In effort to push Ayush, govt begins clinical testing of ayurvedic, homeopathy medicines

NEW DELHI: In a bid to lend authenticity to traditional medicines, the Centre has started clinical testing of various ayurvedic and homoeopathy medicines on patients suffering from different tropical diseases such as dengue, malaria and some of the viruses causing seasonal influenza.

These clinical trials are being conducted in some government as well as private hospitals, a senior official in the ministry of ayurveda, unani, siddha and homeopathy (AYUSH) said.

He added, presently the trials are at the stage of “observational studies“ where patients are administered with an additional therapy of either ayurvedic or homeopathic medicines and are under kept observation.

“There are detailed parameters created and the medicines are administered accordingly . The observations are documented, based on which the researchers will move on to the next level of trial,“ the official said.

According to the official, more than 80 patients were enrolled for these observational studies on dengue in Dr Hedgewar hospital and a total of nearly 500 patients have so far been enrolled in different hospitals in Delhi and NCR.

The ministry has also formed a Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, which has been coordinating all these studies and monitoring their progress, comparing them to create scientific evidence based documentation which can support the efficacy of these traditional system of medicines.