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News wise — Eastern and Oriental medicine practitioners have long known that Ashwagandha, an herb commonly used in the 5,000-year old practice of Ayurvedic medicine, helps fight disease when used in combination with a liquid known as Anupana. Anupana may be derived from many different substances, from olive oil, to beer, to ghee. Each liquid is thought to have different properties, so an Ayurveda practitioner selects an Anupana that has the qualities that best fit a given situation. Traditionally, one method of administering Ashwagandha and milk was to boil them together.

A team of American researchers is examining whether drinking whole cows’ milk with the herb can increase the body’s white blood cells, which help boost immunity. They have found that it does.

This first-of-its-kind study was led by Heather Zwickey of the National College of Natural Medicine’s Helfgott Research Institute, Portland, OR, and her colleagues Jeremy Mikolai, Andrew Erlandsen, Andrew Murison, Will Gregory, Padma Raman-Caplan and Kimberly Brown. Mikolai, Erlandsen and Murison will be presenting the team’s findings during the 23rd annual meeting of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP; www.Naturopathic.org), being held August 13-16, 2008 in Phoenix, AZ. The full findings of the study are being published this fall.

Background:

According to Zwickey, investigations into herbal remedies rarely take into account how the herb has been administered throughout the tradition of the medicine’s life cycle, such as coupled or mixed with water, tea, or oil. While many consumers today may consume the herb with water or no liquid at all, researchers know that Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera (WS)), has typically been taken with an Anupana substance. It is believed to aid in the digestion and effectiveness of the plant.

To determine if an anupana substance would help enhance Ashwagandha’s immune properties, the research team used milk in a co-administered intervention along with the herb extract. Cows’ milk was chosen over goats’ milk and other potential substances because Ayurvedic medicine considers it to be a strengthening, nutritive driver for medicines. This made it an appropriate choice for an immunological study. A follow-up study will compare the results of the herb extract alone to the combination of herb with milk and to placebo controls.
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THRISSUR: The Thrissur Corporation and the district unit of the Ayurveda Medical Association of India will jointly organise an eco-friendly and bio-medical method of disease prevention by fumigation of herbal drugs prescribed in Ayurvedic texts - dhooparaksha - at Swaraj Round here on Tuesday afternoon. Thousands of people from all strata of life - students, scouts, NCC, teachers, employees, politicians and common man - would take part in the dooparaksha programme.

Programme coordinator K G Viswanathan, who is the superintendent of Thaikkattussery Ayurveda College, said that dooparaksha is an effective method of mosquito eradication prescribed in Ayurvedic texts and it was practised by several generations.

He said that since Kerala is facing new threats from vector-born diseases, especially through mosquitoes, it is the need of the hour to find effective ways of mosquito eradication by incorporating the modern and ancient knowledge.

Viswanathan said that as per the programme planned 100 tables would be placed throughout the Swaraj Round. On each of these tables, a mixture of Ayurvedic ingredients kept in earthen pots would be burnt to generate fume.

He said that the Ayurvedic ingredients in the mixture are: neam leaves, Gulgulu, Vayambu, mustard and nalmugha pullu. He said that as per Ayurvedic texts fumigation of this mixture on alternate days would eradicate mosquitoes from the area totally.

For the programme on Tuesday, the state owned Oushadhi provides free-of-cost the required ayurvedic ingredients. He said that dooparaksha programmes in all the 52 divisions are under consideration of the Thrissur Corporation .

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Thiruvananthapuram: Allopathy doctor’s organizations have decided to join hands to seek an exclusive Medical University for modern medicine. For this all the associations working in the modern medicine sector will meet on August 15 to have a detailed discussion.

The meeting would be held at the Indian Medical Association state branch headquarters in which the state office-bearers of Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA), Kerala government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) and other organizations would attend.

The central executive of the KGMCTA that met on Sunday decided to join hands with the KGMOA, IMA and other organizations to reach to a broader consensus on this issue.

With the LDF giving nod for setting up a combined university for Allopathy, Ayurveda and homoeo, the associations working in the modern medicine sector had expressed concern. Though these associations are not against the setting up of universities for Ayurveda and homoeo, they are against combining it. Since it would not benefit any of the system of medicines. The associations are also planning to meet the LDF leaders to press their demand. The LDF decision to establish a single medical university for three systems of medicine was against the Dr B Ekbal committee report. The report had said that the experience of the medical universities in other states reveal the fact that because of the mixing up of different systems focused approach to the research and educational needs of the different systems could not be realized.

The report had clearly urged the government to consider the establishment of a university for other systems of medicines either jointly as Ayush University (Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy) or separately for each discipline (like Ayurveda University).

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A team of researchers led by an Indian scientist has found that an herbal extract of an Indian Frankincense Salai, commonly found in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, can effectively reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

The new study led by Siba Raychaudhuri, a faculty member of the University of California, Davis, in the United States found that arthritis patients taking the herbal remedy showed significant improvement in as little as seven days.

“The high incidence of adverse affects associated with currently available medications has created great interest in the search for an effective and safe alternative treatment,” she said.

During the study, the team conducted randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of 70 patients. The extract the researchers used was enriched with 30 pct AKBA (3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid), which is thought to be the most active ingredient In the plant.

“AKBA has anti-inflammatory properties, and we have shown that Salai (also known as Boswellia serrata) enriched with AKBA can be an effective treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee,” she added.

B. serrata has been used for thousands of years in the Indian system of traditional medicine known as “Ayurveda”.

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Delhi, India, July 23, 2008 –(PR.com)– RNCOS has recently added a new Market Research Report titled, “Booming Medical Tourism in India” to its report gallery. The report provides a complete insight into the Indian medical tourism market. It evaluates the past, present and future scenario of the Indian medical tourism market and discusses the key factors which are making India a favorable medical tourism destination. Both statistics and trends regarding market size, tourist arrivals, infrastructure, accreditations, drivers and restraints have been thoroughly discussed in the report.

The research has found that India represents the most potential medical tourism market in the world. Factors such as low cost, scale and range of treatments provided by India differentiate it from other medical tourism destinations. The growth in India’s medical tourism market is expected to serve as a boon for several associated industries also, including hotel industry, medical equipment industry and pharmaceutical industry.

Key Findings

- India offers vast range of medical treatments - from simple dental procedures to the complex cardiac surgeries. Patients can save 60%-95% of their treatment costs by undergoing treatment in India.

- Wellness tourism, comprising of spa, yoga and Ayurveda, has a very bright future in India as foreigners are increasingly flocking to India to seek physical and mental healing.

- In 2007, around 272,000 medical tourists visited India for medical tourism and together, they brought US$ 656 Million in revenues.

- Lack of proper hospital accreditation system and inefficient laws against malpractice can be the biggest factor limiting the growth of India’s medical tourism Industry.

- India enjoys a considerable superiority over both Singapore and Thailand as preferred medical destination.

- Both foreign employers and insurance firms are expected to outsource large share of medical treatments to India.

- The Indian medical tourism market is expected to generate over US$ 2.5 Billion in revenues by 2012.

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Bangalore-based Himalaya Drug Company, which has pioneered the contemporization of Ayurveda through the use of scientific research, recently signed an MoU with the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore (UAS, B) to facilitate collaborative research on medicinal herbs and plants with a view to discovering new therapeutic drugs, building a corpus of knowledge on herbs and preserving endangered herbs and plants.

Himalaya will study herbs and plants in specific regions to understand therapeutic benefits and differences in therapeutic properties of herbs across regions; prepare joint research projects; while UAS will assist in training of farmers to promote better agricultural practices, study and documentation of rare, endangered herbs; facilitate joint research projects on tissue culture of rare and endangered herbs and assist Himalaya in setting up a herb garden that will be a centre for national and international research activities.

In addition, UAS will provide training to farmers under Himalaya’s contract farming Programme, assist Himalaya in setting up a botanical garden which would serve as a centre for national and international research activities and provide technical assistance and education to Himalaya scientists as the company moves towards its process of organic certification.

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Enters into a JV with Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Treatment Services, Kochi

Travel Org has entered into a Joint Venture (JV) with Nagarjuna Ayurvedic Treatment Services (NATS) in Kochi to tap the wellness segment, especially those seeking Ayurveda treatments in India, US, UK and Dubai. Travel org has announced that it will soon launch Crest Ayurveda, a new division of its medical services to cater to the Wellness Tourism segment. Crest Ayurveda will offer services and treatments at five and four-star hotels and resorts. In India the division will focus on Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and other major cities.

Commenting on the Joint Venture, Venkatesh K, CEO, and Travel Org offered, “Through this JV, we will handle the marketing of Crest Ayurveda and infrastructure aspect, while NATS will provide for the medical treatment services. We have been convinced that Nagarjuna Ayurveda serves to propagate and popularize Ayurveda with keen focus on authentic Ayurveda treatments thereby incorporating modern research and technology to answer current health problems with world class standards.”

Travel Org’s subsidiary - The Signature Crest, a leading chain of fully furnished serviced apartments is also expanding internationally. According to Venkatesh, a six-room villa started operations recently in London and plans are afoot to set-up luxurious service apartments in Singapore, Dubai, Colombo and Kandy. The properties will target the corporate segment offering them all services with an Indian touch.

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New Delhi: Sting discovered it first; Madonna ushered it into the Celebrity Hall of Fame and now the ministry of tourism wants to ensure that there are enough trainers to get ordinary tourists enthusiastic on to its miraculous powers of well being.

The ministry plans to promote institutes to develop skills in yoga and traditional systems of medicine to position India as the global destination for wellness.

The first institute of this kind will come up in Sikkim. The institution is a partnership between the state government, ministry of tourism and the ministry of health.

“We are in dialogue with the department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (Ayush) to draw up plans to produce the content for trainers,” a senior official of the ministry said. “Sikkim has taken the lead, but we hope more such institutes will come up in the future.” “These institutes will provide an opportunity to learn from a place that is recognized by the government. This way we can even guarantee the quality of people in the business.”

This institute will not only impart skills on essential asanas, but the healing touch of Indian medicines. “The focus will be not only on Ayurveda,” the official said.
“There are other kinds of medicines too and the idea is that we want to promote different Indian ways of healing.” China has already cashed in on its healing-products market and a recent white paper claimed that the industrial output value of traditional Chinese medicine touched $25.98 billion last year.

Yoga — which Jennifer Aniston has claimed to have saved her after her split with Brad Pitt— has been one of India’s most successful exports to the US, but its effectiveness has caught the imagination even in South Africa. On popular demand, the ministry of tourism is organizing a food festival with a yoga practitioner thrown in.

“Ayush has concentrated only on very theoretical knowledge so far,” the official said. “In these institutes, we will focus on developing core competency to look at India as a wellness destination to cater to a market.” While the ministry of tourism so far has only been promoting destinations in India that specialize in rejuvenation skills, this is for the first time that it is planning to get involved in manpower training.

“The ministry of tourism is also in talks with the private sector so that the students that come out of this institute get fascinated,”’ a senior official said. With healing the new exhortation even in India as countless spas springing up across metropolitan cities, the ministry hopes that its trained Indian healing practitioners will get employment.

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Lucknow: There is new hope for those suffering from diseases like paralysis, osteo-arthritis, hair-fall and skin disorders. The “Kaya Chikitsa” department of the Faculty of Ayurveda in the Institute of Medical Sciences at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) now offers treatment of these diseases through the leech therapy. Ayurveda experts at the BHU have been successfully using blood-sucking leeches to treat human ailments, including paralysis and osteo-arthritis.

“We have treated many complex cases of osteo-arthritis, skin disorders like leucoderma, alopecia (type of baldness), paralysis induced by brain thrombosis, besides filarial and diabetic wounds which usually take time to heal,” says Dr O.P. Singh, an expert in the leech-based prick and suck therapy.

The leeches, that often feared by humans for their blood sucking power, embody chemical enzymes which can work as catalyst in treatment of human ailments, by diluting blood clots in the infected body part, reducing the pain of the diseased part and ultimately improving the blood circulation in the problematic body area.

“Once the leech is allowed to prick and suck blood from infected body part of the patient, it not only sucks away the infected blood, but also salivates the treating attributes of the chemical enzymes into the patient’s body,’’ Dr Singh explained.

Giving the details of the procedure of the treatment process, Dr Singh said the leeches, before being administered on the patient’s body, were kept in a bowl of turmeric water that act as disinfectant and activating agent for the disease-treating leeches. The leeches are then set upon the infected part of the patient’s body to prick and suck blood.

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Lancaster - Maharishi Vedic Health Center has just launched a new series of Ayurveda health seminars and open houses for both medical professionals and the general public. Each seminar will focus on time-tested and evidence-based Ayurvedic solutions for prevention and reversal of specific health challenges such as heart health, poor digestion, ADHD, diabetes, women’s health, and more. The free open houses will feature a presentation on the fundamentals of Maharishi Ayurveda and a guided tour of the historic 1901 Thayer Mansion.

The topics will be presented by the center’s medical professionals, resident vaidya (Ayurvedic physician from India) and other senior staff members. Each seminar includes main point charts, Q-and-A, and breakout sessions for mastering the material.

Maharishi Ayurveda is the complete revival of the authentic science of Ayurveda, brought to our modern age by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and a group of world’s leading Ayurvedic experts from India. It offers an integrated consciousness-based approach to health, which takes into account all aspects of life — from our innermost self, to the mind, body, behavior, and environment. Health, according to Maharishi Ayurveda, is not just the absence of disease but is a natural state of wholeness in which mind, body, and consciousness are balanced and functioning together harmoniously.

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