ayush

A year and a half has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe. While there seemed no possible cure for the disease and researchers intensified their search for an effective treatment and vaccine, many clinical trials were happening around the world and herbs emerged as a possible alternate treatment. Two of them include Giloy and Ashwagandha.

Giloy is a popular ayurvedic remedy for a number of health conditions including fever, infections and diabetes. However, there have been numerous debates about its benefits. While Ayurvedic doctors have claimed that the herb is not harmful, there have also been some reports claiming that giloy can lead to liver damage. A study published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology claimed the herb is harmful to the liver. On the other hand, the Ministry of AYUSH argued that giloy had been scientifically proven to be an effective remedy for multiple disorders.

To comprehend the facts related to the medicinal herb, we interviewed some eminent personalities from the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. An expert from the field of liver and gastroenterology suggested that alternative medications like giloy can cause some serious liver injuries. Dr. Kaushal Madaan, Head of Hepatology, Max chain of hospitals, said: “When this pandemic came, we realised that there were many patients who came to us with unexplained liver failure and liver injury and some of them had even died. Only after a few months, we realised that they were taking a concoction and the most common ingredient of that concoction in these particular patients was giloy.” He pointed out that people were consuming kadhas or concoctions, twice or thrice a day, for a year, which could have caused serious liver damage.

“Even before the pandemic started, we had been advising our patients, whether or not they have underlying liver disease, to avoid taking herbal medicines of whose ingredients we are not sure about,” Dr. Kaushal added, in the context of herbal and alternative medicines.

Alluding the fact that all medicines- allopathic, homoeopathic or ayurvedic- have their pros and cons, Dr. Sarin, Director, ILBS, said, “I can certainly say that there are certain herbs that can be harmful. There are certain preparation; unless they have published data, or they have data that they are only beneficial, just don’t take them if they have no scientific evidence.”

The ministry of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy) will launch the clinical repository portal, and Ayush Sanjivani mobile application in an event today. The portal will provide access to clinical outcomes in the field of alternative therapy, and further research and analysis.

Union minister of state (independent charge) for Ayush, Kiren Rijiju, will launch the Ayush Clinical Case Repository (ACCR) portal, and the third version of Ayush Sanjivani app in a virtual event.

“The Ayush Clinical Repository (ACCR) portal (https://accr.ayush.gov.in/) will serve as a platform to support both Ayush practitioners and general public. This portal aims to aggregate information about clinical outcomes achieved by Ayush practitioners on a large scale. It will facilitate not just dissemination of information but also further analysis and research. It is expected to document the strengths of Ayush systems for treatment of various disease conditions,” said Ayush ministry in a statement.

The portal will not only benefit the practitioner community, and the public, but will also help widen the scientific base of all streams of Ayush, according to the ministry statement.

The Ayush Sanjivani app (third version) is now on Google Play Store and iOS. This version facilitates a significant study and documentation regarding the efficacy of selected Ayush interventions.