The World Spice Congress hosted at Mumbai by the Spices Board of India saw the launch of a cardamom-based nutraceutical called Recovereez. Zum Heilen Diagnostic & Therapeutics, a startup company based in Thrissur in Kerala has developed the product and formulation and has been awarded the Indian patent. The product was launched by Amar Singh Bhatia IAS -Chairman Spices Board, D Sathyan, IFS – Secretary Spices Board, and Dr Remahsree, Director, Spices Board.

Reportedly, a comprehensive clinical study conducted by Dr Varkey and his team has revealed that cardamom has profound anti-inflammatory activities, solidifying its potential as a valuable addition in treatment of various conditions ranging from respiratory health to cancer.

The ongoing studies being done by Dr Varkey along with Dr Remashree and her team at the Indian Cardamom Research Institute (ICRI) under the Spices Board of India also substantiated cardamom’s anti-inflammatory properties applicable in the treatment of triple receptor negative breast cancer, a variant of breast cancer that often has poor response to current treatments.

Dr Varkey said,  “Our research sheds light on cardamom’s untapped potential as a natural anti-inflammatory agent and its application across many diseases with a simultaneous monitoring of the inflammatory genes that give confidence to the treating doctors. We have developed novel molecular diagnostic tests done from saliva that measure gene markers that are capable of giving the doctor and the patient information on the response to   the cardamom-based nutraceuticals. The implications for such an integrated approach are unique and immense, offering a promising avenue for both preventive measures and therapeutic interventions.

Indian Cardamom Research Institute is collaborating with Zum Heilen on completion of clinical trials in breast cancer to then offer this product to the global market as an adjunct treatment along with standard care

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Amrita School of Ayurveda and Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth, Ministry of AYUSH have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further develop the AyurCeL (online portal) and create a repository of clinical cases in Ayurveda. This collaboration will facilitate the generation of practice-based evidence by helping clinicians report clinical outcomes systematically supported by multimedia. The MoU was signed by Dr Kousthubha Upadhyaya on behalf of Rashtriya Ayurved Vidyapeeth and Swami Sankaramritananda Puri on behalf of Amrita School of Ayurveda.

The Ayurveda Clinical e-Learning (AYURCeL) project aims to fill this gap by creating a web platform to make available the clinical experiences of successful Ayurveda clinicians in a digital form and format that will facilitate continuous clinical learning based on well-documented case studies.

Under the MoU, the collaboration between Amrita School of Ayurveda, Kerala, and RAV (Rashtriya Ayurveda Vidyapeeth), will be established in the area of mutual interest to both the institutions for submission of selected clinical case reports of the Certificate course of RAV (CRAV) students after due verification from their corresponding Gurus to the AyurCeL portal for preliminary screening every month. The Amrita School of Ayurveda, Kerala shall examine the submitted cases as per their selection criterion and update the case report and further follow-ups and after vetting done by the experts shall publish the report in the portal.

Furthermore, the Amrita School of Ayurveda, Kerala will arrange for the training for RAV- Gurus and Shishyas for preparing model Case Reports. The RAV shall organize such training programs after mutual consultation and agreement. The modalities of data exchange including finance may be evolved and decided by both institutes after mutual consultation and agreement. Both institutes will respect and obey regulations of each other on a mutual basis.

Dr. P Rammanohar, Principal Investigator of the project and Research Director, Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda (ĀCĀRA), School of Ayurveda said, “The first step to generate evidence is from clinical practice. AyurCeL will facilitate the generation of practice-based evidence by helping clinicians report clinical outcomes systematically supported by multimedia. AyurCeL aids clinicians to transform their clinical notes into a systematic documentation. Thus, this tool will become very helpful for busy clinicians. This collaboration will prove to be a boon for the Ayurveda fraternity nationally as it will create a repository of clinical cases in Ayurveda, which will greatly help the research and development of the Ayurvedic system of medicine. The AyurCeL portal will acknowledge the contributions of RAV in all publications and reports in which information is sourced through data provided by RAV.”

The modalities of exchange of data including finance may be evolved and decided by both institutes after mutual consultation and agreement. Both institutes will respect and obey regulations of each other on a mutual basis.

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The Ministry of AYUSH has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to work together for the promotion of Medical Value Travel (MVT) in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

According to the MoU, the Ministry of AYUSH will provide training to ITDC officials to sensitise them about the Medical Value Travel (MVT) in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine, an AYUSH ministry statement said.

It will identify tourist circuits, where there is immense scope to promote MVT in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine and provide all the technical know-how from time to time to ITDC, it said.

ITDC, on the suggestion of the Ministry of AYUSH, will include historical heritage sites of Indian systems of medicine in tourist destinations under “Knowledge Tourism and may develop films or literature useful to tourists.” It will explore establishing Ayurveda and Yoga centres in the Hotels run by ITDC and will organise sensitisation workshops in collaboration.

The implementation and progress of the MoU will be monitored by a Joint Working Group (JWG) co-chaired by representatives from MoA and ITDC. The JWG will also identify the best practices adopted by Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand etc. to promote themselves as a preferred destination for MVT, the statement said.

In the recently concluded First Health Working Group meeting of the G20 India presidency at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala G20 delegates deliberated on opportunities and challenges to promote MVT in India. MVT has seen significant growth in India in recent years. According to the report ‘The Global Wellness Economy: Looking beyond COVID’ by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the global wellness economy will grow at 9.9 per cent annually, the statement said.

The AYUSH-based healthcare and wellness economy is estimated to grow to 70 billion dollars by 2025.

Edits by EP News Bureau

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The Pharma and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) launched Jan Aushadhi Special Chyawanprash under Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) in New Delhi yesterday.

The product will be available at all Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) across the country at a reasonable price.

Chyawanprash Special is a potent antioxidant paste, prepared through the synergistic blending of around 50 herbs and spices.

Edits by EP News Bureau

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The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) have launched the Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching professionals (SMART) programme aimed to boost scientific research in priority healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.

The programme was launched yesterday by Vaidya Jayant Deopujari, Chairman, NCISM, and Professor Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS, in the presence of Professor BS Prasad, President, Board of Ayurveda, NCISM, and other senior officials.

While highlighting key points of ‘SMART’, Professor Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS, said, “The proposed initiative is conceptualised with an objective to identify, support and promote innovative research ideas in healthcare research areas including osteoarthritis, iron deficiency anaemia, chronic bronchitis, dyslipidemia, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus, psoriasis, generalised anxiety disorder and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).

He also said that the eligible Ayurveda academic institutions may apply by 10th January, 2023. All details regarding contact information, eligibility criteria and application process have been shared to all recognised academic institutions and hospitals through NCISM.

Edits by EP News Bureau

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Two of the institutes under the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) of the Ministry of AYUSH, namely, Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI), New Delhi, and Central Ayurveda Research Institute, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, have been accredited with NABH and NABL accreditations, respectively.

CARI, New Delhi, was established in the year 1979, and is dedicated to clinical research in Ayurveda and extends healthcare services through special OPDs in Ayurveda as General OPD, Preventive Cardiology and Lifestyle Changes, ENT OPD, Geriatric OPD, Balroga, Sandhiroga, Clinical Psychology and Marma OPD.

CARI, Jhansi, is a state-of-the-art Quality Control (QC) laboratory (Chemistry, Microbiology, Pharmacognosy), Ayurvedic pharmacy, central herbarium and museum, and National Raw Drugs Repository (NRDR).

Apart from these two CCRAS institutes, National Ayurveda Research Institute for Panchakarma (NARIP), Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur, Kerala has also got NABL M(EL)T accreditation for its clinical laboratory services.

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The Ministry of AYUSH has taken various steps for assuring quality control of AYUSH drugs in the country, Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of AYUSH, informed Rajya Sabha, yesterday.

He said, “Under the National AYUSH Mission (NAM) from 2014-2021, apart from other services, grant-in-aid were also provided for strengthening of state government ASU&H pharmacies. At present, Central Sector Scheme for AYUSH Oushadhi Gunavatta evam Uttpadan Samvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY) has been implemented for the year 2021-2026.”

He further informed that the components of the AYUSH AOGUSY scheme are strengthening and upgradation of AYUSH pharmacies and drug-testing laboratories to achieve higher standards, pharmacovigilance of ASU&H drugs including surveillance of misleading advertisements, strengthening of central and state regulatory frameworks, including technical human resource and capacity-building programmes for AYUSH drugs and support for development of standards and accreditation/certification of AYUSH products and materials in collaboration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Quality Control of India (QCI) and other relevant scientific institutions and industrial R&D centres.

In addition, he notified that in 2021, Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H), Ghaziabad, a sub-ordinate office of the Ministry of AYUSH, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with American Herbal Pharmacopeia, United States (US) for developing standards of Ayurveda and other Indian systems of medicine on international standards. Further, PCIM&H and Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) have also signed an MoU for developing “One Herb One Standard.

Furthermore, to facilitate exports, Ministry of AYUSH has encouraged Certification of Pharma Products (CoPP), as per WHO Guidelines, for herbal products. Quality Certifications Scheme implemented by QCI for grant of AYUSH Premium mark to Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani products on the basis of third-party evaluation of quality in accordance with the status of compliance to international standards. Twenty seven state drug-testing laboratories have been supported for strengthening their infrastructural and functional capacity. As on 13th December, 2022, 81 laboratories are approved or licensed under the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 for quality testing of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs and raw materials, Sonowal mentioned.

Further to it, he emphasised that pharmacovigilance centres for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs set up in different parts of the country under the Central Scheme of the Ministry of AYUSH are mandated to monitor and report the misleading advertisements to the respective state regulatory authorities. A three-tier structure comprising a National Pharmacovigilance Co-ordination Centre (NPvCC), Intermediary Pharmacovigilance Centres (IPvCs) and Peripheral Pharmacovigilance Centres (PPvCs) is established. Objectionable advertisements are being reported to the respective State Licensing Authorities by PPvC at regular intervals.

“Total nine posts i.e. four posts of Drug Inspectors (one in each stream- Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy); four posts of Assistant Drug Controller (one each for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy) and one post of Deputy Drug Controller (ASU&H) has been created for setting up of the office of the Central AYUSH Drugs Controller in the Ministry of AYUSH. The ministry has appointed its nine officers for the additional charge of the above-mentioned nine posts in addition to their normal duties in the Ministry of AYUSH, without any additional remuneration vide gazette notification S.O. 4562(E) dated 27.09.2022. The ministry is in the process of filling the nine posts created for setting up the office of Central AYUSH Drugs Controller on regular basis in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC),” he said.

Apart from it, he also spoke about the AYUSH Grid Project that envisages digitisation of service delivery across six functional areas — health services, education, research, drug administration, medicinal plants, and Ministry of AYUSH oversight, along with capacity building and media outreach.

Some of the objectives of the project are enhancing access to AYUSH services like health services, education, research, etc. in India and at the global level; ensuring holistic coverage of the AYUSH sector by digital solutions; increasing digital collaboration and exchange of the best practices among AYUSH stakeholders and attaining highest possible level of health and well-being as per the National Health Policy 2017.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday virtually inaugurated three national AYUSH institutes in Ayurveda, Homoeopathy and Unani. These are All India Institute of Ayurveda in Goa, National Institute of Unani Medicine in Ghaziabad and National Institute of Homoeopathy in Delhi.

The Prime Minister was participating in the valedictory ceremony of the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) at Panjim, Goa. The four-day deliberation at the 9th WAC provided a global platform for national and global stakeholders, industry leaders, practitioners, traditional healers, educationists and manufacturers for engaging in intellectual exchange to strengthen the Ayurveda sector.

The valedictory ceremony was attended by P S Sreedharan Pillai, Governor, Goa; Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister, Goa; Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Cabinet Minister, AYUSH and Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai, Minister of State, AYUSH, and Women and Child Development; and Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (MoS), Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, among others.

Addressing the gathering, PM Modi, said, “We need to continuously work toward the documentation of ‘data-based evidence,’ we had Ayurveda’s results as well as effects in our favour, but we were lagging behind in terms of evidence. Our medical data, research and journals have to be brought together to verify every claim on modern scientific parameters.”

He also notified that over 30 countries have recognised Ayurveda as a traditional medicine system, and we have to further promote Ayurveda in every country of the world. “Ayurveda is not just about treatment, it also promotes wellness. The world is now returning to our traditional medicine and Yoga and Ayurveda are the new hope for the world,” he emphasised.

On the occasion, Sonowal said, “AYUSH Ministry is committed to imparting AYUSH health systems into day-to-day life of the common man by strengthening systems in health as well as the education sectors to the people of India. We want AYUSH system to become a part of every household not only in India, but globally, and are trying our best to fulfill dream of ‘Heal in India.’”

He further said, “With the rapid strides in the AYUSH sector, in India’s Azadi ka Amrit Kaal, I firmly believe that under the guidance of PM Shri Narendra Modi, it will certainly be ‘AYUSH Ka Amrit Kaal.’

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Kerala Ayurveda its first patent for a proprietary herbal formulation at the 9th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo 2022 in Goa, a statement from the company notified.

The patent covers the efficacy of the herbal composition in the management of metabolic syndrome disorders such as type-II diabetes mellitus, obesity and lipid profile management, the statement mentioned.

It also stated that a statistical framework was conducted on the formulation using the rigors of modern scientific validation, including phytochemical and marker analysis, extensive pre-clinical testing at Renovel Discoveries in the United States (US), and a pharma rigor double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

According to the statement, the patent also covers the efficacy of the herbal composition in the management of metabolic syndrome disorders such as type-II diabetes mellitus, obesity and lipid profile management, as well as its use in the preparation of food supplements, pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals in appropriate dosage forms such as beverages/liquids, capsules, tablets, granules, jellies, to mention a few.

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The 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) began in Goa yesterday with a call for cooperation and networking in the country’s traditional wellness system amid an unprecedented governmental promotion that has won India its first UN outpost anywhere on the world’s health map.

The congress, being held from 8th to 11th December, was attended by close to 5,000 registered participants that include more than 400 foreign delegates from 53 countries.

Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister, Goa, said that WAC is being held at a time when Ayurveda is becoming increasingly popular overseas. “It is our duty to propagate the merits of this health system and enable further exploration of its benefits in a wider range within the sector,” he added.

Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, noted that the heritage value of Ayurveda goes on to prove its efficacy, and this system goes beyond mere treatment of diseases. “This branch of knowledge gives us idea about the right ways of life. It relies on the principle of customised medicine, often relying on optimal intake of drugs,” he said.

Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, revealed that central government’s budget outlay for traditional medicines, including Ayurveda, rose five times during the past eight years, during which the manufacturing in sector went up by six times. “When AYUSH was set up in 2014, the amount earmarked for traditional wellness systems was Rs 691 crore. Today, it stands at Rs 3,600 crore. Similarly, a CII study put the value of production in the sector at Rs 3 billion dollars, which went on to rise to 18 billion dollars,” he pointed out.

In the summer of 2020, when the pandemic gave the world its worst health scare in recent times, India found its traditional medicines capable of resisting the new coronavirus. “Our COVID management efforts worked well, prompting as many as 90 per cent of the country’s population to use alternative drugs,” said Kotecha.

The 9th WAC is also being attended by the WHO for the first time. The four-day event features six plenary sessions and five concurrent sessions besides 20 associate events such as International Delegates Assembly, WHO event on Traditional Medicines and Guru-Shishya Meet. These are besides 3,800 abstracts for oral, e-book and poster presentations.

The event is also hosting a buyer-seller meet displaying quality products and services from Ayurvedic drug manufacturers and wellness institutions.

Launched in 2002, WAC provides a global platform for all the stakeholders, including industry leaders, practitioners, traditional healers, educationists, students, medicine manufacturers, growers of medicinal plants and marketing strategists, for networking and engaging in intellectual exchange to strengthen the Ayurveda sector, envision its future, and facilitate interaction between professionals and consumers to boost Ayurveda commerce.

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