About Author:Shahin Sahida,
Sagar group of institution, department of pharmacy,
Barabanki
Abstract:
Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences has been recently reinforced in Indian pharmacy institute due to global acceptance of Ayurveda. Some pharmacy institute have continued curriculum related to Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences as integral part of pharmacognosy or medicinal chemistry. Some pharmacy schools pioneered courses related exclusively to Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences. The courses available range from diploma to master’s level however there is little information has accumulated for doctorate and postdoctrate level studies in Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Curriculum related to Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences largely bank on Dravyguna (Phytopharmacology) and Ras Shastra (alchemy or latrochemistry). Dravyaguna is essentially compilation of ancient medical knowledge based on Ayurvedic pharmacy lexicons. Charka and Sushruta lists 341 and 395 medicinal plants respectively, in treatise on Ayurveda. Bhavprakash Nighantu, the standard book on Ayurvedic perspective of medicinal plants, mentions medicinal actions and therapeutics of 470 medicinal plants.
With evident of Muslim and British Empire in India, translation of Ayurvedic pharmacy lexicons was carried out in several languages. Maximum work was done in the British period when indispensable texts like Materia Medica of India and Pharmacogaphia Indica were composed. The term Materia Medica has largely been replaced by pharmacognsoy. Several publications have highlighted decreasing popularity of pharmacognosy in British and American Universities. Pharmacognosy either has been merged with medicinal chemistry or withdrawn from the pharmacy curriculum. However, Asian countries have witnessed changing scenario as far as traditional system of medicine are concerned.
Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1066
Introduction:
Recent times have witnessed resurgence of medicinal plant industry in India and there is revised interest in subjects like Dravyguna. Introduction of courses related to Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences is proof of changing scenario as far traditional medical sciences are concerned. One side of the story is that synthetic medicine might have overshadowed the traditional systems of medicine, more specifically known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Other side of the story is encouraging as far as herbal drug industry as medicinal plants are being constantly explored for lifesaving and cost-effective drugs. Shortage of trained manpower in Ayurvedic pharmacies, has forced the statutory bodies to introduce industry specific courses related to Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences. Introduction of maters course in Traditional Medicine by Mohali based National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research is important landmark in the history of Ayurvedic drug industry.
Recent publication of article on heavy metal contents of Ayurvedic formulations in Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) has rocked the Ayurvedic drug industry particularly the metal based preparations. Even recent market analysis has reported decreased sale of mineral remedies of Ayurveda. In light of above developments, systematic study of Dravyguna becomes mandatory as utility of Ras Shastra in Ayurvedic drug industry is expected to suffer after JAMA article. Dravyguna is integral part of course related to Ayurvedic Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Although it is difficult to correlate Dravyguna with modern subjects, it reaches close to clinical pharmacology and some aspects of pharmacognosy. Recently reverse pharmacology has been used for Ayurvedic Medicine and on basis of this; Dravyguna can be correlated with reverse pharmacognosy. Some experts are of the view that Dravyguna should not be compared with any subject and treated as independent subject. Dravyguna is in transition phase and time is ripe to arrive upon a decision whether it should remain conventional or given a fresh look.Even subjects like ethnopharmacology, phytopharmacotherapy and phytopharma-covigilance have roots in Materia Medica of traditional medicine.
Dravyguna is fundamental subject of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences and recent developments must be integral part of curriculum related to Dravyguna. The subject can serve as search engine for novel drugs and recently chemoinforamtics approaches have been applied to classical Ayurveda for searching novel chemical entities.
Career in Ayurvedic pharmaceutical science :
Today lots of Ayurvedic Pharmacies are coming up & there's an increase in craze for herbal products worldwide. Infact it's one of the latest fields with a huge market potential & that's why Indian Government is looking forward to its growth as a breeding ground for earning foreign exchange. Skilled persons are lacking in this field both in Public & Private sectors. Hence a need was felt to develop a task force specialized in Ayurvedic Manufacturing &/dispensing. Hence a need for such a course was felt. More-over self-employment is the need of the hour & that's why professional courses are in demand. Starting Diploma in Ayd Pharmacy is like moving one more step forward in this direction.
As most of the students must be having insecurity/dilemma regarding their future in this field, I thought of sharing my views with you. I hope this piece of information will help you in shaping your career instead of just completing a degree & you could learn Ayurveda in true spirit & after stepping out of the college could make a new vision & reach new horizons & give new direction to others that follow.
Remember-" Without changing the old ways, new dimensions of life & living cannot be achieved." So initially be prepared for Sweat & perspiration but the positive results are guaranteed. Remember Ayurveda is a Spiritual Science & is a complex subject. Persons who have indepth knowledge & have understood basic fundamentals of Ayurveda feel that basic fundamentals of ayurveda are infact the most scientifically laid out. That's why it's still relevant in this jet age. Its role in the field of "Social & Preventive Medicine" is of utmost importance.
Opportunities for professional growth:
The Ayurvedic industry in India is around 100 years old. The earliest players were Dabur in the East, Dodh Pappaswer in the West, Kottakkal in the South, and Vaidya Nath in the North. All these groups were founded between 1890 and 1910. Before that the Ayurvedic industry was confined to the physicians and was more a service than a profession. The knowledge was considered sacred and was believed to have spiritual origins. In the process of westernisation and consequent commercialisation of healing, Ayurveda also had to become a part of this process.
There were intrinsic problems in the commercialisation of ayurvedic products, because Ayurveda basically is a science which does not treat a disease but the patient. The formulations given in classical texts are more than 20,000 in number. It is said that there are over 1,00,000 manuscripts lying in different parts of the country and abroad on indigenous health tradition in different languages and scripts. The permutation-combinations permitted in Ayurveda is infinitive but each combination has its own limitations and restrictions for use.
All the major traditional ayurvedic medicines in the South are prepared following this pattern. In Kerala, the contribution of traditional pharmaceuticals to tribal health and industry is more than 80 per cent and is promoted by physicians. The other herbal industries which evolved, especially after the 1970s, are the ones who do not have such vision, but focus on few formulations which are of wide use and are based on simple formulations. This sector is fast growing and, today, though there are around 7,000 registered manufacturers of herbal medicines in the country only a few make the wide range of classical preparations.
Dosage from development and improving shelf life were the two challenges that these industries met with support from modern science. The Indian medical heritage flows through two streams - oral and written. The oral tradition of the folk stream is represented by millions of housewives, folk practitioners and bone setters and makes use of thousands of species of medicinal plants and other natural materials. This stream addresses the local health needs and depends upon immediately available resources.
Complementing this are codified systems represented by sciences like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Tibia. These systems are evolved with well established scientific and theoretical explanations of therapeutic aspects of natural materials and biological changes. These systems are contained in leaf manuscripts and have more than 4.5 lakh registered practitioners. They address a range of problems from those of a primary nature to complex diseases like paraplegia and arthritis. These two streams are mutually nourishing and connected in terms of their practical approach to health and diseases. The primary health care needs of the country have been met by these streams for thousands of years.
In spite of their potential, these streams are in a weak state today due to many socio-historical reasons. The challenge is to see how these systems can be put into operation to take care of the health needs of our people.
In 1974, WHO recognised the potential and scope of traditional medicines and made the Alma Ata declaration accepting traditional medicines as an important tool to achieve health for all by 2000 and requested member-countries to improve the service and availablity of traditional systems of medicine.Among the codified streams, Ayurveda is not widely practised in India and is well knit into the social fabric as it is culturally linked with the lifestyle of the local communities.
Ayurveda is rooted in the darshanic principles of the Indian thought process and has its own foundational principles, concepts, categories and methodologies to explain and validate universal phenomena and biological changes which are holistic in nature. This is diagonally opposite to the analytical approach of modern medicine, which as a rule always tries to dominate all other knowledge systems by taking a position that science is universal with an affirmation of "Western Science." This political and cultural arrogance perpetuated by modern science looks at all other knowledge systems through its own ethnocentric world view. This has isolated modern science from other sasthras of oriental countries.
Development and appropriation of traditional systems of medicines (TSM):.
1. The Western View
Modern science as a whole, due to its global acceptance especially after the post industrial era, has taken the position that all knowledge systems evolved from different cultural roots have to be reviewed systematically by modern scientific parameters. So the theoretical basis of systems like Ayurveda is not acceptable to them because, by their criteria, it is based on unmeasurable or subjective parameters. So they consider only its pharmacopoeia. They find many useful formulations and single drugs based on natural flora, fauna and minerals in TSM. The whole effort is to separate the drugs from the entire theory.
Here the research and development is directed at isolating biomolecules, alkaloids and other active principles in the secondary metabolites of a plant system. The concept of synergy, which is central to TSM, is not taken into account and any product developed out of this effort no more belongs to Ayurveda. The trend is to add new products to the pharmacopoea of modern medicines. Many a time, these efforts become counter productive as active principles alone cannot bring about the same effect as the whole extract and also the formulations in the crude form is indicated in a bio-dynamic condition with or without the disease per se. The side effects and the drug resistance also will be a problem. Once an active principle or a biomolecule is isolated from an extract without its synergical colleagues to support and balance its action, it loses its character as explained in TSM. However, this is the kind of research carried out in many governmental and non governmental centres.
2. The Indian View
This is a small group especially from the non-governmental sector supported by very senior scientists of Ayurveda. This group has become active only after the 1970s and holds the view that development of this system should begin from the roots and should be comprehensive in approach. It does not accept the view that TSM is a cluster of crude formulations and plant medicines. It believes that modernisation does not mean westernisation but taking stock of its own inherent resources to develop based on the local needs and realities. It means that there is need to change the form without distorting the principle.
Thus, while accepting the changes and improvements offered to herbal preparations in the form of modern dosage form and packaging technology, they resist any effort to isolate biomolecules.
It is here the importance of pharmacy comes to play. Ayurveda describes different dosage forms, both internal and topical and some are highly sophisticated in comparison to modern dosage forms in terms of their application and bio-availability. For example, asawas and arishtas have a better penetration quality and speedy action than any other oral form. Experts like D.B.A.
Some of the immediate areas where modern science and particularly modern pharmacy can play a role are given below.
Raw Material:a) Authenticity; b) Continued, sustained and sustainable availability; c) Adulteration; d) Controversial drugs; e) Sastrically permitted substitutes; f) Sastrically unallowed adultrants; g) Seasonal availability vs. storage/ preservation for unseasonal use vs. retention of full potency over the period; h) Development of fungi, microbes over the period. A partial solution can be by making standardised extracts. Standardisation - validation to confirm to Good Medical Practices (GMP).
Process: Ayurvedic preparations fall into many categories - Kashayams, choornams, gulikas, lehyams, arishtas, medicated fats and medicinal ghees, oils and kuzhumbus and mineral preparations (bhasmas, sindooras) require different methods of processing. Some of these are time consuming extending upto 3-6 months for a single preparation like 101 aavarti thailam.
Problems to be resolved: The problem awaiting satisfactory solution are:
a) Better and more effective extraction in Kashayams. Often the partly extracted expensive raw materials are thrown away. Perhaps here standardised extracts have a role to play.
b) The fine grinding of gulikas even with mechanical flat wet grinders can be time consuming. Shortening the time without adversely affecting potency is desirable.
c) The preservation aspects - use of permitted preservatives.
d) Arishtas and Asavas: excise restrictions, drug controllers' restrictions. Also the occurrence of further fermentation leading to souring.
e) Lehyams: Regulating final moisture and preventing fungal growth.
f) Medicated oils and ghees: As per old sastric way, prolonged heating and stirring over a low fire was stipulated. Can this be achieved with the present day quick processing (with steam)?
g) Foaming problems: Loss of considerable expensive oil/ghee with kalkan - problems with Kuzhambu are similar.
h) Satadhoutha ghritham (for wound healing): In the classical method, the ghee has to be extensively purifieds. How it can be replaced by modern methods?
i) Minerals: The classical way - Uncontrolled temperature of incineration of bhasmas.
Growth of the Ayurvedic industry:
Especially of the major vendors, are in three different, but mutually complementing, directions.
1. The pure classical traditions as followed by Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakkal, Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore which revolve around a physician and his/ her prescription. The growth of this sector is very slow but steady.
2. The growth pattern using classical as well as patent and proprietary medicines (PP) and OTC (over the counter products). Probably Dabur is the best example. Their classical side is rather slow in growth and expansion where as their PP products are popular.
3. The growth pattern of PP and OTC alone with a focus on the modern medicine practitioner as well as new Ayurvedic generation physicians. Himalaya drug company makes such preparations and perhaps its fast growth in the last few decades is an indicative of this trend.
The domestic market is fast growing for traditional medicine and the need is not properly exploited by these sectors yet.
Paradoxically while the demand for herbal medicine is growing the resource base of these, the medicinal plants, is fast disappearing.
According to a Conservation Analysis and Management Process (Camp) study conducted by FRLHT, a Bangalore based NGO as per the IUCN norms, around 59 species are coming under the Rare Endangered and Threatened Species (RET) and the Ministry of Environment has to ban export of the produce of these herbs in 1998. However, due to pressure from the industry as well as export promotion councils the Government of India had to lift the ban for the time being. Consequently the list was brought down to 28.
The Government has now come with many new regulations to control and direct the herbal industry. The following are being implemented from this year i.e. 2000.
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
As per the June 23 Gazette of India all the existing herbal industries should follow the GMP pattern for production and a grace period of two years is given for existing units. This means at least a million rupee investment and documentation work. Most of the small players of the 7,000 units will have to stop their operation.
National Bio Diversity Act - 2000
This Act which will be placed in the Parliament in the coming session and is a major step in controlling the use of medicinal plants and limiting the benefit of IPR to India as well as helping conservation by sustainable utilisation. Under this Act even the collection of wild plants needs the consent from the State Bio-diversity board. Also collaboration with agencies abroad will require permission from this Board.
New Drugs Act
Another act which may change the Drug and Cosmetic Act related to herbal industry is the new categories being brought to Ayurvedic drugs. So all Ayurvedic drugs were either classical preparations as per the text (no dosage improvement, also no excise duty) or patent proprietary (excisable but less than its modern counterpart).
The amended Drug & Cosmetics Act comes with four categories of herbal preparations which will be specified in the drug licence issued.
1. Classical
2. Patent and proprietary
3. Herbal cosmetics
4. Industrial supplements
Even in the herbal cosmetic category soaps herbal and shampoos, etc., are not included. That means another category may have to be adopted for them.
Many leading pharmaceutical concerns have already ventured into Ayurveda or other herbal industries. GUFIC-Bombay is said to have only herbal products. Their allopathic units no longer interest them.
All these efforts makes sense because it is not just the domestic market one is looking into. The global market, especially the American and European markets, are said to be growing at a rate of 35 per cent a year (a record growth for last three years continuously). America is literally undergoing a herbal and natural product revolution.
So a time may come when the affluent, educated and sophisticated will use the costly and highly evolved, free-from-side effects, herbal products and the poor and less informed in the developing countries will use the chemical-based, cheap and easily available conventional medicine.
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