Ayurveda, in CAM Secrets, Kohatsu W (ed), Hanley & Belfus, 2003.

Medical Clinics of North America, 2002

There is an unprecedented uprising in the community to demand safer (and effective) medicines. The enthusiasm for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) methods across the world is no longer historical or anecdotal. 4, 18 It is based on the public's perception of ''what is good and bad in a medicine.'' Many would argue against calling Ayurveda a CAM because conceptually Ayurveda is much more than a wholesome medicinal system, 19, 26 and the term CAM belies a strong prejudice for modern medicine as the mainstream system. The authors hope that the reader will look beyond the archival value of Ayurveda as an ancient ethnomedical system and explore its relevance to modern times. This exploration is particularly important as physicians endeavor to find better therapeutic solutions. ORIGIN The term Ayurveda, a Sanskrit word, translates into knowledge (Veda) of life (Ayur); Veda also means science. 20 After being transmitted orally for thousands of years, the ancient Ayurvedic texts finally were written and preserved in Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language). Founded on the collective wisdom of ancient Hindu saints and healers, Ayurveda grew into a medicinal science.

Ayurveda has the distinction of being the "oldest medical system known to man and the oldest and most comprehensive spiritual teachings in the world". Ayurveda is based on the principle of maintaining a balance between the interrelated relationships within the body and mind. It helps the patient to understand the benefits of knowing their body and mind and to live in intimate relationship with nature. Ayurvedic literature has remedies for age-related diseases like memory loss, osteoporosis, diabetic wounds, etc. for which no efficient medicine is available in modern therapy. Even though Ayurveda has a sound literature background, ironically its share in the global medicinal market is very less (0.5%). In order to promote Ayurveda in the international market, ayurvedic drugs should be available in standardized form, which is the minimum requirement for introducing a product in the Western market. Ayurvedic formulations should be standardized on the basis of active principle or major compound(s) along with fingerprints. There as great scope for India to achieve global leadership of traditional medicinal market through export of quality products from Ayurvedic medicinal system. This article gives an overview of Indian traditional medicinal system-Ayurveda. It also highlights the principle of ayurvedic therapy, current status of Ayurveda, the challenges faced by Ayurveda in the modern world and the need of science based research to overcome its drawbacks. According to Caraka -"The Science of life shall never attain finality. Therefore humility and relentless industry should characterize your endeavor and your approach to knowledge. The entire world consists of teachers for the wise and enemies for the fools. Therefore, knowledge, conducive to health, longevity, fame and excellence, coming from even an unknown source, should be received, assimilated and utilized with earnestness".

Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 2010

Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 2005

2012

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Background: Charak Samhita, an ancient Ayurvedic text, offers a vast repository of effective polyherbal formulations for treating various diseases. Ensuring the standardization and authentication of these compound formulations is crucial for quality control and enhancing their therapeutic efficacy. Establishing reliable data to set standard parameters is essential for verifying the genuineness of individual formulations and drugs as a whole. Aims and Objectives: The primary aim of this study is to evaluate and assess Bhunimbadi Churna, a classical formulation mentioned in the Grahanidosha Chikitsa Adhyaya of Charak Samhita, known for its multiple therapeutic indications. The objectives include conducting a comprehensive pharmacognostical and pharmacological assessment of the formulation to establish standard parameters for quality control. Materials and Methods: The study involved a detailed examination of Bhunimbadi Churna using standard scientific protocols. The assessment included organoleptic characteristics, physico chemical parameters, physical characteristics of the powder (Churna), preliminary phytochemical analysis, and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis. Results: On performing the experiments for three consecutive readings, loss on drying was found to be 7.66 ± 0.21, pH was 5.53 ± 0.19, total ash value of powder was found to be 6.64 ± 0.20 w/w, and acid insoluble ash was found to be 0.52 ± 0.11 w/w. These parameters provide a reliable framework for assessing the quality and authenticity of the formulation. Conclusion: The findings of this study offer valuable tools for regulatory authorities, scientific organizations, and manufacturers to develop standardized formulations of Bhunimbadi Churna. The reproducible parameters established in this study can assist in ensuring the quality and efficacy of this classical Ayurvedic formulation.

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy, 2019

Mankind's concern for health since the beginning of civilization led each community to develop its own health/medical care system. Ayurveda, the oldest and a well-documented Indian health-care system, is being practiced for several thousand years. It is expected that the system would have had an evidence-based origin. However, in the current perspective and practices, it is largely experience-based system with myths, fallacies and inappropriate commercial practices having made inroads in its otherwise integrative health-care practices and philosophies. Historically, the so-called 'modern medicine' practices and formulations had their origins in tradiational health-care systems, especially the Indian and Chinese. However, the traditional and the modern medicine systems today are competitive and mutually exclusive. The Ayurvedic Biology initiative aims to re-understand Ayurveda in light of the remarkable developments in all disciplines of natural sciences, including biology and understanding of human body and its systems, so that not only the claimed effectiveness of the various formulations and practices is rationally assessed but also the physiological, cellular and molecular bases of their actions get revealed. Recent experimental studies on Ayurveda indeed illustrate the advantages of Ayurvedic Biology approach. More such studies would generate the much needed evidence-based practices, and also provide simple qualitycontrol systems for Ayurvedic formulations. This can be expected to finally lead to emergence of integrative health-care practices, incorporating the best of traditional and modern health-care systems and procedures.

Asian Medicine, 2014

In the context of colonial and post-colonial India, social scientific inquiry about the advent of Ayurveda into modernity has been documented and analysed as an encounter between Ayurveda and biomedicine. These studies have shown how Ayurveda as a medical knowledge system offered continuous contestation to the existing power structures at the level of market, state, and epistemology, challenging and creatively positing alternatives to biomedical pharmaceuticals. These alternatives represent a fascinating spectrum of ayurvedic products introduced to the market, ranging from tonics and digestives, cosmetics and beauty products, to new formulations aimed at common conditions, such as hepatitis and diabetes, the weak points of biomedical treatments. In this paper, I will analyse from a historical and epistemological perspective, an interesting trajectory that has led research by scholars and physicians from mainly looking at reformulating drugs in the beginning to reconciling basic ayurvedic parameters with biomedicine towards emphasising the processes and parameters of the ayurvedic system as a whole.