Journal of Ayurveda Campus

Effect of Thumari Malahara in The Management of Post-debridement Wound of Fournier’s Gangrene

2023-09-28T01:43:36+00:00

Background: Despite improvements in surgical techniques, suture materials, and peri-operative care, acute wound failure or dehiscence remains a dreaded surgical complication. Factors contributing to wound failure include inadequate closure, local factors like infection, advanced age, obesity, malnutrition, and local surgical site infection or hematoma. Case details: A 59-year-old patient referred from Civil hospital to Shalya Tantra OPD seeking management of post debridement wound, on 15^th day after secondary suture on debrided wound of Fournier’s Gangrene.

Material and Methods: Sutures from the dehisced wound (8×4×2 cm³) were removed and wound management was done by daily dressing with Normal Saline and packed with Thumari Malahara until complete healing. Triphala Guggulu 1gram three times daily and Isabgol husk 2 tablespoonsful at bedtime with lukewarm water was given for one month. The assessment was done on every 7^th day on subjective criteria like Varna (Colour of margin & surrounding skin), Srava (Discharge), Vedana (Pain) and granulation tissue and objective criteria as Unit Healing Time (UHT).

Results and discussion: Unit healing time was 0.437 days/cm³ with significant decrease in amount of discharge, pain etc. The wound healed completely within 4 weeks of treatment. During follow up for 60 days, no recurrence was noticed. Thumari known as Securinega leucopyrus is a potential drug for wound healing. Thumari in a Malahara formulation further aids in wound healing by maintaining moist environment in wound and penetrating drugs to deeper tissue.

Conclusion: This case demonstrates the significant wound healing effect of Thumari Malahara along with adjuvant Ayurveda medicines in the management of post debridement wound of Fournier’s Gangrene.

A Complete Non-fusion of Sacral Spines- a Rare Anomaly: A Case Report

2023-09-23T09:28:02+00:00

Background: Human sacrum is a large triangular bone formed by fusion of five separate sacral vertebrae and their intervertebral disc. The dorsal surface of sacrum presents triangular sacral canal formed by fusion of sacral vertebral foramina. The opening present at the caudal end of the sacral canal is known as sacral hiatus. Sacral hiatus is formed due to failure of fusion of lamina and spinous process of fifth or fourth sacral vertebrae. Spina bifida occulta is a condition resulting due to incomplete fusion of neural arch of vertebrae, mainly in lumbosacral region. When the condition of spina bifida occulta occurs in the sacrum, the level of non-closure becomes variable.

Materials and Methods: A dry human sacrum with full agenesis of the dorsal wall of the sacral canal was identified during regular osteology demonstration lessons for undergraduate BAMS students at Department of Sharir Rachana (Anatomy), Ayurveda Campus, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal. Non-metric differences in spines were thoroughly examined.

Results and Discussion: Spina bifida is the generic term for range of discrete defects of neurulation and subsequent vertebral formation. The various forms of neural tube and vertebral defects have been reported such as craniorachisis, anencephaly and myocele. In this case a spine with complete sacral spina bifida occulta was discovered. The posterior laminae of all sacral vertebrae were completely unfused in this specimen. It's more likely that the sacral region was a groove than a canal. There were no additional abnormalities discovered. Many studies on incidence of spina bifida occulta have been published with mixed results. The frequency reported by researchers and population varies substantially.

Conclusion: The complete agenesis of the dorsal wall of the sacral canal in these variants is critical for diagnosing lower back pain, sciatica, and caudal regression syndrome, as well as avoiding problems from caudal epidural block and other spinal procedures, such as screw placement for spinal fusion.

Resistance and Legal Regulation of Ayurveda Medicine in Nepal- Need of Modernization in Contemporary Practices: Multi-perspective Review

2023-10-02T08:20:41+00:00

Background: Decolonizing knowledge is considered as one of defining attitude in any disciplines in modern century. There are literature produced, analyzed and used by white with their method and is phenomenally became part of most of knowledge generated in different part of world. This is same case for a wide resistance for global recognition of Ayurveda as an equal and significant discipline and associated medicines as in compare to others. Hence, the objective of this article is to see the legal recognition of Ayurveda medicine in Nepal in new strcture of the government.

Materilas and Methods: This paper is prepared based on primary and secondary soruces of authorities. The doctrinal research method is used for accomplishing the paper. The laws, policies, rules, diectives and also commentarties on primary sources are used as refernces. The nature of data reflected in the paper is more qualitative.

Results and Discussion: The government of Nepal must give more protection in forms of promulgating the laws and adequate legal infrastructure for the Ayurveda medicine. The state and local government considering their constitutional obligation also require to act promptly for the purpose of legal assurance of practices of it.

Conclusion: The continuous tension between the Allopathy also called western medicine and Traditional system of medicines including Ayurveda is the medical science which is not only limited to the disciplinary subject rather has an overarching impact and narrowly construed in a colonial landscape even in non-colonial setup. The nature of laws and policies, the government of Nepal has adopted as compare to the other field of medical science for legal recognition of Ayurveda. This paper has also justified; whether affirmed recognition to Ayurveda medicine in Nepal is a product of continue resistance of individuals.

Traditional uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Asparagus adscendens Roxb.: A Review

2023-11-02T16:08:45+00:00

Background: Musali (Asparagus adscendens Roxb.) is a traditionally important medicinal plant of the family Asparagaceae. It is used worldwide to treat several ailments due to the presence of various bioactive constituents, mainly concentrated in the tubers of plants. It has been used since time immemorial as a popular drug for treating chronic leucorrhea, spermatorrhea, general weakness, diarrhea, dysentery, and pharmacological purposes like rejuvenation, aphrodisiac, etc. This review aimed to gather information on the traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Asparagus adscendens Roxb.

Materials and methods: Primarily, classical literatures of Ayurveda, including Brihat-trayi (greater triad), Laghu-trayi (lesser triad), and Nighantus (lexicons), were reviewed for the terms “Musali” and “Shweta Musali.". Establishing an overview, library resources, and online collections of books and original research articles, other online databases such as Pubmed Central, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, ERIC, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, DOAJ, JSTOR, Henari, Google Scholar, and NepJoL were explored with search words like “Musali”, “Safed Musali”, “Shweta Musali” “Asparagus adscendens”, botanical characteristics, traditional and contemporary uses, pharmacognosy, phytochemical constituents, pharmacology, agriculture, and miscellaneous aspects. Ethnobotanical reports, wet laboratory experiments, pharmacognostic characteristics, phytoconstituents, and pharmacology (experimental works and clinical trials) are selected to include in this review. Evidence-based papers from indexed sources were also considered.

Results and discussion: Asparagus adscendens has been used for the treatment of chronic leucorrhea, spermatorrhea, general weakness, diarrhea, dysentery, rejuvenation, and aphrodisiacs in Ayurveda by its various names and formulations since 1000 BC, the period of Agnivesa. This plant has great pharmacological actions such as antifertility, antioxidant, anthelminthic, antidiabetic, etc.

Conclusion: Musali has been a unique gift of nature to mankind since time immemorial. It is a major ingredient in many Ayurvedic formulations. It has several uses, including as a strong "Rasayana" (rejuvenator), a tonic and vitalizer that promotes health, a therapeutic remedy for prenatal and postnatal problems, a restorative agent that boosts immunity, and a strong aphrodisiac. It will take a number of scientific endeavors to investigate the pharmacological actions that are hidden and described in the classics. To assess the pharmacotherapeutics of Asparagus adscendens and provide a solid, evidence-based treatment, more clinical studies may be carried out.

Traditional Medicines Guidelines for COVID 19: A Review

2023-10-02T10:34:06+00:00

Background: Since the beginning of time, humanity has experienced severe natural disasters on occasion. At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus identified as 2019-nCoV; and later known as SARS CoV 2 was emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the province of Hubei. The world faced global health emergency because of no any definitive treatment of COVID-19 in any healthcare systems of the world. In this health crisis, academic knowledge holders of traditional medical healing practices in the global specially in Africa and Asia; prepared preventive, promotive and post recovery guidelines; and curative management protocol and endorsed by authorities of respective countries.

Materials and Methods: The online published guidelines and literatures regarding COVID 19 were searched on google scholar, PubMed, Scopus, DOAJ, ScienceDirect, Henari, Web of Science using key words such as COVID 19, guidelines, management protocol, Traditional Medicines, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Yoga, Sidhha, Unani, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM). The websites of Ministry of Health and their health departments of the countries used traditional medicines for prevention and control of COVID 19. The literatures or guidelines mentioning immune enhancer, single drugs, prevention, diagnosis and treatment; and polyherbal formulations were entertained for analysis and presentation in this review.

Results and Discussion: These guidelines emphasize the importance of identifying best practice to manage COVID 19 applying appropriate and rigorous evidences from classical literatures as well as scientific publications on the procedures and medication of the literatures in recent era.

Conclusions: The guidelines of traditional medicines for COVID-19 were found to be safe and effective to mitigate and control spread of Corona virus; and recommended medications were also effective in symptomatic relief from the infection.

Therapeutic Arrays of Jeeraka in Bhaishajya Ratnavali: A Review

2023-10-19T03:53:06+00:00

Background: Our ancient seers recognised the value of Aahara Aushadhi (medications in the form of diet) and adopted different cooking methods with addition of condiments to make our daily meal, our daily potion of health. Jeeraka is one of the herbs that has been well amalgamated in the daily food in Indian subcontinent. Though it is used regularly as a spice, its therapeutic benefits are not known to all. Besides, the same Jeeraka can be modified into different dosage forms and treat a number of diseases like Grahani (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Agnimandya (loss of appetite), Jwara (fever) etc. Out of the countless formulations of Jeeraka, this research aims to see its potentials as mentioned in Bhaishajya Ratnavali.

Materials and Methods: The present review has compiled the formulations containing any of the Jeeraka Traya i.e. Krishna Jeeraka, Shveta Jeeraka and Kalaunji from Bhaishajya Ratnavali. Recent researches regarding the pharmaceutical benefits also have been screened.

Results and Discussion: Total 242 formulations contained Jeeraka. Out of these, maximum formulations are used in the treatment of Grahani.

Conclusion: The present work showed that Jeeraka had been used in different dosage forms in 44 diseases.

Traditional and Contemporary uses, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Psoralea corylifolia Linn.

2023-10-06T07:27:44+00:00

Background: Bakuchi (Psoralea corylifolia Linn.) is an endangered and traditionally
important medicinal plant of the family Fabaceae. It is used worldwide for the treatment
of several ailments due to the presence of various bioactive constituents that are mainly
concentrated in the seeds and fruits of plants. It has been used since time immemorial as
a popular drug for shvitra (leukoderma), kustha (skin diseases), osteopathy, rejuvenation,
aphrodisiac, etc.
Materials and Methods: Primarily, classical texts of Ayurveda including Brihat trayi (The
greater triad), Laghu trayi (The lesser triad), and Nighantu (Lexicons) were reviewed.
Establishing an overview, library resources, and online collections of books and other online
databases such as Pubmed Central, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, ERIC, IEEE Xplore,
ScienceDirect, DOAJ, JSTOR, Henari, Google Scholar, NepJoL were explored with search
words like “Bakuchi”, “Psoralea corylifolia” for its botanical characteristics, traditional and
contemporary uses, pharmacognosy, phytochemical constituents, pharmacology, toxicology,
and agricultural and miscellaneous aspects.
Results and Discussion: It was found that Psoralea corylifolia has been used since the Vedic
period for the treatment of various skin diseases like psoriasis, and vitiligo in Ayurveda and
several metabolic and systemic diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine, by its various
names and formulations. Furthermore, under appropriate dosages no any toxic effect of the
plant was reported in an animal experiment conducted by Uthirapathy and Ahamad.
Conclusion: The seed of P. corilifolia Linn is commonly used in skin diseases such as
Switra (leukoderma), Vicharchika (psoriasis) whereas anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-lipogenic, anti-tuberculous, anti-carcinogenic, memory enhancing, anti-venom and
aphrodisiac has also been reported as its major pharmacological activities. Clinical trials
can be further conducted to evaluate the pharmacotherapeutics of P. corylifolia to develop
the well-established evidence-based therapy

The Comparative Review of the Three Avastha of Mind in Upanishads and Stages of Sleep

2023-10-02T16:26:35+00:00

Background: Upanishads describe the three avastha (states) of mind/consciousness as Jagrita, Swapna and Sushupti. Though the epistemology of the names of these states of mind is indicative of a wakeful to deep sleep states of mind, explanations in Upanishads make it clear that these are the states of spiritual consciousness. Stages of sleep have been studied elaborately over time. Polysomnographic and biological findings have helped to identify distinct stages of sleep.

Materials and Methods: This study is a sincere effort to comparatively find out any similarities or dissimilarities in the concept of these states of mind and stages of sleep in Upanishads and contemporary medical science literature respectively.

Results and Discussion: The mind differently functions and actualizes itself from gross to subtle things in the different avastha of mind. Interesting observations were found like states of mind were close to the measure of mindfulness index of mind. In the case of stages of sleep, different brain waves, activities of mind like cognition, memory and restoration of normalcy of brain tissues have been found to be happening to varying degrees in different stages.

Conclusion: Proper recommendations were made for the further studies to understand and validate the concept of states of mind and for the application of these concepts in the fields of sleep medicine and psychotherapy.

Millets: The Choice of Food in 21st Century

2023-11-01T09:57:43+00:00

The millets are a diverse group of cereals that are generally grown in harsh environments or as early-maturing crops. They are critically important food cereals for many people in Asia and Africa. Millets are used in numerous thick and thin porridges, fermented and unfermented breads, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, steamed products, and snacks.

Millets have unique properties in the battle against diseases because of their high content of dietary fibers, antioxidants, minerals, phytochemicals, polyphenols, and proteins. Due to its significant role in nutritional security and possible rising health repercussions, millet is presently addressing an important area of research for medical and food scientists. By employing suitable and effective processing methods, millets' nutritional value can be significantly increased. It is imperative to develop millet-based government policies that recognize their contributions to achieving nutritional security and reintroduce them into agricultural production in order to create cropping systems that are climate resilient, given the many health and environmental benefits.

It's time for governmental and non-governmental groups to support millets and encourage their value addition through research, training, conferences, and seminars. Organic farming can fetch greater prices in domestic and foreign markets even with lower yields.

Community Health Diagnosis: Participatory First Step Field Study in Primary Health among Deprived Community of Chandrapur Municipality of Madhesh Province in Nepal

2023-10-28T13:40:28+00:00

Background: Community health diagnosis is a continuous process which address the health challenges and needs of a particular community. The health needs of a community are ever changing process which evaluates the success of implementation of any health program as well as the development of the community. The public health is affected by the knowledge and practices of multiple factors like maternal and child health care, family welfare, personal hygiene and sanitation and available health infrastructure and services. These factors indicated the health status of the community. In our knowledge, there might be gap in delivering public health to the community. Hence, the study conducted to assess the different community health parameters of the selected area which included demographic data, maternal and child health, family welfare, daily activities (dinacharya), personal hygiene and sanitation, awareness of COVID-19 and vaccination and health institutions and facilities.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted by face-to-face interview among the 229 household of ward 2 and 8 of Chandrapur Municipality, Rautahat district, Madhesh Province of Nepal, using semi-structured questionnaire with inclusion of community health parameters. The convenient sampling method was used for the study. Verbal informed consent was taken from the respondent as well as the local administrative office before commencing the study. The data was collected in the month of May, 2023.

Results and Conclusion: The result showed that the community health status of the study area was satisfactory but still there is huge gap between the needs, services and their utilization. Although maximum children are vaccinated according to EPI, unvaccinated children were also significantly present; whereas, though most of the people used latrine for defecation, open defecation still persisted and some resident still used mud/earth or ash or only water for hand washing. Similarly, in other health related behavior there persisted the unhealthy practices.

Conclusion: The various related stakeholder of the community should work efficiently to mitigate the gap between health problems and needs in the community. The health program should be specially planned, implemented and analyzed in the deprived and marginalized area of the society to address the disparity in the social, economic and health needs.

Establishing the Precise Location of Apanga Marma and defining its Structural Component through Cadaveric Study

2023-10-13T17:42:54+00:00

Background: Apanga marma is a Jatrurdhwagata marma that is positioned within half angula dimension below the tail end of the eyebrow and outer to the lateral canthus of the eye. Its injury causes andhya and dristiupaghata. Sushruta classifies it as Sira structurally, however Vagbhata classifies it as Snayu marma. The precise position, radiance, and conflicts in opinion in identifying the structural entity and applied importance of this marma must be clarified. The objective of this study was to locate and ascertain the position and structural entity of Apanga marma.

Materials and Methods: Study was conducted in two steps: Conceptual study by reviewing the literatures and cadaveric observational study by dissection over 4 cadavers.

Results and Discussion: The Apanga marma was discovered to be positioned on the anterior section of the superior temporal fossa, near the lateral canthus of the eye. Extracranial, intracranial, and intraorbital neurovascular structures were observed within the designated area. Structures in the area include the Middle cerebral artery, the Middle meningeal artery, and the Abducent nerve, which can cause visual problems or total blindness if injured.

Conclusion: Apanga marma was found to be located in the anterior section of the superficial temporal fossa, lateral to the lateral orbital edge, beneath the tail end of the eyebrow, and above the zygomatic arch. The middle meningeal and middle cerebral arteries were discovered as a specific anatomical entity in the marma area, resulting in blindness or vision impairment upon injury.

Ayurveda Practitioner Adaptation of Variation in Service Approaches during COVID-19 Pandemic in Kathmandu, Nepal

2023-10-17T15:26:14+00:00

Background: COVID-19 declared global pandemic created various impact on different aspects of life, medical fraternity and economy worldwide. With its ever changing viral features, COVID-19 then had become a real hard time challenge to the world medical fraternity in finding out the appropriate measures to control it. The whole world adopted various measures to control its spread, preventive measures against COVID-19 proved to be an effective measure to content it. Health care systems were challenged as they were potential hub for contracting COVID-19 and at the same time overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. Health practitioners had to follow safety guidelines in order to prevent the spread, protect themselves and at the same time provide the health service to the people. The objective of the study was to identify various methodological variations adopted by Ayurveda practitioners to provide Ayurveda services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and Methods: The research method adopted was a quantitative, descriptive cross sectional study. A well- developed online questionnaire was formed and circulated through Whats app, messengers and email among Ayurveda practitioners of Ayurveda Campus Teaching Hospital, Nardevi Ayurveda Hospital and National Ayurveda Research and Training Center Kirtipur.

Results and Discussion: Implementation of safety protocols, adoption of sanitization methods and procedural modification in consultation and OPD based services were practiced by Ayurveda practitioners during COVID-19 in order to deliver Ayurveda Health Service.

Conclusion: The continuity of OPD based services were maintained considering safety protocols, sterilization methods and modifications in delivering consultations and OPD procedures.

Risk of Developing Diabetes among Ayurveda Students using Indian Diabetes Risk Score

2023-10-08T16:18:06+00:00

Background: The increasing prevalence of diabetes reflects an increase in associated risk factors. Risks of the diabetes are among those with family history of diabetes, overweight or obese and people with moderate to high Indian Diabetic Risk Score (IDRS). There is a long asymptomatic prediabetic stage before the development of diabetes.

Materials and Methods: Present study was done on 300 students of National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur to screen those at risk of Diabetes among Ayurveda students by using IDRS. Age, sex, waist circumference, details of physical activities and family history of diabetes were recorded to calculate Indian Diabetic Risk Score (IDRS).

Results and Discussion: The mean IDRS score among female was 29.4 and among male was 27.8. 70.6% of the students had reported no family history of Diabetes. 35% of students did not follow regular physical exercise. The mean BMI of students in study was 22.38. 25.7% had either parent suffering from diabetes while 3.7% had both the parents suffering from diabetes. 60 percent were found in moderate risk group while 2.7 % were in high risk group on the basis of IDRS. The high prevalence among parents suggests that the number of students with moderate risk will come under high risk score once they turn to middle age above 35 years.

Conclusions: The majority of Ayurveda students were in the moderate risk group. IDRS which is easy, cost effective and reliable tool for early screening of diabetes and prediabetic population in developing countries can contribute towards screening and preventing diabetes.