Reasons for the Current Interest in Ayurveda

The great therapeutic success of synthetic antibiotics, hormones, and vaccines has created
an expectation that conventional medicine will be able to discover a cure for every ailment.
This expectation has been only minimally met for many diseases (e.g., cancer, arthritis,
autoimmune diseases, and AIDS) even after spending hundreds of billions of dollars in
research worldwide over the past 30 years. In addition, the synthetic antibiotics and
steroids sometimes result in serious adverse effects, such as immuno suppression,
 gastrointestinal bleeding, and ulcers, after prolonged administration. Ayurvedic therapies
generally provide relief without such adverse effects even after prolonged administration.

Some formulas known as Rasayanas are believed to improve the body’s defense mechanisms.
For example, in one short study for 90 days with chyawanprash, a rasayana, the
following improvements were observed: increased stress tolerance; improved endocrine
functions (adrenal and testicular); positive nitrogen balance as indicated by increased
serum protein level; and a decrease in urinary levels of nitrogen, creatinine, muco polysaccharide,
and hydroxyproline. The general well-being of the volunteers improved and none of them
complained of any physical disorder.

Ayurvedic herbs and formulas often have a wide spectrum of therapeutic activity. For
example, guggulu is recommended in Ayurveda for 25 or more ailments (e.g., inflammatory
diseases, a variety of infections, muscle spasm, cough, bronchitis, anemia, endometriosis,
neurological diseases, skin diseases, urinary system disorders, obesity, osteoarthritis, and
rheumatoid arthritis). The reason for this wide spectrum of activity is that guggulu has
anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulant, hypo-lipidemia,and anti-bacterial activity; it can be beneficial
in many health ailments associated with inflammation, infection, obesity, or blood clotting.

Additionally, pharmacological activities of herbs may not be confined to one specific
chemical constituent. Guggulu was found to have anti-inflammatory activity in both polar
and non-polar solvents, indicating that several chemical constituents present in it may have
anti-inflammatory activity. Similarly, herbs showing neuro-pharmacological activity in
vitro did not have the activity concentrated in any one solvent extract. This indicates that
several constituents with different chemical physical properties may have the
same neuro-pharmacological actions.

Ayurvedic therapies are known to be relatively economic. Other alternative non- drug complementary
therapies may be even more expensive. The relative safety of Ayurvedic medicine is another reason for
 its popularity. Ayurvedic formulas are time tested for safety. These formulas contain
vitamins; minerals; biologically active steroids, alkaloids, glycosides, and tannins; and a variety of
antioxidants in a natural state. A single herb extract or a pure active chemical constituent may
cause some adverse effects under certain conditions and dose levels. For example, guggulu
extract has been shown to produce some anticoagulant effect under certain conditions.
Ayurvedic text formulas containing guggulu may be safer than the guggulu extract; the formulas
that have guggulu in relatively small amounts, along with many other herbs, act as synergists
and possibly counteract some of the side effects.