Ayurvedic clinical trials

Goals of treatment aid the person by eliminating impurities, reducing symptoms, increasing resistance to disease, reducing worry, and increasing harmony in life. Herbs and other plants, including oils and common spices, are used extensively in Ayurvedic treatment. In India, Ayurveda is considered a form of medical care, equal to conventional Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, and homeopathic medicine.

Practitioners of Ayurveda in India undergo state-recognized, institutionalized training. Currently, Ayurvedic practitioners are not licensed in the United States, and there is no national standard for Ayurvedic training or certification.

However, Ayurvedic schools have gained approval as educational institutions in some states. Ayurveda can have positive effects when used as a complementary therapy in combination with standard, conventional medical care. The use of Ayurvedic medicine has increased tremendously worldwide due to cost and consumer preference. Patients with chronic pain, cancer and infection by human immunodeficiency virus were estimated to use Ayurveda more commonly [7].

As defined, EBM is all about analyzing and publishing the data which would help in final decision making [1]. Despite a widespread acceptance of EBP, there is a potential for the emergence of various types of biases that mainly includes limited patient involvement in the trials [8]. The practice of evidence-based medicine requires integrating individual clinical experience with the best available external clinical evidence [9].

The complexities involved in carrying out trials in Ayurveda are well-known such as treatment plan based on prakriti ; difficulty in using blinding technique due to the odor and taste of Ayurveda medicine; holistic approach such as modification of behavior and dietary regimes associated with Ayurveda treatment and the differential assessment of outcomes based on doshas; lack of standardization of Ayurveda medicines and variation in the method and mode of drug administration [11].

Furthermore, there is limited support from various organizations in terms of granting funds to conduct trials in Ayurveda [12]. Despite these limitations, generation of good quality evidence pertaining to Ayurveda is essential for rational use. More than , registered Ayurvedic physicians at more than government-accredited universities or colleges form a major resource for carrying out clinical trials related to the field [14].

Experts suggest that Ayurvedic medicine needs more rigorous scientific research for evaluating safety, quality and efficacy to be acceptable to the scientific communities [16] , [17].

Few other researchers in the field of Ayurveda even suggest that instead of hierarchical approach, a circular approach to keep a balance between internal and external validity is better especially for trials evaluating CAM [18]. Not only in Ayurveda, similar findings in the study methodology and characteristics have been reported in dentistry as well [20]. CTRI is an open registry of all the studies related to the field of biomedical research conducted in India.

Interventional studies related to various medical and para-medical fields such as allopathy, dentistry, complementary and alternative systems of medicine and pharmacy carried out in India have to be registered in CTRI. We found that only few clinical trials are being carried out in the field of Ayurveda in India and more focus has to be on the quality of studies to generate high quality evidence based on which firm recommendations shall be made.

Peer review under responsibility of Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. J Ayurveda Integr Med.

Published online Sep Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Kannan Sridharan: moc. Publishing Services by Elsevier B. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Ayurveda is one of the complementary and alternative systems of medicine requiring generation of high quality evidence for rational practice. Keywords: Complementary and alternative medicine, Evidence based medicine, Herbal drugs, Clinical trial registry.

Introduction Clinical trials form the main source of evidence-based medicine EBM and thereby forming the backbone of clinical practice. Results 3. Number of clinical trials The search yielded a total of trials registered in Ayurveda over the specified time period ; ; ; , ; Discussion This study aimed at identifying the status of clinical trials being conducted in the field of Ayurveda.

Conclusions We found that only few clinical trials are being carried out in the field of Ayurveda in India and more focus has to be on the quality of studies to generate high quality evidence based on which firm recommendations shall be made. Funding None obtained for this study. Conflict of interest None of the authors have any conflict of interest.

Acknowledgement None. Footnotes Peer review under responsibility of Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore. References 1. Sackett D. Evidence based medicine: what is it and what it isn't. However, the outcome assessor will be kept blinded regarding the study group allocation of the participants.

The number of participants to be enrolled in the study should be approximately 55 in each group. Hence, a total of participants will be enrolled in the trial at each study site. Trial status: Participants' recruitment started on 1 st May Anticipated end of recruitment is August