of medicine - 1917

• Indian National Congress Convention at Nagpur recommended acceptance of Ayurvedic system of medicine as India's National Health Care System - 1920

• Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia College in Delhi - 1921

• Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya established Ayurveda college in B. H.U., Varanasi - 1927

• Enforcement of Drugs and Cosmetics Act for Ayurvedic/Siddha/Unani medicines - 1940

• Bhora Committee or Health Survey and Development Committee recognised past services of indigenous medicines but failed to recommend for its further development. - 1943

• Chopra Committee recommended systems of old and modern systems of medicines to evolve a common system of medicine. - 1946

• Pharmaceutical Enquiry Committee headed by Dr. Bhatia, for intensive research in indigenous drugs of Ayurveda. - 1953

• Recommendation of Dave Committee for uniform standards of Ayurveda education - 1955

• Establishment of Institute of Post-Graduate Training and Research in Gujarat Ayurvedic University, Jamnagar, Gujarat - 1956 to 1957

• Udupa Committee set up. It recommended that there is a need for integrated system of medicine and a training course in Siddha and Ayurveda - 1958

• Establishment of Post Graduate Institute of Ayurveda at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh - 1963 to 1964

• Amendment of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 for Indian systems of medicines/drugs - 1964

• Establishment of Central Board of Siddha and Ayurvedic Education - 1964 to 1965

• Setting up of an apex Research Body for Indian medicine & Homoeopathy, 'Central Council for Research in Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (CCRIMH)' - 1969

• Establishment of Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian medicine, Ghaziabad, U.P. - 1970

• Constitution of Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) under IMCC Act - 1970

• Establishment of National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan - 1972 to 1973

• Publication of Part-I of Ayurvedic formulary containing 444 preparations - 1976

• Establishment of Central Council of Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) - 1978

• Passing of Amended Drugs and Cosmetics Act regulating import/export of Indian Systems of Medicine - 1982

• Setting up of Indian Medicine Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd. in Mohan, Almora Distt., Uttaranchal. - 1983

• Silver Jubilee function of Jawaharlal Nehru Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants Garden and Harbarium, Pune. Inaugurated by Shri R. Venkataraman, Vice-president of India . - 1986

• Second World Conference on Yoga & Ayurveda held at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh - 1986

• Foundation stone of Jawaharlal Nehru Anusandhan Bhawan, Institutional Area, Janakpuri, New Delhi by Hon'ble Vice President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma - 1988

• Establishment of National Academy of Ayurveda (Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth) - 1989

• Creation of separate Department of Indian Systems of Medicine & Homoeopathy in Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India - 1995

• Introduction of Extra mural Research Programme for accredited organizations with central assistance - 1996

• Implementation of Central Scheme in 33 organizations for development of agro-techniques of important medicinal plants - 1997

• Maiden participation of Ayurveda alongwith other systems in India International Trade Fair - 1998

• Implementation of Central Scheme in 32 laboratories for developing pharmacopoeial standards of Medicinal Plants/ ISM Formualations - 1998

• Establishment of specialty clinic of Ayurveda in Central Govt. Hospital (Safdarjung Hospital) New Delhi - 1998

• Implementation of IEC( Information, Education & Communication) Scheme for NGOs for propagation and popularization of Ayurveda & other systems - 1998 to 1999

• Participation in Mystique India ( Exhibition cum fair on Indian Traditions) - 1997 to 1999

• Introduction of Vanaspati Van Scheme for large scale cultivation of Medicinal Plants - 1999

• Inauguration of Ayurveda conference at Newyork, USA by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee - 2000

• Gazette Notification for constitution of Medicinal Plant Board under the Deptt. of Indian Systems of Medicine & Homoeopathy - 2000

• Publication of 2nd volume of Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia - 2000

• Introduction 7 of Ayurvedic Medicines in RCH Programme - 2000

• Constitution of Advisory group for research in Ayurveda - 2000

• Policy Decision on mainstreaming of Ayurveda in RCH programme as per National Population Policy - 2000

• Implementation of Central Scheme of assistance for strengthening of State Drug Testing Laborites and Pharmacies - 2000 to 2001

• Publication of 3rd volume of Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia - 2001

• Publication of English edition of 2nd volume of Ayurvedic Formulary of India - 2001

• Maiden participation of ISM tableau on Republic Day - 2001

• Exhibition and presentation of Ayurveda during World Health Assembly, Geneva - 2001

• Presentation on evidence based support by Deptt. of ISM&H before House of Lords, U.K. against Sir Walton Committee's Report on status and nomenclature of Ayurveda among Complementary and Alternative systems of Medicine - 2001

• Participation of Dept. in "Made in India" exhibition organized by CII in South Africa - 2001
 
Source: Department of Ayurveda, Government of India

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

India Grants Access to U.S. Patent Examiners for New Traditional Knowledge Search Tool

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)  today announced that the Government of India has granted the agency’s patent examiners access to a new digital database containing a compilation of traditional Indian knowledge. Access to the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is important for both India and the United States to prevent misappropriation of traditional knowledge.

“The USPTO has long been concerned about attempts to patent traditional knowledge, not only because it may result in an incorrectly granted patent, but also because it removes knowledge from the public domain,” said Sharon Barner, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO.

This database will be an important addition to the growing array of search tools on traditional knowledge from around the world that is already available to USPTO examiners. These tools include dictionaries, formularies, handbooks, and historical or classical works, as well as databases such as the TKDL. USPTO examiners use these tools to help prevent the patenting, and thereby misappropriation, of existing traditional knowledge. A listing of some of these publicly available traditional knowledge tools can be found on the USPTO’s Web site at: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/tradknowledge.html.

“We have urged countries to create, and make available to examiners around the world, digital libraries of their traditional knowledge to prevent erroneous patent grants,” Barner said. “India’s TKDL is just such a library, and we are pleased that our examiners now have access to it.”

The new database, developed jointly by India’s Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH), includes over 200,000 traditional medicine formulations on Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha comprising 30 million pages. The TKDL contains text-searchable English-language translations of these sources, permitting USPTO examiners to search thousands of years of India’s accumulated traditional knowledge. The TKDL also contains translations into French, German, Japanese and Spanish, from these sources, originally written in Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian and Urdu.

The misappropriation of traditional knowledge through the mistaken issuance of patents has been a growing concern with the rise of the global economy and the increasing importance of intellectual property. A few high profile cases brought significant attention to this matter, prompting efforts by a number of countries to create digital traditional knowledge databases accessible to patent examiners around the world. If a patent application attempts to claim an invention within the existing traditional knowledge, a patent examiner will reject the application provided they can find evidence proving the prior existence of that knowledge. Searching the TKDL will provide access to just the sort of evidence needed by examiners to establish that proof.

Source: US Patent and Trademark Office - Official Press Release

AYUSH to take home remedies out to market

Aditya Dev, TNN 23 November 2009, 05:06am IST

CHANDIGARH: The department of ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) is planning to put ‘trusted’ home remedies preached and practised by grannies in many households in the ‘tested’ category. The effort is intended as a way to get rid of present generation’s pill fixation.

AYUSH will invite people to tell it about the methods they use at home. If those are found effective in subsequent trials, the department will try to get the person forwarding it, the method’s patent and also devise ways to market the idea.

More importantly, any individual or institution can be part of this extramural research system.

Department’s officials said this was being done as India’s share in the global market was negligible when it came to traditional medicines. They stated that AYUSH also wanted to develop products having intellectual property rights (IPR) potential, which might lead to increase in exports.

Amarjeet Singh of PGI School of Public Health said, ‘The good thing is that this system is open to the public.’

His department has been in talks regarding at least three projects with AYUSH.

The projects are connected with efficacy of neem oil as mosquito repellent, use of ginger and garlic as cough syrup and developing exercises to control the problem of incontinence in women.

He added that preliminary drafts of the projects had been sent to AYUSH and discussions were in advance stage. ‘Going to the roots of alternative medical systems can prove a safe bet in the global market. It can also help people in avoiding hospital visits for simple ailments and make treatment available with minimum side effects,’ he mentioned.

All welcome

People participating in this system of extra mural research can range from eminent scholars to lay persons. Universities and educational institutions can also take part in it. The patent will be jointly applied for by the concerned research council working under AYUSH and the person who brings the method to it for verification.

Source: Times Of India

Ayurvedic Metallic Preparations are Safe...!

Dept of Ayush certifies safety of 8 bhasmas under Golden Triangle Project
Friday, October 30, 2009 08:00 IST
Nandita Vijay, Bangalore

The department of Ayush has certified 8 bhasmas to be safe for use and the details will be will be released in December. This validation of 8 bhasmas is the maiden project under the Golden Triangle project of the Central government. The project, set up with the support of the department of Ayush Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is expected to scientifically validate Ayurveda products.

The standardization, safety and toxicity studies of metallic bhasmas and mineral-based formulations including Kupipakwa Rasayanas have been a major issue for a while for the drug manufacturers, according to JSD Pani, president, Karnataka Indian Medicine Manufacturers Association. The issue of the presence of minerals and heavy metals has bogged down international marketing operations. Therefore the effort by the Ayush department will now help the industry, he added.

The Planning Commission had constituted a Working Group on Access to Health Systems in Ayush which in-turn formed five Sub-Group and one of them focused only on the standardization and Quality Control of Ayush drugs.

The Ayush department was keen to lay down pharmacopoeial standards for single and compound formulations besides carry out scientific validation of herbo-metallic compounds and address the standardization and quality control of herbal drugs. There is also a proposal to set up a Pharmacopoeial Commission for Indian Medicine under the 11th Plan which will be located in the newly constructed building of the Pharmacopoeial Laboratory of Indian Medicine, Ghaziabad. The key objective is to create an independent scientific body which will undertake laying down of pharmacopoeial standards and its revision.

The Department is likely to enforce mandatory testing of heavy metals not only for export of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicines but also for sale in domestic market. Since over 80 per cent of the Ayush manufacturing units are in the small and medium scale sector, the department identified labs to test the drugs for these companies. This is because equipments like Atomic Absorption Spectrometer to test heavy metals and TLC/HPTLC/GLC to test crude drugs are expensive to be installed by many companies to test the raw materials and finished products.

Pani said that these metals have undergone extensive toxicity studies. There had been no reports of major adverse drug reaction. Standardization and quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani drugs is a problem area as botanicals do not lend themselves to as precise a quality control as synthetic molecules manufactured under controlled laboratory conditions. This requires state-of-the-art research for developing chemical/biological markers/chromatogram fingerprints/standardized operating procedures and phyto-chemical characterization of bhasmas.

Now with the department of Ayush being ready with the safety data of the 8 bhasmas, this would provide a major fillip for growth for the Traditional System of Medicine industry, stated Dr GG Gangadharan, joint director (Traditional System of Medicine), Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT).

Source: PharmaBiz

Accreditation policy introduced for AYUSH centres in India

To boost Medical & Wellness Tourism

By Krupa Vora

New Delhi

The Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) under the Ministry of Health and Agriculture (MoHA) and Quality Council of India (QCI) has introduced an accreditation policy for centres practicing and offering AYUSH treatments across India. The accreditation policy is effective from October 1, 2009.

Speaking to TravelBiz Monitor, P K Jha, Director, Department of AYUSH, MoHA, said, “The accreditation policy will be applicable to centres that are strictly practicing Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, alternate forms of healing in India. The criteria for accreditation are available with QCI and they will undertake the process of providing accreditation.”

The implementation of accreditation for AYUSH centres will work as an advantage for the Medical and Wellness Tourism industries in the country. The accreditation is a proof of certain quality standards maintained by centres across India and this will help attract medical tourists, as well as leisure tourists to India. The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is aggressively focusing on promoting India as a Medical and Wellness Tourism destination in international source markets, especially the Middle East. MoT will be hosting Medical and Wellness Tourism road shows in four Middle East countries- UAE (Dubai), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), Kuwait (Kuwait city), and Qatar (Doha) this month.

“With MoT focusing on Medical and Wellness Tourism in a big way, this accreditation policy for AYUSH centres will definitely boost tourism industry as Ayurveda and Yoga form an integral part of Wellness Tourism in India. Such an act is important as it reinforces the quality and standard of services offered by these centres and in turn helps the tourism industry to attract more tourists,” opined E M Najeeb, Chairman, Air Travel Enterprise Group. Echoing similar sentiments, Pradeep Thukral, Executive Director, Indian Medical Travel Association said, “The potential and demand for alternate healing methods is immense in India. This accreditation will definitely help in boosting and capitalising the potential of alternate healing methods available in India.”

Source: Travel Biz Monitor

Related useful links:

• Quality Council of India
• Department of AYUSH 

38 ayurvedic formulations identified for 8 disease conditions

38 ayurvedic formulations identified for 8 disease conditions under Golden Triangle scheme

Thursday, September 03, 2009 08:00 IST
Joseph Alexander, New Delhi

As many as 38 ayurvedic formulations have been identified for eight disease conditions and 20 of them have been provided to CSIR for pre-clinical studies so far under the Golden Triangle Partnership scheme set up for validation of traditional ayurvedic drugs and development of new drugs.

The CSIR has submitted the status report of 10 formulations. They are tagradi kwatha (insomnia), medhya (ADHD), ashwagandha churna (anxiety neurosis), haritkyadi churna (dyslipidemia), GTP-HN-1 (hyper tension), brahmi ghrita (ADHD), gokshuradi guggulu (BPH), lakshadi guggulu (osteoporosis), nirgundi tail (joint disorders) and singhanada guggulu (joint disorders).The pre-clinical studies of all other formulations were under progress in different institutions now, sources in the Ayush department said.

The scheme was set up as an integrated technology mission for scientific validation of traditional medicines for identified disease conditions for which the apex organizations like Department of Ayush, Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, CSIR and ICMR have joined hands. The objective of the scheme is to bring safe, effective and standard Ayurveda, Siddha, Homoeopathy and Unani products and develop new drugs of national and global importance. The apex bodies also collaborate with other institutions and companies with this purpose.

"The project is going well and more new collaborations are in the offing. The idea is to bridge the gap between modern medicine and traditional medicine so that India can tap the vast potential in the arena. It is the triangle being built between modern science, modern medicine and traditional medicine, giving a golden opportunity to the country," an official explained.

The CCRAS has also collected the inputs for protocols of different diseases and submitted to the ICMR for further revision. The draft protocols of hypertension, dyslipidemia, HIV/AIDS, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis were thus given to the ICMR.

Source: PharmaBiz

Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Guidelines to manage Flu-like Symptoms

Guidelines issued to manage common flu-like symptoms
TNN 2 September 2009, 04:21am IST

LUCKNOW: Seeing that over 95% of the patients reporting at government hospitals with flu-like symptoms suffered with seasonal flu, ministry of health and family welfare (MOHFW) has issued a circular that talks about Ayush interventions for management of common flu-like conditions.

In Lucknow alone, an average of a 100 samples of suspected cases of H1N1 are being examined every day. A decision to this effect was taken in view of increasing number of persons testing positive to H1N1 infection in the country.

The document, which was shared by health officials on Tuesday, says that most of the viral fevers including various types of flu come under the vaata kapha jwara category and are seen in autumn and spring seasons when seasons and climatic conditions change. Ayurveda has advised certain preventive measures for building immunity and protecting oneself from vaata kapha jwara diseases.

The guidelines say that: avoid kapha provoking diet like curd, cold food, cold drink, fruit juices especially citrus fruits, left over or overnight food, ice-cream. People should instead drink lukewarm water as virus is generally not able to survive temperature.

Use of decoction (concentrate of herbal extracts) made from a combination of tulsi, ginger, black-pepper, long pepper, guduchi or giola (a herb) is recommended. Turmeric may also be added to this combination. The guidelines say that ayurvedic medicines like sudershanghana vati, sudershana churna and samshamani vati boost the body's defence mechanism. The usage of these herbal medicines should, however, be taken under the guidance of a qualified ayurved acharya.

The Central council for research in unani medicine (CCRUM) has also come out with recommendations for preventive measures available under the Unani system after consultation with experts. A decoction or tea containing unnab, bahidana, sapistan and dalchini may be taken every morning. Specific compound formulations such as habb-e-jadwar, khamira nazli aab tarboozwala, tiryaq-e-farooq may be taken after consultation with a Unani doctor. Local application of roghan baboon, roghan-e-morn, roghan kahu or roghan kadu on the scalp and chest help in saving one from congestion. The word of caution is that they should be used as per the advice of the Unani doctor.

Both the systems recommend light diet and personal hygiene as a mandatory element of healthy life. The note underlines that the guidelines have been prepared after taking into consideration the expert opinion received on the subject and can be used for increasing the immunity to fight various flu-like conditions. They may be adopted by normal healthy persons as well as those who have mild cold, cough or body ache.
 
Source: The Times of India

AYUSH dept validating ayurvedic drugs developed by private institutions to treat cancer

Wednesday, August 05, 2009 08:00 IST
Joseph Alexander, New Delhi

Many ayurvedic plants including turmeric, semicarpus anacardium, and tinospora cordifolia have shown anti-cancer properties in the recent studies conducted by the government institutions. The government is now in the process of validating some anti-cancer drugs developed by private institutions through clinical trials.

Clinical studies have been done under different projects by the Union Ministry of Health to assess the use of ayurvedic treatment in different types of cancer. A pilot project was sanctioned by the ministry to study the effects of metal based formulations prepared by Vaidya Balendu Prakash of Dehradun in the treatment of acute pro-myllotic leukaemia (APML) in 90 days. As many as 15 patients were enrolled in the study out of which 10 patients had shown a complete remission in peripheral blood smear, sources said.

In another effort to develop ayurvedic drug for cancer, clinical trials of 'Ayush QOL - 2C' developed by Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) for improvement of quality of life of those receiving chemotherapy/radio-therapy, have been initiated at St Johns medical college, Bangalore and at the All India Institute of Medical Science, New Delhi.

"The government is ready to promote any research initiative taken up by the private doctors or institutions, along with research by government bodies. The goal is to have cheaper and effective drugs to treat cancer. All projects are in progress, but it will take some more years to officially introduce a drug with government approval after all validations," an official of the Ayush department said.

On the request of Nand Lal Tiwari of Jaipur, the CCRAS has undertaken the study of anti-cancerous property of herbal compounds 'Carctol' to ascertain the claim. Similarly, a claim made by Krishn Gopal Ayurved Bhavan, Dharmartha Trust, in Rajasthan on their proprietary drug 'Cancer Gaza Kesari' has been subjected to pre-clinical safety studies by CCRAS, he said.

Source: Pharmabiz

Patent rights over traditional Indian system of therapeutic practices

Lok Sabha:

There is no information with the Department of Ayush about any foreign country having established Ayurveda Universities, which are likely to get patent rights over traditional Indian system of therapeutic practices. The Government has taken the following steps in this regard: Department of AYUSH has identified some of the effective therapies and treatment of Ayurveda in the identified disease conditions.


i. Ksharsutra Therapy for Ano-Rectal disorders like Fistula in Ano and piles. Ksharsutra is minimally invasive para-surgical Ayurvedic procedure for the treatment of Ano-Rectal Disorders. This involves insertion of a special medicated thread i.e. Ksharsutra through the fistula passage with the help of a probe. A National Campaign on Ksharsutra Therapy has been launched and implemented in 16 States. A National Resource Center on Ksharsutra Therapy has been established in the Faculty of Ayurveda, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi to provide standardized treatment and undertake Research and Development. The treatment has been scientifically standardized and Research and Development is going on to further improve the technique and expand its benefits all over the country.


ii. Panchkarma is another strong area of Ayurveda. Various procedures of Panchkarma are being standardized by Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha (CCRAS) and a document prepared by AYUSH has been sent to World Health Organization (WHO) to accept the Panchakarma treatment guidelines on safety and practices.

Aryavaidyashala, Kottakal, a well known institution for Panchakarma treatment, has also been assigned work to standardize Panchakarma treatment procedures.


iii. Under the Golden Triangle Partnership Project (GTP), the Department of AYUSH, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are working together to establish the efficacy of Ayurvedic treatment in some identified disease conditions and practices. eg. Dislipeademia Benign prostate Hypertrophy (BPH) etc.


iv. Under the Extra-Mural Research (EMR) Scheme of Department of AYUSH and CCRAS is supporting various research projects to establish the efficacy of Ayurvedic medicines.


v. The Government is funding the institutions like National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur; The institute of post graduate teaching and research in Ayurveda (IPGT&RA), Jamnagar under Gujarat Ayurveda University and Faculty of Ayurveda, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi to undertake scientific research to establish the efficacy of Ayurvedic medicines.


vi. The Department of Science & Technology and ICMR is also supporting number of research projects on Ayurveda to establish the efficacy as well as safety of Ayurvedic medicines.


vii. Under the National Campaign on Geriatric Health Care through Ayurveda and Siddha, standard Ayurvedic treatment protocols have been prepared by CCRAS which are under publication. Weekly clinics one attracting large Geriatric Patients.


viii. Department of AYUSH has also started a Campaign on Anemia Treatment through Ayurveda. The project has been started in the State of Himachal Pradesh and CCRAS will be expanding this programme in some couple of States also.


ix. Department of AYUSH through Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeial Committee has published various volumes of Ayurvedic Formularies and Pharmacopeias under which the quality standards of 540 single drugs and 101 multiple ingredients formulations has been published. Therefore, the standardized medicines will ensure the efficacy of Ayurvedic medicines and practices.


x. The Department of AYUSH in collaboration with the University of Mississippi, USA, has set up a Centre for Research in Indian Systems of Medicine (CRISM) for promotion, propagation and validation of the AYUSH systems


This information was given by Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today. (Wednesday, July 22, 2009)


Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India


Good luck Ayurveda !