A new trend is emerging in modern medicine. Scientists across the country working on developing new drugs seem to be looking towards ayurveda for remedies. They are trying to obtain molecules from known ayurvedic herbs, to make drugs to treat diseases that do not have cures in modern medicine. Some of the diseases being targeted include heart problems, diabetes, tuberculosis, Parkinson's etc.
The trend was more than evident from the presentations by scientists at the three-day annual conference of Society for Neurochemistry (SNCI) titled 'Rejuvenation neurochemistry: bedside to bench and back to bedside' hosted by the research lab of Central India Institute of Medical Sciences (CIIMS).
In Charaka Samhita, an ancient literature on Indian medicine, certain herbs are known to work well in treatment of Parkinson's disease. But the mechanism of these herbs is yet to be fully understood by modern medicine. However, scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata, have identified harmful as well as beneficial molecules, which can stop the progression of Parkinson's disease in patients.
Though it is too early now to pronounce that the beneficial molecule can actually be developed into a drug, the research so far has shown that the herb contains a good molecule which can arrest the effect of the disease in animals. KP Mohanakumar, chief scientist at IICB, told TOI that he had first identified the bad molecule from the herb (phenylethylamine) from its plant extract. The harmful molecule is also known to be present in chocolates and wine.
But there are other molecules (not being disclosed yet as patent is pending) which are being tried on human cell lines. The Levo Dopa (allopathic medicine) is a good molecule present in the extract, a medicine that is used to check the symptoms of Parkinson's. L dopa is a precursor of dopamine, a neurotransmitter which is lost during the disease in brain.
Mohanakumar has also used Hyascyamus niger to remove beneficial molecules. Development of a drug based on the beneficial molecule may take many years, but even identifying the molecule and trying it on human cells is a promising indication of drugs for Parkinson's in future.
Brain stroke is another brain disease which could have extremely bad, irreversible changes in the body. While scientists like Prakash Babu, head of the department of biotechnology school of life sciences of University of Hyderabad, are trying stem cell therapy to treat the diseases, others like Pawan Kumar from National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, are using herbs like Fagonia Arabica, commonly known as Dhamasa, to act as a neuro-protector and treat clots in deep veins.
Human trials of these drugs are showing good results. Babu says a drug developed from the plant can act as a very cheap replacement to streptokinase. Curcumin, an active component of turmeric, also has neuro-protector abilities. Capscain (derived from chilli) has proved to be a good pain reliever.
Dr Jayant Deopujari, an ayurvedic practitioner from CIIMS, has also been working on Dhamasa and got good results in animal models. He has characterized the molecule, obtained from partially purified extract of the whole plant, that can act as a clot dissolver.
Paturu Kondaiah, a scientist from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, working on tumours and Dr Rajpal Kashyap, senior research consultant at CIIMS laboratory, also presented papers on the first day. Kashyap presented his work on tuberculosis of the brain and the kits developed by his lab for detection of latent tuberculosis.
Source:TNN
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