Dr. Vijay Kamat, Medical Director, Biogetica
The coronavirus pandemic has rekindled the trust and confidence of people in traditional medicines. They are making deliberate lifestyle changes, opting for Ayurvedic products and witnessing its benefits over daily intake. In order to treat any illness, Ayurveda is believed to go to the root cause of the ailment and is known for preventive treatment.
Although, Ayurveda has been gaining popularity recently, people have more perceptions than awareness about this ancient system. Many people find it hard to accept that Ayurveda is equally efficient in delivering proficient treatment.
For Covid-19, as of now, there is no approved medication. Whereas, ancient sciences like Ayurveda have proven results that have equally effective, preventive measures that are gaining popularity for their efficacy.
Today, Ayurveda is not only addressing the symptoms but also preventing future Covid complications. In ancient sciences, crude herbs were used and it was processed in a manner which now-a-days no one does.
For example, drinking a glass of giloy or ginger or garlic juice or Ashwaghanda may seem impossible in today’s time. However, the technology has incorporated small doses of different herbs into a pill, and that pill will give you the efficacy of all the herbs.
Every system of medicine has its strengths, it’s the close mindedness of the providers that make them weaknesses. For any critical ailment, pharmaceutical medicines and hospital is almost necessary. However, when it comes to chronic ailment Ayurveda works well. People tend to believe that Ayurveda takes longer but that’s not necessarily the case. Here are two examples.
A ground-breaking interim result of a clinical trial of COVID-19 patients has given rise to new hope. The patients underwent natural treatment for COVID-19 in three hospitals and it was found that the combination treatment of Ayurveda remedy was able to relieve some of the symptoms of COVID-19 earlier when compared to the conventional treatment.
The clinical trial was conducted in three different hospitals and the COVID-19 patients were given the combination treatment of an Ayurveda remedy known as “‘Immunofree’ by the Corival Life Sciences, and ‘Reginmune’ by Biogetica which is a Nutraceutical. As per the reports, the combination of these natural remedies produced better results when compared to the conventional treatment approved by the government for COVID-19.
It was noted that none of the patients who were given the natural treatment progressed into developing severe symptoms or needed life support. The patients for this trial also included elderly patients (age up to 70 years), hence distinguishing this trial from others which made use of the natural treatment as it included broader criteria of patients.
Immunofree and Reginmune are being studied in a one-of-a-kind pharmaceutical controlled multicentre clinical trial in 3 hospitals, in India. This CTRI-registered trial is being conducted on moderate COVID-19 positive patients at Government Medical Hospital, Srikakulam Andhra Pradesh, Parul Sevashram Hospital, Vadodara, Gujarat, and Lokmanya Hospital Pune, Maharashtra.
“Immunofree, an Ayurvedic medicine contains 15 herbs including Pushkarmool (Inula Racemosa), Dhamanaka (Artemisia Nilagirica), Pippali (Piper Longum), Kalmegh (Andrographis Paniculata), Bhumamalaki (Phyllanthus amarus), Ocimum Sanctum (Tulsi), Glycyrrhzia Glabra (Liquorice), Haritaki and others recommended by AYUSH and is being used in countries who have mandated natural treatment of Corona. Regimmune is a western immune modulator with Vitamins, Minerals and Amino Acids.
Apart from this, Biogetica’s clinical trial on Herpes also successfully marked reduced time and early treatment with the use of combination therapy of Biogetica’s Hyperisince and Reginmune. The clinical trial published in 2017 showed remarkable results for Herpes, busting the age-old myth that Ayurveda takes a longer time to show results and that someone with herpes will always have recurrences.
However, in the last eight months of the Coronavirus pandemic, enough cases have been made for supplementing Covid-19 treatment with natural medicine. Data emerging from multiple locations has recorded a decline in mortality rates in the states and countries who have incorporated natural medicine for immune balancing and to aid recovery from Covid-19. Therefore there’s no medicine for Coronavirus in pharmaceuticals and hence HCQ has failed and now Favipiravir and Remdesivir are also failing. Therefore, one goes back to trials like this with Ayurveda.
It is amazing to see how nature in its original perfection can outperform and complement synthetic molecules as medicine. This is a reality that both doctors and patients are waking up to globally. However, with time, spirituality, holistic lifestyle and healthy eating have been upswing and so Ayurveda too has seen a reawakening.