Mobile App to help diabetic patients with ayurvedic medicines

Soon, people with diabetes will be able to find out what ayurvedic medicines to take to check their rising blood glucose levels. As part of its 'Mission Madhumeha' launched last month, the government is set to launch a mobile app which will suggest ayurvedic medicines for diabetic patients.

The app will be meant for use by both practitioners of ayurveda as well patients. It will help in identifying the type of diabetes a patient is suffering from as well as recommend which ayurvedic medicines can be administered to a patient, says Manoj Nesari, Adviser to AYUSH Ministry. The app is based on a set of guidelines issued by AYUSH ministry last month called "Protocol for Prevention and Control of Diabetes through Ayurveda".The protocol also includes a list of fruits and vegetables a diabetic patient should or should not eat. It also recommends an active lifestyle, physical exercise, yoga in order to avoid falling prey to diabetes.

There is also an assessment tool which has been developed to help a diabetic person know if it is time to visit a doctor for a checkup. A national protocol for treating diabetes through ayurveda was unveiled last month on National Ayurveda Day observed on October 28.

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This will give you detailed Ayurvedic approach of Diabetes Management.

Ashtavarga herbs in Chyavanprash

Pharmaceutical industry analysts have estimated that about 15,500 tonnes of Chyavanprash was sold across the country last year. Children and adults consume the product which is promoted as a remedy against cold, cough and respiratory infections among other health disorders.


The primary ingredient of Chyavanprash is amla, or gooseberry. The original texts of Ayurveda list thirty-eight herbs as ingredients of Chyavanprash, but most commercial formulations now use substitute herbs, including extracts of the eight plants named in traditional medicine as kakoli, kshirkakoli, jeevak, rishbhak, meda, mahameda, riddhi and vriddhi.These are collectively called ashtavarga and are believed to increase the anti-oxidant activity of amla.

"A 10th century commentary on the ayurveda text Charak Samhita specifically mentions alternatives if the ashtavarga are not available," said J.L.N. Sastry, head of ayurveda research at Dabur India, a company that manufactures traditional remedies, including Chyavanprash.

Scientists at the IIIM have already acquired three of the eight plants - jeevak, mahameda and rishbhak - and are trying to use plant tissue culture technology to grow them in the laboratory's greenhouse. Plant biologists from the IIIM are also collaborating with scientists in other academic institutions and local communities in the Himalayan region, and in parts of northern and northeastern India to look for the other five species.

Though Chyavanprash has been used for centuries, some scientists say that its therapeutic benefits still need to be rigorously assessed. A review of clinical studies involving Chyavanprash published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in August this year had found that while several studies have shown improvements in health status and immunity, most such studies have involved small samples of patients and short periods of observations.

Read more about Chyavanprash here - http://ayurveda-foryou.com/archive/chyavanprash.html