AYUSH in All Indian research council

Good Clinical Practice Guidelines published by AYUSH Ministry for clinical trials of Ayurveda, Siddha & Unani drugs

There are four Research Councils under the Ministry of AYUSH Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Unani Medicines (CCRUM), Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) and Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) with the mandate to undertake research towards discovery of new drugs under AYUSH systems of medicine.

Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathic drugs are regulated through the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, which is a Central Act uniformly applicable throughout the country. Rules 85-A to 85-I and Rules 151 to 159 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 provide the regulatory provisions for grant of licenses to manufacture Homoeopathic and Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs and promote their safety and quality respectively. The standards of Homoeopathic medicines to be complied with are prescribed in Schedule II of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs in Rule 168 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945.

There are two appellate Laboratories, namely, Pharmacopoeial Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeial Laboratory (HPL) set up by the Central Government in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, which are functioning as standard setting cum drug-testing laboratories for Indian Medicines and Homoeopathy respectively.

Ministry of AYUSH has also published Good Clinical Practice Guidelines for conducting clinical trial for new Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani (ASU) drugs.

The Council for Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) also have their in-house programmes to develop herbal products based on AYUSH knowledge.

The National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) supports Research and Development projects on various aspect of medicinal plants like Survey-cum-documentation of medicinal plants and associated traditional knowledge on medicinal plants; standardization of Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACPs); development of Agro-techniques, development of phytochemical reference standards, monographs; laying down standards of quality, safety and efficacy, and quality assurance.

The other departments/organizations of Government of India viz. Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) also supports Research and Development activities on various aspects of Medicinal Plants.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in written reply in Lok Sabha today.

AYUSH into AAYUSSH

AAYUSH or AYUSSH? AYUSH minister to consider

AYUSH, an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, could do with a change of name to include more traditional schools of medicine prevalent in India.

Written by Avishek G Dastidar  New Delhi Published:December 19, 2015 2:43 am (The Indian Express)

What’s in a name? A lot, when it comes to propagation of traditional branches of medicine by the government, as the Lok Sabha Friday saw MPs making demands to alter the name of the newly formed AYUSH ministry. AYUSH, an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, could do with a change of name to include more traditional schools of medicine prevalent in India for “thousands of years”, two MPs, from Andhra Pradesh and Ladakh, demanded in Lok Sabha during Question Hour before Shripad Naik, who heads the new ministry. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1429260192255-0'); }); Rising to ask a question, TDP MP Ravindra Babu demanded that an extra ‘A’ be added to the name to make it AAYUSH to recognise acupuncture. “There is an Indian acupuncture medical system wherein there is no administration of any medicine; there are no side effects… It is relieving a lot of small ailments like backache, sciatica, cervical pain,” he said. “I already made a request to the minister to include acupuncture as part of AYUSH, so that it will become AAYUSH. I would request the hon. minister, through you, Madam (Speaker), to include acupuncture in AYUSH so that our native medicines get encouragement in the international arena,” he said, drawing laughter from both sides of the political divide. Babu claimed that acupuncture was invented in India and adopted by China. “It has already gone to China; it has become very popular. Please include acupuncture also in AYUSH,” he added, as a few MPs backed him. Naik replied that his ministry would consider the matter. “A lot of ‘pathies’ seek our recognition,” he said. For Thupstan Chhewang, BJP MP from Ladakh, the name AYUSH should have an extra ‘S’, as in “AYUSSH”, to encourage Sowa-Rigpa, the traditional Tibetan medicine practiced, according to Chhewang, in Ladakh and other Himalayan areas. “The ministry has not done anything to encourage it. One way is to add an ‘S’ to the name and also make a university for its research,” he said. Steering clear of assuring that his ministry’s name would be tweaked, Naik said the work to recognise Sowa-Rigpa has “progressed a lot”. “I can say that it will get recognition and then, wherever it is in vogue, the government will encourage it,” he said.

G-5 The Ayush Medicines

Ayush 'festival of wellness' in Mangaluru on Saturday
Bengaluru, Dec 17, 2015, dhns
deccanherald Thursday 17 December 2015
News updated at 2:21 PM IST

A ‘Festival of Wellness’, aimed at revitalising the Ayush sector (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidda and Homoeopathy), will be held in Mangaluru on December 19 and 20.

The two-day Ayush Habba, organised by the State Ayush department, the Dakshina Kannada district administration and the Ayush Foundation, Mangaluru, is expected to attract over 25,000 participants, Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Dr Shivarama Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama has been chosen as the venue for the event, which will act as a catalyst for promoting traditional systems of medicine by bringing them on a common platform in an attempt to popularise the Ayush systems among the general public, he said.

The festival will kick off with a walkathon on December 17 and culminate in a ‘Yoga for all’ session by students of various Ayush schools and colleges.

One of the main attractions of the Habba will be the Ayush food festival where nutritious organic food, including varieties of traditional Mangalurean cuisine, will be served.

There will be a free health camp, yoga sessions, lifestyle workshops, Ayush quiz, home remedies and diet regimes, agro meet and herbal exhibition, and cultural programmes.

Various breeds of cattle, along with the benefits of Panchagaya medicines - use of cow products such as ‘gomutra’, ‘gomaya’, ‘goksheera’, ‘godadhi’ and ‘goritha’ - will also be showcased. Cosmetic clinics will be set up where experts will perform beauty enhancement therapies.

Khader said Ayush Arogya cards will be distributed at the festival, which can be used by patients at various Ayush college hospitals to avail medicines and treatments at a discount.

AYUSH action plan 2015-2016

Action Plan to Promote Ayush Systems of Medicine
northern voice online 16.12.2015

Action Plan to Promote Ayush Systems of Medicine

Government of India has approved and notified National AYUSH Mission (NAM) on 29th September 2014 in the States/UTs during 12th Plan. The basic objective of NAM is to promote AYUSH medical systems through cost effective AYUSH services, strengthening of educational institutions, facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani& Homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs and sustainable availability of ASU&H raw materials. Under NAM, there is provision for financial assistance to States/UTs for its different components/activities.

The three new Institutes viz. All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi, North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy, Shillong and North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh are in advance stage of construction. The details of these Institutes are as under:-

(i) All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi.

An apex Institute of Ayurveda with 200 bedded referral hospital to impart education in the field of Ayurveda at M.D. and Ph.Dlevel.

(ii) North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy (NEIAH), Shillong:

A state of the art Institute consisting of Ayurveda College and Homoeopathy College along with attached hospital of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy of 100 beds and 50 beds. The institute will provide under-graduate, post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral teaching.

(iii)North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine(NEIFM), Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh:

It is a Centre of Excellence and Apex Research Centre for all aspects of Folk Medicine knowledge with linkage and collaboration with other research. The objective of the Institute is to provide better medical/clinical facilities in North Eastern Region.

Under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM), Government of India provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs.1688.88 lakhs to the Government of Rajasthan in current financial year for different components/activities under NAM, as per their State Annual Action Plan. In addition, a sum of Rs.320.17 Lakhs has been provided to the State Government of Rajasthan under Central Sector Scheme of “Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” in the current financial year.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH,
Shri ShripadYesso Naik in written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
…………

traditional medicine into the domain of allopathic science

Ministry of AYUSH to integrate allopathic and traditional forms of medicine
Friday, 11 December 2015 - 8:10am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: dna | From the print edition

Bringing traditional medicine into the domain of allopathic science, the ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) has announced several projects looking into its "efficacy" in various ailments. In Parliament, minister for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said that the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy had undertaken clinical studies on "chikungunya and influenza like illnesses" and the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Sciences (CCRAS) and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicines(CCRUM) had signed MOUs with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for joint collaborative projects on Ayurvedic and Unani formulations related to treatment of Dengue and Tuberculosis (TB) respectively.

Speaking to dna, Director General of the ICMR, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, said that there was much government encouragement to find ways of integrating allopathic and traditional forms of medicine. ICMR, she said would be responsible for generating and collecting sound data and evidence.

The MOU with the Unani council was signed two years ago under the aegis of the then DG, VM Katoch, who had written to all other institutions to cooperate. Swaminathan, then Director at the National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis, had held meetings with the Unani council to go over the compounds they said might help in TB.

"However, we decided that the treatment for tuberculosis had to be allopathic," said Swaminathan. What Unani could offer was relief with side effects, help build a patient's appetite, weight, make their jaundiced liver healthier.
This resulted in formulations of protocols and, so far, trials are being carried for the safety of these unani formulations in "animal models". The next step will be to test the interaction of the formulations with existing TB drugs, on volunteers. If that goes well, then the trials will move to giving these formulations to TB patients.

"The dengue project is recent and came about after the recent outbreak," said Swaminathan. she recounted that the Ayurveda council had advertised a list of herbal remedies for dengue during the outbreak, and Swaminathan spoke to Ayush officials about validating these remedies. "If they work then we can out them out in a global market," she said.

Due to this conversation, two teams comprising allopathic and ayurvedic professionals were set up to, again, form protocols and chart a way of carrying out these studies in allopathic hospitals. "Currently it's in the preliminary stages and we're looking at four to five hospitals across India to test certain ayurvedic formulations. Right now they're testing the batches for purity and quality," said Swaminathan. After this, they need to approach the ethics committee.

"Ayurveda hasn't offered a cure for dengue, but increased symptomatic relief," she added saying that maybe antiviral activity could be observed in these formulations. "We need to have such clinical trials, similar to how siddha medicine is being tested in a lab in Chennai for antiviral activities."

President bats for AYUSH

President bats for AYUSH centres at IITs Mukherjee, who is head of all higher education institutes funded by the Centre, said this during the conference of all heads of IITs, NITs and central universities in the first week of November. -

New Delhi Published:December 7, 2015 1:38 am The IndianExpress

President Pranab Mukherjee, who recently got the department of traditional Indian medicine (or AYUSH) to set up a wellness centre in the President’s estate, has suggested that all centrally-funded institutions should follow suit. Mukherjee, who is head of all higher education institutes funded by the Centre, said this during the conference of all heads of IITs, NITs and central universities in the first week of November. “It will deliver the benefits of alternate systems of medicine to higher education networks, and lead to its further refinement, innovation and research,” stated the minutes of the conference. 

Ayurvedic and Unani formulation to treat Dengue and Tuberculosis

CCRAS, CCRUM and ICMR collaborate for Ayurvedic and Unani formulation to treat Dengue and Tuberculosis
December 4, 2015 Last Updated at 00:20 IST (BusinessStandard)

Central Council for Research in Ayurveda Sciences (CCRAS) and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicines(CCRUM) have signed MOUs with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for joint collaborative projects on Ayurvedic and Unani formulations related to treatment of Dengue and Tuberculosis respectively.

Research Councils under Government of India are conducting clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy of Ayurvedic, Unani and Homoeopathic medicines in various ailments.

Government has set up Central Research Councils with 80 field units distributed across the country for promoting scientific validation and efficacy evaluation studies of Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathic medicines. Though the term Clinical Trial as such is not prescribed in the provisions of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules there under pertaining to Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathic medicines, yet Ministry of AYUSH has taken steps for facilitating clinical trials in AYUSH, like publication of Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidelines, issuing directive for registration of AYUSH clinical trials in Clinical Trials Registry of India, setting up of an Expert Committee to make recommendations for grant of approval to new clinical trial proposals and implementation of a central sector scheme of extra-mural research for supporting scientific exploration of AYUSH interventions and remedies in various medical and other R&D institutions. Also, Rule 158-B has been inserted in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 for seeking the proof of effectiveness and safety of certain categories of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines as a licensing requirement. Similarly, prior to licensing of new homoeopathic medicines there is a statutory requirement of documentary and other evidence of therapeutic efficacy including the minimum proving carried out with them.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in reply to an unstarred question in LokSabha today.

Unani medicines exporter- AMU

AMU finds offshore market for its Unani medicines in US, China -

At present, Tibbiya College manufactures nearly 450 types of Unani medicines and has an annual turnover of over Rs 90 crore. -

                                                                Aligarh Muslim University


VERY SOON, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) could be seen exporting Unani medicines manufactured at its Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College to the US, China and other countries. The university has already dispatched samples of its famous brain tonic ‘Dimagheen’ and several other khamiras (fermented confection) and arqs (sap) to Mercer University in Atlanta for testing. It will approach the US for export permit after proper certification. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1429260192255-0'); }); A Chinese delegation from Uyghur Medicine Research Centre in Xinjiang had also reportedly visited the AMU. It had inspected the Tibbiya College and expressed interest in developing a trade relationship with the AMU. The university is eyeing north America and European Union (EU) countries for exporting unani medicines. At present, Tibbiya College manufactures nearly 450 types of Unani medicines and has an annual turnover of over Rs 90 crore. “We are seriously considering to enter the international market. We have already started the process of getting certification in the US. Once it is done, it will be easier to enter North American and even the EU market. We will complete all formalities for exporting medicines from India. A Chinese team had come on its own and is eager to enter into an agreement,” Brig (retd) S A Ali, Pro-Vice Chancellor of AMU, said. Claiming that the demand for Unani medicines was on rise, he said that AMU was not being able to meet the demands of some of its own medicines. “We understand that we have to turn professional to face the market and increase our production. Already, we have got a new factory constructed on the campus. We will soon set up fully-automatic machines. I have personally visited an expo in Mumbai to finalise the machines. Professionals will be recruited to run the factory,” Ali said. The Tibbiya College was established as part of AMU in 1927 and offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Unani medicine. It also offers OPD services and maintains an indoor hospital with 95 beds. At present, it has nearly a dozen departments. Commonly, it is also known as ‘AMU Dawakhana’, where it boasts of receiving the most number of OPD patients in any unani hospital. -