- Know the scientific basis on which Madhumehari
Churna can compliment modern medicine in diabetes control.
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus encompasses many
metabolic and endocrine abnormalities marked by chronic hyperglycaemia,
primarily stemming from deficiencies in insulin secretion, action or both. This
condition is often attributed to bad lifestyle factors such as excessive intake
of carbohydrates and fat in diet, inadequate physical activity and stress. In
ayurveda, diabetes mellitus comes under prameha which is classified among
serious ailments. Various interventions including single and compound
formulations are showing good results in pre-diabetic and newly diagnosed
diabetic cases nowadays.
Alternative medicine can complement
modern medicine in managing complex diabetes cases too. Madhumehari Churna is
one of such formulations which shows promising results in the management of
diabetes and related health issues.
The
objective of this article is to review the properties, actions and
hypoglycaemic activity of contents of Madhumehari Churna.
Materials and Methods
This manuscript is prepared by collecting
relevant data from Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Bhavaprakasha, other
texts and online peer reviewed journals. All the textual sources were
systematically searched for properties and action of each ingredient of
Madhumehari Churna. The information regarding hypoglycemic activity was
procured from online peer reviewed journals. The results obtained were
compiled, organised and analysed.
Result
The herbs comprising Madhumehari Churna
exhibit diverse properties. Various actions exhibited by the herbs are
inhibition of starch conversion into sugar, slowing glucose absorption in the
gut, enhancing glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, lowering lipid levels
and possessing antioxidant effects. Conclusion- This formulation has
hypoglycaemic action and helpful in controlling the symptoms of the disease and
therefore it can be used in diabetes management.
This
article was first published on Aryavaidyasala.com
INTRODUCTION
Diabetes mellitus is counted as one of the
major lifestyle diseases. Diet rich in carbohydrates and fats, less physical
activity and stress are the common causative factors. Type 1 Diabetes mellitus
(T1DM) and type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are the primary classifications.[1]
Apart from these types, monogenic, gestational and secondary diabetes mellitus
are also there.[2] In India 77 million people had diabetes in 2019, which is
expected to rise to over 134 million by 2045.[3] The treatment goals are
alleviating symptoms associated with hyperglycaemia, mitigating or eliminating
the long term micro-macro vascular complications and facilitating patients to
have wellbeing.[4]
Considering these treatment approaches,
ayurveda interventions can complement modern medicine in managing complex
diabetes cases, while also demonstrating stand alone effectiveness in managing
less complicated patients in the prediabetic stage.
In ayurveda, diabetes mellitus comes
under prameha which is classified among eight serious ailments. [5] It
encompasses a spectrum of conditions, predominately associated with liquefied
kapha and multiple dooshya [6], ultimately affecting mootravaha srotas. [7] It
is etiologically classified into two types which are sahaja (hereditary) and
apathya-nimittaja (acquired). [8]
Sahaja prameha arises due to beeja-dosha
(genetic predisposition) which can be correlated with Type 1 diabetes.
Apathya-nimittaja prameha stems from dietary and lifestyle factors which is
similar to Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, based on the predominance of
dosha, prameha is further categorized into three major types that is vaataja,
pittaja and kaphaja prameha. [9]
Madhumehari churna is a polyherbal
formulation mentioned in group no 6 (Churna) on page no.141 in “The Ayurvedic
Formulary of India” Part-III, published in 2011 by Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha
and Homeopathy (AYUSH), Government of India, New Delhi.
This drug is an anubhoota
yoga(clinically experienced) prepared by GMP certified pharmacy of National
Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur. [10] It consists of twelve herbs and its
important therapeutic uses are prameha (increased frequency and turbidity of
urine), madhumeha (diabetes mellitus), ikshumeha (glycosuria) and laalaameha
(albuminuria) in the dose of 3-6grams with water.
The widespread use of Madhumehari Churna
for treating diabetes, particularly in Rajasthan, is notable. The powder is
obtained after proper cleaning, drying, powdering and sieving each drug
mentioned in the yoga. This review article delves into the comprehensive
scientific analysis of each component of Madhumehari Churna, elucidating their
individual properties in detail. The general information of the formulation is
given in Table No.1. The properties and actions are mentioned in Table No. 2
and 3 respectively.
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CONCLUSION
As per the data collected of each herb
it can be concluded that the formulation inhibits starch to glucose conversion,
improves glucose tolerance, enhances lipid metabolism, impacts insulin
metabolism and scavenges free radicals. In essence, the formulation is
hypoglycemic, antioxidant and lipid-modulating, presenting a multifaceted
approach to the management of diabetes mellitus. Since clinical studies are
limited for generation of evidence, more clinical studies may be planned to
explore its efficacy in various aspects and bridge the research gap.
Authors are Shailza Bhatnagar1*, Kalpana
Yadav2, Sakshi Bharadwaj3, Ketan Sharma4, Manoj Raghuvanshi5, Veena6.
Shailza Associate Professor, Dept of
Samhita and Maulik Siddhant, National Institute of Ayurveda, Deemed University,
Jaipur *Corresponding author; Email: shailza.samhita@nia.edu.in
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