Integrated approaches for finding leads from Ayurveda – Way forward

Resurged interest in Traditional, Alternative & Complementary Medicines (TACM) has opened new areas of exploration. India, with oldest civilization history harbours many TACM. Ayurveda dates back to 5000 B.C., is developed based on the daily life relationship between human and nature. They are a part of health care industry among world countries in order to explore new chemical entities [1]. Ayurveda reports more than 2000 plants, which may be explored through modern scientific approaches. Safety and efficacy of these products are always a cause of concern. Quality control, validated manufacturing processes and post marketing surveillance are the key points to ensure their safety and efficacy. Marker analysis based on chemo profiling and characteristic fingerprints for individual plants could help to develop uniform standardization tool for their promotion [1,2]. Their regulations vary among countries causing difficulty in maintaining uniform standards. Integrated approaches may help in developing therapeutic lead with understanding on their mechanism of action and interactions for synergy [3]. Thus development of TACM from Ayurveda will help to cherish them. In this regard several approaches involved in developing Ayurveda will be discussed including, features in development of Indian TACM including Ayurveda, evaluation of their quality, safety and efficacy and harmonization of regulation and promotion with international co-ordination.

References: [1] Mukherjee, P.K. (2002) Quality Control on Herbal Drugs. Business Horizons Ltd. New Delhi.

[2] Mukherjee, P.K. and Verpoorte, R. (2003) GMP in Herbal Drugs. Eastern Publishers. New Delhi.

[3] Mukherjee, P.K. and Wahile, A. (2006)J. Ethnopharmacol. 103:25–35.