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With adulteration in traditional medicine becoming grave concern, time for Ayush Ministry to take action

In 2015, Chinese scientist Youyou Tu won the Nobel Prize for medicine for her application of traditional Chinese medicine to create a modern-day malaria medicine.

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In 2015, Chinese scientist Youyou Tu won the Nobel Prize for medicine for her application of traditional Chinese medicine to create a modern-day malaria medicine.

During the press conference, the Nobel Committee in Stockholm announced that her work was based on research and using tips from traditional Chinese medicine as opposed to the medication being based out of traditional medicine.

Last year, this reporter met an acupressure expert who also dabbled in homeopathy to understand why traditional medicine was frowned upon. He said that while there were colleges teaching alternative and traditional medicine in India, there wasn’t enough money getting pumped in for research.

And then this morning, a report in The Hindu spoke on the presence of heavy metals and spurious plant extracts in traditional medicines. This study, the report said, showed that traditional medicine could pose serious health risks.

Quoting a report from the journal Drug Safety, the report cited a 2016 joint study by Indian and Canadian scientists suggested traditional medicine that contain the bark of the Ashoka tree as an ingredient are mostly adulterated. According to the Indian Science Journal, the bark has some components that can be used to treat uterine diseases.

From there, the scientists focused their attention on species adulteration and developed DNA barcodes —which becomes an identifying mark — for 150 species commonly used in traditional medicine.

Since 2014, the Centre has detected more than 100 herbal products with lead ranging from 90 parts per million (ppm) to 7,000 ppm.  On October 13, a Deccan Chronicle article cited officials from the department of AYUSH saying that clinics and hospitals offering indigenous treatments are gaining popularity in Andhra Pradesh.

“We are planning to further increase the numbers of dispensaries for Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani medication in the state because of the encouraging response received from the public,” said A. Rajendra Reddy, the commissioner in-charge of the AYUSH department to the paper.

But before spreading the number of clinics, the AYUSH department needs to also regularise the ingredients used, if a 2015 NPR report is to be cited. According to the report, an American man, who came to India, returned home with some traditional medicine, but within a few months developed symptoms such as depression, weight loss and loss of memory. When the doctors narrowed it down, they found quantities of lead that are much higher than the required allowance. In addition, presence of toxic metals such as mercury and arsenic has also been detected.

India during the Union Budget 2017-18 allotted AYUSH ministry Rs 1,428.65 crore amid the government’s increased focus on promoting alternative medicines. Of this, Rs 175 crore have been allocated to Central Council for Research in Aurvedic Science and the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine has been allocated Rs 123 crore in the AYUSH ministry’s budget for the next fiscal.

For the next budget, maybe the government needs to rethink its strategy and allot more funds for research to ensure people can go back to traditional medicine, without worrying about the side effects due to adulterants and heavy metals.

 

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