As the benefits of integrating ayurveda and allopathy, especially in the treatment of lifestyle diseases and post operative care receive more attention, Dr Pralhad Patki, Head – Medical Services & Clinical Trials, R&D, The Himalaya Drug Company urges advocates of ayurveda to de-mystify and contemporarise the 5,000-year-old science by pursuing hard scientific evidence to establish safety and efficacy of ayurvedic drugs
A recent study from Germany suggests that a compound found in turmeric could promote growth of nerve cells.1 This could open the way for future drugs for strokes and Alzheimer’s, say scientists.
The medicinal properties of turmeric have been well-documented in ancient ayurveda texts. For eons, turmeric has been the ‘go-to-herb’ for treating various ailments in Indian homes. However, today the interest in herbs like turmeric is not restricted to the four walls of a house.
In recent times, the interest in Ayurveda has renewed. Scientists are researching and evaluating herbs. Doctors are integrating ayurveda and yoga into mainstream allopathic medicine, giving rise to ‘Integrative Medicine’, a new approach to medicine and healthcare that rests on building synergies between traditional and modern medicine.
The Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in the US defines it as, “…healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.” Integrative medicine recognises that both conventional and alternative therapies have an important role to play in healthcare and each has its own unique benefits. Dr Andrew Weil, a Harvard Medical School graduate and world-renowned proponent of integrative medicine emphasises the need to use Complementary and Alternative Medicine or CAM, in conjunction with conventional medicine to give patients a healthcare model that treats both cause and symptoms.
Closer home, Dr Naresh Trehan, renowned cardiac surgeon and Chairman & Managing Director of Medanta – The MediCity, established the Department of Integrative Medicine at his hospital in 2008 with the objective of incorporating traditional medicine and therapies in the treatment of certain specific diseases conditions to ensure better patient outcomes.
This renewed interest in ayurveda is a testament to its benefits in healthcare. Holistic in nature, ayurveda focuses on preventative and curative healthcare. Leading policy makers, scientists and doctors are seeing the benefits of integrating ayurveda and allopathy, especially in the treatment of lifestyle diseases and postoperative care. The objective is to draw from different systems of medicine to develop a healthcare model that has the ‘patient’ at its core.
Ayurveda, however, has been riddled with inconsistencies and challenges. Allopathic medicine has advanced due to its emphasis on empirical evidence, whereas ayurveda has drawn its credibility from ancient texts. This leaves it open to interpretation or misinterpretation, leading to ambiguity, false claims and wrongful practices. An unclear regulatory environment has further hampered advancements in ayurveda. While ayurvedic medicines are available over the counter (OTC) and consumers can buy it freely, there is a debate over cross-prescription, fuelled by a section who hasn’t understood that anybody can use ayurveda. Trehan in an interview to a leading publication clearly stated that, “… because ayurvedic medicines are OTC products and do not require any prescription at all.” While the majority of doctors echo his sentiment, a section is refraining from practicing or prescribing ayurveda due to this confusion. Advocates of ayurveda need to de-mystify and contemporarise the 5,000-year-old science. Ancient texts need to be preserved and retold in a language understood by the public, which means pursuing hard scientific evidence to establish safety and efficacy of ayurvedic drugs.
Often as a brand, we are asked if ayurveda can be contemporised. Interestingly, the answer lies in ayurveda itself. Charaka Samhita, the most ancient and revered ayurveda text, makes a progressive statement, which in essence means that one must be aware of the latest developments in science in order to provide the best care to society.
At Himalaya, we invest heavily in drug development protocols and firmly believe in empirical evidence. We have conducted clinical studies in institutions like AIIMS New Delhi, BHU Varanasi, KEM Mumbai, Nanavati Hospital Mumbai among others and published papers in leading medical and peer-reviewed journals. This has helped in convincing allopathic doctors of the benefits of herbal medicine in a scientific manner and ensuring that our drugs are of high quality, safe and effective.
We are seeing the strength of herbal medicine play out in our cancer research. Himalaya is in the advanced stages of developing a herbal drug that immunologically tackles the side effects of oncotherapy by significantly boosting immunity and addressing anaemia, thereby decreasing the chances of infections. The drug aims to increase a patient’s immunity, which is heavily suppressed due to cancer or chemotherapeutic agents. If we succeed, it will be a breakthrough in herbal medicine.
For a long time, Himalaya has been speaking about integrative medicine. Today, we are seeing doctors, healthcare professionals and even government bodies support the idea. To quote Victor Hugo, “There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come!”
Reference:
1. Stem Cell Research and Therapy Journal