Ayurvedic herbs to fight with Dengue

Yoga teacher Baba Ramdev today claimed that Ayurvedic products can increase the platelet count in patients suffering from the vector-borne fever faster than allopathic medicines.

He said that consuming juice made of Giloy leaves, aloe vera, papaya leaves and pomegranate not only increases platelet count but also increases overall immunity of the body.

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Try this Herbal Tea for better immunity!
1] Add one cardamom, 2 – 3 coarsely ground black pepper, 2 – 3 a small piece of cinnamon (dalchini), 4 – 5 tulsi leaves and dried ginger (sonth) to a glass of boiling water.
2] Let it boil for 10 minutes and remove it from the flame.
3] Allow it to cool for some time, strain and drink while warm.
4] For taste, you can add a few drops of honey. Don’t add sugar.
Drink this tea daily to improve your immunity and to prevent infections.

Health Benefits of Asafoetida (Hing)

Asafoetida (Hing) is one useful ayurvedic herb. In Hindi it is popular with name Hing or Hingu. Hing is commonly used Indian spice of kitchen. It is dried resin of Asafoetida plant and is available in solid state in small pieces. Hing is used daily in preparing chaunk/ Tadka for many dishes like Dal or pulse to add flavour. In Tadka, we fry kitchen spices like onion, tomato, cumin, garlic, fennels seeds, chilli, Hing and other spices in oil or ghee for delicious taste. Hing is also one main ingredient of Pickles. Due to its Digestive nature it is used in all vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. It has many health benefits.

Here are some important asafoetida uses --

In Respiratory diseases:
Asafetida’s medicinal uses are many, which include the treatment of influenza. Asafetida is beneficial in fighting the swine flu and H1N1 virus. It is also used in treating asthma and bronchitis and is effective is treating colds and the flu in children. In addition, it can also be used for reducing chronic bronchitis and whooping cough due to its anti-microbial action.

In stomach Disorders:
Asafoetida is an amazing spice to treat flatulence and expelling wind. Many suffer from gas when they consume lentils. Whenever you cook dals and pulses, adding asafoetida prevents the problem and helps in quick digestion. A small pinch of asafoetida will go a long way.

For Bee sting:
Asafoetida is very beneficial in treating stings of bees, wasps etc. The paste of asafoetida should be applied as a poultice on the affected area and left to dry. To make the paste, a small piece of asafoetida is rubbed on a stone, along with little water till you get a thick paste. Apply this paste over the stings.

In ear pain:
Asafoetida is also very effective in treating ear ache /ear pain. Heat coconut oil in small pan and add a small piece of asafoetida and let it melt. Once it gets to room temperature, apply the oil inside the ears with your hands. This is one of the effective remedies for ear pain that has been practiced for years.

For Menstrual pain relife:
It helps to get rid of menstrual pain. Asafoetida is fried in a empty kadai and powdered and added to the buttermilk along with little bit of sugar and given to women with menstrual pain and it really helps. I read that asafoetida contains special chemicals which can thin the blood thus making the blood flow smooth. This remedy has been used for ages in our village side and can greatly reduce the discomfort.

Tooth ache:
Asafoetida is very good for treating tooth aches. To make a poultice for tooth aches, make a paste of asafoetida and lemon juice in a mortar and  pestle and apply with the help of a ear bud on the affected tooth. You will find your pain gradually decreasing.
 Asafoetida used as mouth rinse also gives good relief from tooth pain. To make the rinse, asafoetida and few cloves are boiled in cup of water. This water when used as a mouth rinse gives good relief from tooth ache

Effective Acne treatment and Skin Blemish:
Asafoetida can also be used effectively for acne and acne scars. A pinch of asafoetida powder can be mixed with water and applied over the acne spots. Regular application will gradually cure acne flares.  Asafoetida is also very effective in treating skin blemishes. A simple face mask made with asafoetida powder and yogurt will greatly reduce the blemishes and age spots in the skin. Try do it regularly at least weekly once for best results.

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Why Rasasindura is not toxic?

Researchers have employed state-of-the-art analytical tools and elegant computational methods in a truly multidisciplinary project to prove that Rasasindura, the mercury-containing Ayurvedic drug, is not toxic. Mercury is one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern. (WHO Worksheet No 363, Sept 2013). Metallic mercury is highly mobile, soluble in water depending on its chemical form and oxidises relatively easily. Bacteria convert environmental mercury in to methyl mercury. Mercury interacts with human body and turns it into methyl mercury. Methyl mercury is more toxic. As per conventional wisdom, Rasasindura will be toxic. Ayurvedic physicians claim that they have been using this drug for ages without any harm. The study carried out in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology tries to solve the riddle.“...Our work not only helps to understand the non-toxicity of Rasasindura but also establishes the Ayurvedic synthesis method for a well controlled end-product,” Dr. Debdutta Lahiri and her colleagues wrote in the latest issue of Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.

In this study, researchers used virgin samples of Rasasindura prepared as per Ayurvedic protocols. “Bhasmikaran” (making into powder), is simple in theory; it involves repeated, controlled and prolonged heating of metals with suitable ingredients to make metal powders and to remove residual metals and toxic organic molecules. The results obtained by the scientists apply only to the sample they used and not to any commercially available sample of Rasasindura. Regrettably, Ayurvedic formulations do not have any applicable standards.

Scientists used five analytical tools and procedures with Rasasindura and nanoparticles of lab-based red á-HgS to prove that the structure of Rasasindura is indeed the very stable, á-HgS. Surface organic groups or organic groups were absent in both .The drug has thus the following attributes: because of the special affinity of Hg to Sulphur, Hg-S bonds are very strong. Other workers have shown that accumulation of á-HgS in the human body is very low. Absorption of á-HgS by the gastro-intestinal tract is only 0.2 per cent; the fraction reaching the kidney is much lower at only 0.02 per cent. HgS is 10,000 times less toxic than methyl mercury.

The researchers showed that complete oxidation occurred in Rasasindura and free mercury or organic mercury was absent in it. They used synchrotron-based X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (XAFS) method to prove 100 per cent HgS formation in Rasasindura.

They found that that Rasasindura contains nanocrystals of about 20 nm size. Particle distribution is better controlled in Rasasindura than in á-HgS, made in laboratories. The paper proves that toxicity cannot be decided by elemental analysis alone.

In December 2004, Dr Robert B. Saper from the Boston University School of Medicine and his colleagues stated that 20 per cent of the Ayurvedic medicines they purchased from Boston contained high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic (Journal of American Medical Association). We do not know whether companies prepared any of these drugs as per Ayurvedic protocols. Saper's paper led to the banning of such drugs in many countries.

Since then a few papers showed that some of the drugs are not toxic.

Let me reiterate that the present study does not endorse any sample of Rasasindura available in the market.

The author is former Secretary, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Email: ksparth@yahoo.co.uk

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