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 !