Use of plants in the form of Aushadhi

Aushadhi is derived from oshadhi ‘medicinal herb’ the word is generally employed for all drugs, especially of vegetable origin. According to Charaka-Samhitā (sūtra, 26,12), there is no substance in the world which does not have some medicinal use but one must consider the method of use (yukti or upāya) and the purpose (artha or prayojana) or the disease-condition before employing any substance as a drug; careful selection of the substances needs to be treated before they can be wholesome for the boy; otherwise their effect would be undesirable. Aushadhi, literally, “plants,” also rendered oshadhi, from Osha, “light-bearing”; reference to plant life as being sustained by light through photosynthesis. The metaphorical corollary is that man is similarly sustained by the light of God through the metamorphosis brought about by the action of the elemental principles of Prakriti. 

In General, the word “Aushadhi” has two meanings. One that removes pain and cures the disease and another meaning is the plant that consists of fire in it to cure the disease. The credit goes to Aryan to utilize plants as Aushadhi very first time. The Vedic literatures had reported more than 100 aushadhi name that was being utilized since ancient periods. In ancient days many Rishi, Munis, Maharishi prefer to stay in the jungle and gather knowledge about useful plants that can be utilized in the preparation of Aushadhi. We should not deny the contributions of aborigine people who coordinated well to Rishi, Munis to introduce plants as they were residing in the jungle and well aware of many plants that cure many diseases. We have to just imagine when there were no resources available to treat the people with modern facilities in ancient days and that time if any plant was identified to cure even a small disease, then, no doubt, they would feel very happy. The Rishi, Munis never live their life for themselves, they always preferred to go forest and stay their many years or lifelong to search many plants and its utility and then, bring it to the knowledge of Nagaraika (public) to treat the people of the city. No, doubt! They sacrificed their whole life in search of many plants in the form of Aushadhi. We have ever heard that before taking plants from jungle Rishi, Munis were conducting prayer. In ancient days, they had categorized plant mainly in three categories, one “Taruvar” the tree or plant that has flowers, fruits, etc. to nourish the human beings and “Vriksha” that may give their body parts for the essential utilization of human beings like firewood, timber, and preparing agricultural instruments. The third and main category is “Aushadhi” the herbs, shrubs, or trees that can be used as medicinal purposes. Mainly herbs were identified as Ausadhi in olden days. Indian has vast knowledge about Aushadhi since the very beginning of civilizations. 

There are many types of Aushadhi is being practiced by Physicians, some of them are Shamak Aushadhi ( sedative- the drug that calms you or makes you sleep.), Uttejak Aushadhi (stimulant - the drug that increases your heart rate and makes you less likely to sleep), Madak Aushadhi (acts as a stimulant and can cause hallucinations), Jeevanunashak Aushadhi (Antibiotics - drugs that are used in medicine to kill bacteria and to cure infections), Peedahari Aushadhi (painkiller- a drug which reduces or stops physical pain) and Dardnivarak Aushadhi (a drug used to relieve pain just like peedahari Aushadhi), etc. Aushadhi was reported to prepare from fresh parts of the plant and consume within the hour. After crushing, no storage was recommended in ancient periods in order to maintain its original form (quality), It might be that time no storage facility invented like freezer, cold storage, etc., It was suggested that time to make asvaa, kwatha, and consume within the recommended time of Physician. Tincture was not suggested effectively. In modern days, the Aushdhi is modified as single and compound drugs in the form of churn, tablets, capsule, etc, based on the need of human beings.

Lock down - a period not only to stay home but correction of lifestyle

“Health is Wealth” and “Survival of the fittest”

 Staying at home up to lockdown period and again come back to the normal routine life is going to be a dream. Lockdown can be adopted for any country only for a certain periods. Gradually, the lockdown would be taken back with some guidelines because lockdown cannot be prolonged for long time due to many reasons. All the government had already given proper guidelines about protection from Corona infections by maintaining social distancing, hand sanitization, etc. Is it not our responsibilities to cooperate the government by following guidelines to stop spreading of corona? We have ever seen the conditions of the people in all over world after they get infected by COVID -19. Now, we have to understand the situations and adapt ourselves accordingly for our best survival.

We have to follow the above to mantras “Health is Wealth” and “Survival of the fittest” in to our routine life. Now, it is necessary to eat healthy to maintain immunity well to fight against any type of communicable and no communicable diseases. No one help us 24 hours and years together. Our future is now in our hands. Even after lockdown period, we have to go to out with proper protection considering that the lockdown will be ending but not corona. This disease is not going disappear within the day just like magic, Never! This disease had already spread all over the world and we have to learn how to survive in such conditions. We have to ready to fight with this disease by making our body immunity strong and modifying our food style and lifestyle. We have to make ourselves free from intake of unnecessary antibiotics but make  habit to consume food adding Amla, Aloe Vera, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric like anti-toxic ingredients to naturally strengthen immunity power. We have to curtail junk foods, non-vegetarian foods, cool drinks etc. We have to avoid Teflon coated vessels,  aluminum or stainless steel utensil in kitchen but start to use of copper, brass, bronze and earthen pots like old civilizations. We have to add milk, pure cow ghee, curd etc in our diet instead of taking vegetable ghee, palm oil, refined oil. We have to change late night sleeping schedule and go to bed early by 9- 11 p.m. so that our liver may get proper time to detoxifying the body. Our regular exercise and medications make it double benefit to develop immunity in our body.

Our awareness and consciousness is only our safety now.  

Ensuring Quality of Piper longum (Pippali) on high demand to manufacturing medicines

Herbal remedies have become popular, due in part to the lower risk of adverse reactions. Thousands of plants have been used traditionally to treat various diseases. Among them, species of the genus Piper are important medicinal plants used in various systems of medicine. The Piper longum fruit has been used in traditional medicine, including the Ayurvedic system of medicine due to its high medicinal values. In Ayurvedic formulary of India, it is reported to use Pippali in more than 300 formulations.

The fruit (Spike) of Pippali (Piper longum Linn.) is one of the prime Rasayana (rejuvenator) drugs in Ayurveda and is widely used to treat various diseases especially for the treatment of respiratory disorders. Several biological activities like immunostimulatory, anti-ulcer, anti-amebic, anti-oxidant, hepato-protective, asthma, constipation, gonorrhea, paralysis of the tongue, diarrhea, cholera, chronic malaria, viral hepatitis, respiratory infections, stomachache, bronchitis, diseases of the spleen, cough, and tumors  and anti-inflammatory activities were reported on the fruit of this plant. 

Long pepper (Pippali) as sold in India appears to be derived from two or three species, including one, which Indonesian. Indian long pepper is a product either of Piper longum or Piper peepuloides, while the Indonesian and Java Long Pepper imported from Malaysia is from Piper retrofractum. The products of these species are used for the same purposes. In India, the main source of supply being Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and from neighboring country Nepal. India also imports the long pepper from Malaysia and Singapore.  

There are several varieties of Piper longum fruits such as Murshidabad (Asli), Shillong (Savali), Coach Behar & Assam (Bodki), Coach Behar & Assam (Gol), Purnea, Central Bengal and Indonesia (Piper retrofractum) is commonly available in the Indian market either in separate or in mixed form. However, we have already set up our mind to categories them as Chhoti Pippali (small sized), Badi Pippali (long sized) and Gol pippali (Round shaped). All the above said varieties are used for similar therapeutic purposes but Chhoti Pippali (Savali) is more preferred by physicians. It is a well-known fact that the Pippali is one of the most important drugs in the treatment of Tamaka Shwasa (bronchial asthma).  

The worldwide spread corona is also reported to infect the respiratory tract and thus, there is a high demand of the Pippali to manufacture drug as it is one of the important ingredients to prepare formulation for treating respiratory disorders. As we know that in preparation of compound formulation, all the ingredients must require to take an effective batch of medicines. If any ingredient not available, the production of medicine will be stopped. In my opinion, when all varieties of Piper longum have similar therapeutic value, we may consider the situation and not to stick a particular variety while accepting the same in the manufacturing of medicines.   

Awareness of Quality Assurance wing while verifying raw materials.

The traditional system of medicines is also playing a key role in preventive as well as supportive treatment of COVID -19 in various ways. The quality of treatment directly depends on the quality of medicines dispensing to the patients and therefore, it is necessary to focus on the selection of the superior quality of raw materials. There are two main factors now involve to creating disturbances to the quality section of any manufacturing units. The first is hurriedness to release the raw material for production as to reach medicines to the patients in time and second is curtailing of staff to maintain only 33 percent of attendance. As we know that a small mistake of the quality of medicines may spoil the whole batch.

In this situation, a hard work in the quality section will not be solved the issue to provide quality material but apart from text, we have to apply our experiences also to check the supply of the drug on the spot as a primary check-up and quarantine the materials by random sampling. Due to lockdown, there is a scarcity of materials arisen. Since, manufacturers want material anyhow to complete the public demand to serve the medicines in time. Keeping this in mind, suppliers utilizing chances to release material kept unsoled in godown for a long period. If a genuine materials has crossed its shelflife, the efficacy of the active constituents in the material would be reduced. Such materials will not be suitable to use in medicinal preparations and these materials may be referred to as sub-standard quality. If such sub-standard materials use for medicines production, the quality of medicines will not be effective and the health of the patients remains questionable. Some times,  supply may come with low quality or substandard or substituted materials. 

The chances of adulteration are also more in this situation. Many materials may be supplied by mixing similar looking materials, for instance, saffron mixed with designed coconut kernel or florets of safflower, leaves of Aegle marmelos (vilva Patra) found mixed with Murraya koenigii leaves, stolon of Glycyrrhiza glabra is with the stem of Sesbania bispinosa,  medium-sized Piper longum fruits found mixed with Phyla nodiflora dried fruits, etc, Some time semi-distilled or partly extracted materials like cloves, cumin, ajwain and coriander seeds also possible. Though, these materials possess no morphological changes but potency and efficacy wise, they are not suitable for medicines preparation and thus, they should be considered sub-standard quality. Such kind of material need not require testing on entire parameters but may be rejected on spot. In my opinion, this practice may save time in deciding the quality of materials and also to get an immediate replacement by appropriate raw materials.

 

COVID -19: PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

There is no specific medicine and vaccine invented till the date to treat COVID-19, severe viral diseases, engulfed many thousands of peoples in the world. It pushes back to the developing and developed countries and compels us to think upon to tackle such terrible situations very consciously to stop its further spreading. It is also brought to notice from several media and newspapers that the enhancing immunity, doing regular exercises, eating iron and vitamin food, etc. may surely help to control the viral attack. Social distancing becomes now like a routine of life. The lockdown helps in avoiding people to gather in one place to make a barrier in stopping the chain of spreading. The above-mentioned precautions may be fully implemented to the people who stayed at home but what about the other social worker like doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, housekeeping people, medicines manufacturing unit, a dispensing unit who take a high risk to go to attend their duties to save the life of others. The real spreading methods of this virus is still unknown whether it is spreading by physical contact, sneezing, cough droplets or by air like other viral disease is still questionable as many experts have their different opinion.  

In this situation, it becomes more important to consider first their health by adopting all the preventive measures considering “Jaan hai to Jahan hai.” If, a person is fit mentally and physically then only he/she will be able to help others positively. In this regard, it becomes necessary to adopt some simple but regular and routine precautionary protocol before starting our work in the morning and binding up the work at night before rest. As we know that a virus once get a favorable situation, jumps upon the host, and start replications. Since, many of our health people, news reporter, doctors, paramedical staff, etc. performing essential services, they don’t know when and where they come in contact with such invisible biological particles and thus, we have to take precautionary measures and initiate a defense mechanism in the initial stage to stop the replications.

This is very helpful in asymptomatic as well as symptomatic patients even for a healthy person too. Actually, our body system has a self-defense mechanism to stop entering any foreign material inside our body but whenever our body realizes that it is not having the requisite capacity to fight against the virus, our body itself tries to stop virus replication by increasing body temperature and that we consider as fever.  Replication process of a virus requires minimum 2-3 days or even 5 days period depending upon the condition of the body and immunity. So, we have to stop the replication in the primary stage itself for that when we feel even light pain, itching in throat, tiredness, and feverish body. Immediately, we have to start second-line treatment ourselves to make the temperature high one or two degrees Celsius. In an instance, many of us have ever seen if an animal become sick, they will prefer to sit in bright sunlight for three to four hour by their they increase body temperature. How can we do that? By frequent sipping of hot water (with tolerable temperature) half a glass every fifteen minutes till sweating starts for two days.  The increasing temperature will not provide suitable conditions to replicate in the body and within 48 – 72 hours, it may kick the viruses out without replications even kill also.

The drinking hot water at the first time may feel unlike for that we may take 2-3 black dates or some grain of raisins (kismis) to help in the drinking water. Apart from that, we have to involve iron-rich fruits (apple, black raisins) or vegetables (spinach), vitamin C rich fruits like amla, lemon, orange, and amino acid-rich food like sprout grains, zinc (papaya or watermelon seeds). We must avoid cold drink, dairy products, etc. In this way, we may enhance our immunity to fight against this disease and also to reduce susceptibility to further attack.