Ayurvedic Inheritance of India

Dr. M. S. Valiathan
National Research Professor, Manipal University
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

Module - 9
Lecture - 19
Ayurvedic Biology: Illustrative Studies

Shortly after the beginning of the new millennium, the Indian academy of sciences
brought out a decadal vision document which they called towards Ayurvedic biology;
that was perhaps the first time the world heard of this term Ayurvedic biology. Now that
showed a new vista in biological research very different from the drug relative research
which had been going on for over a 100 years and very different from clinical trials in
Ayurveda which had been going on to a much lesser extent.

Quintessentially, it is the application of modern biology which characterizes the new

millennium to the study of Ayurvedic questions especially in the concepts of Ayurveda
or procedures in Ayurveda. Now this Ayurvedic biology in that document itself, they had
given some examples; for example the Dosha Prakriti, Vata, Pitta, Kapha, so very
important in Ayurveda a concept, does it have a biological basis something that is
demonstrable through experiment; that was a question they had paced. Similarly a very
commonly done procedure like Panchakarma, so widely used, what are its metabolic and
immunologic correlates, are there any correlates at all?

Like these they had posted several questions and this document caught the attention of
the principal scientific advisor to the Government of India, Doctor Chidambaram. He
noted this, and he indicated a willingness to do some probe into these questions from his
office. And if that probe showed some promise, then some agency of the Government of
India would be willing to take it over for regular support which was a very farsighted
gesture on the part of Doctor Chidambaram. And some of these projects were approved;
one of them was the Dosha Prakriti project, another was the Panchakarma project and a
third project mentioned there is the Rasayanas which are again very commonly used an
important branch of Ayurveda.
When you do this Rasayana therapy, what happens in the body in biological parameters
which are measurable; that was the question posed. Another was Bhasmas, mercury
derived Bhasmas, controversial; its toxicity is denied, is feared by a large group of
people the world forbids the use of mercury whereas in Indian traditional systems they
use it. So, is there something in the way it is processed that could make it not so toxic?
Now these were questions; some of these were approved for funding initially by PSA’s
office; that is where whole project began.

Now the first 3, 4 years certainly the project showed sufficient promise for the
department of science and technology to step forward and say we will take it over as a
regular schemes for funding and that was called task force in Ayurvedic Biology. Now in
today’s lecture, I will be giving you the results of some of these projects especially two
studies carried out in Rasayana and also something about the Ras-Sindoor, the mercury
derived Bhasma. Now the first two Rasayana studies have been published in very good
journals and the Bhasma project is under review for another very good journal, so I will
be mentioning these.

And also a fourth project which was done in CIMAP, Central for Aromatic and
Medicinal plants in Lucknow a CSIR institute. The two young scientists they are Sasani
and Shukla, they had investigated a question Ayurvedic plants which are anti-Vata, anti-
Pitta, anti-Kapha; these are known, they are taxonomically very different. In one group
anti-Vata the plants are all very different, diverse, chemically, taxonomically, then what
is it that makes them therapeutically identical, they are all anti-Vata. Is there some
molecular basis for this and this was a question they investigated that is the genomic
basis of dosha balancing properties of medicinal plants which also has been published in
a very good journal.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:09)

So, today I will be talking about this Rasayana projects, Ayurvedic biology in the
Amalaki Rasayana is the main subject for today’s discussion and in two models; one is in
rats and, the other is in Drosophila and the Rasasindur project. These I will be talking
about in some detail.

(Refer Slide Time: 05:31)

Now when I talk about these new Ayurvedic Biology projects in Ayurveda, an artist
friend of mine, he got the idea that Ayurveda is like an ancient tree, suddenly it is putting
out new sprouts. So, he put it in a nice painting, which I have shown here, new sprouts
on an ancient tree.

(Refer Slide Time: 05:59)

Now Amalaki is a very commonly used, widely used in pickles and so many different
ways we use it, ordinary Indian households figured in the ancient Samhitas and it is used
in many different ways, formulations and it is one of the most important Rasayanas.
There are other Rasayanas like for example, Shankhpushpi. Now these are Medhya
Rasayanas, they have a special property as a tonic for the brain; Medha is intellect.

So, this Amalaki is not one of those Medhya Rasayanas, it is for the whole body and
Charaka Susruta, Vagbhata they have a number of Rasayana preparations based on
Amalaki. And the effects include long life, strength, youthfulness, freedom from illness,
enhanced fertility, sharpened, intellect and prevention of senile infirmities. These are all
the general benefits which are claimed to be provided by these Rasayanas, Amalaki.
(Refer Slide Time: 07:25)

Now most of these studies done so far, there have been many studies on this Amalaki.
They have looked at the general effects that animals long life or its general health,
weight; such gross measurements have been made, but here in this particular study we
have been looking specifically at the DNA changes in rats, especially the brain and also
the biological markers general biological markers like life span. These are measured in
Drosophila which is certainly a very unusual model.

(Refer Slide Time: 07:43)

Now Rasayana studies for rats and Drosophila, these were done in rats were done in
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad and Drosophila studies were
done in Banaras Hindu University and the Rasayana itself was prepared for this studies
specifically by Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal; it is not a commercial sample in other
words. And the chief investigators in the Hyderabad study all the rat brain studies were
done by Professor Kalluri Subba Rao and his colleagues and the Drosophila studies were
done by professor Lakhotia and his colleagues in Banaras Hindu University. And the
preparation of these Rasayanas specifically for this study was done by Doctor Burali and
his colleagues in Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala.

(Refer Slide Time: 08:39)

Preparation of the Amalaki Rasayana according to the ancient texts, dried gooseberry is
pulverized and simultaneously the juice of gooseberry is prepared from fresh harvested
fruits. Now these two products are blended in equal proportion and dried for 24 hours
under prescribed conditions, this is called trituration. Now this dry mass resulting from
the soft drying that is further pulverized and it is again mixed with same quantity of fresh
juice of Amalaki. Now this process is repeated. So, trituration is repeated 21 times. Now
that particular preparation which is a dry powder that is mixed with honey and ghee in
the proportion of 1 is to 2 is to point 5. Now this paste is the Amalaki Rasayana which is
used in this experiment.
(Refer Slide Time: 09:43)

Now what are the markers that we are looking for in this and that is the genomic stability
which is measurable in terms of the chain breaks, single chain breaks and double chain
breaks of two types of brain cells. One is neurons; the other is astrocytes in the cerebral
cortex of rats. So, doctor Subba Rao’s group has been using adult wistar rats, this brain
preparation for DNA chain break studies for other purposes for a number of years they
have a great deal of expertise in this kind of study. Now they use these adult wistar rats 6
months old, they are fed with Amalaki Rasayana 5 days a week. And this is supplied by
Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala at 3, 9 and 15 months because these rats live around 2 years.

So, 3, 9 and 15 months these rats are killed and the isolated brain cell suspensions
neurons and astrocytes, they are prepared from the cerebral cortex of these animals. And
the DNA damage and the prime genomic index of stability is the chain break single
strand and double strand and these are measured by comet assay; that is a commonly
used technique for doing this. And Subba Rao has also used a biochemical method which
he has an assay which he developed for double strand breaks; he has used that also for
the double strand break. And this has been published in a mechanism of ageing and
development in 2011 which is a high impact journal.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:25)

Now these are the pictures taken of the comet assay; the top two blocks those are the
neurons and the bottom two are astrocytes. On the left hand side you have the controls,
around the right hand side you have the Amalaki Rasayana fed animals; those are the
four pictures that you see here. Now these markers which you see there, the points that
you can see, these are actually pictures of DNA which has broken and then as soon as
they break they begin to migrate, those are the photographs in comet assay. That is
essentially what you are measuring in comet assay that is breakage of the DNA and its
migration. Now if you look at it you can see not very clearly, but on the left hand side the
controls both for neurons and astrocytes this breakage the tail. It is a little longer than
what you see on the right hand side where the Rasayana is fed in both neurons as well as
astrocytes.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:31)

But this will become much clearer because they have been and this is the double strand
break, earlier you saw the single strand break. This is again a similar picture; perhaps
that migration is better seen here compared to the single strand break. Now this will
become much clearer when they are measured and their number is given.

(Refer Slide Time: 12:49)

Now here on the left hand side you have the neurons, right hand side you have the
astrocytes. Now if you look at these bars here, one bar and the next bar has got asterisk
on the top. So, here the bar without the asterisk that is the control whereas those with the
asterisk, these are the animals which have been fed Amalaki Rasayana. So, if you look at
this neurons in all these you will find here the control, this is the number of chain break
and this is the number of chain breaks. Now they have been measured here 32 and 18
and what is it that we are measuring? There is what is called tail movement and tail
movement, in that tail which you saw in that picture, the number of DNA chain breaks a
product of that and the length of the tail. Their arbitrary units, software library units they
are called and those are measured; 75 measurements have been averaged and these
numbers you can see here.

Now here if you look at the control at 3 months, 32 is the value whereas the Amalaki fed
is 18 that is a 3 months. Now when you come to 15 months, this difference is very much
magnified, in the control animals not receiving the Amalaki Rasayana is a 55 whereas
those fed the Amalaki Rasayana it is only 24. So, it is significantly reduced and this is
the female on the right hand side the same kind of measurements but less dramatic but
same change, the trend is the same, the reading is 35 whereas those receiving the
Amalaki Rasayana it is 21. So, the change is not that dramatic, but the trend is exactly
the same. These are single strand brakes neurons as well as astrocytes.

(Refer Slide Time: 15:01)

(Refer Slide Time: 15:11)

Now then we move on; these are the descriptions of what I have just now told you the
DNA damage expressed as ‘Tail moment”, values above bars represents 75 the number
some of them I have read out to you and neurons and astrocytes, the genomic stability of
the Amalaki Rasayana fed samples is better at 3 months and it keeps improving, maximal
improvement is seen at 15 months. So, the rise in the cellular DNA damage in controls
with ageing from 3 to 15 months seems to be decelerated, definitely slowed down by the
use of Amalaki Rasayana.

(Refer Slide Time: 15:41)

Now here we look at the double strand breaks; again you see a single same kind of trend
if you look at, say, 15 months the change is so much 206, these software library units
whereas those which have been fed Amalaki Rasayana, it is only 59, 206 and 59. So,
there is a very gray whereas in female it is 159 and 108 not so much, but again the trend
is the same, so that the DNA chain breaks certainly very definite decrease in rats which
have been fed Amalaki Rasayana.

(Refer Slide Time: 16:25)

Now if you look at this result again a summary of that both neuron and astrocytes in the
Rasayana fed rats show great genomic stability in that Rasayana fed rats and beneficial
effects of Amalaki Rasayana administration is in keeping with simple as well as double
strand breaks.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:50)

Now feeding these at 6 months old rats confers beyond any doubt, protection against
increasing DNA damage in terms of single strand breaks or double strand breaks, both in
neurons and astrocytes, these are the two cells which have been used for this study. So,
genomic integrity is much better maintained by the use of Amalaki Rasayana, even
though Amalaki Rasayana is not really a Medhya Rasayana. In other words working
specially on the brains, in spite of that you find this clear evidence.

(Refer Slide Time: 17:26)

Doctor Subba Rao has developed his own biochemical assay for measuring this genomic
stability. In this double strand breaks he has used that study at which collaborates the
findings of the comet assay which we have looked at earlier.

(Refer Slide Time: 17:45)

Now this was the next model that was used in studying the same Amalaki Rasayana and
this was not when we were discussing in a casual discussion with Professor Lakhotia in
Banaras who has had many years of experience working on Drosophila genetics. Once
we were having a casual discussion I mentioned these findings of Subba Rao and he was
the one who said, why not I try this on my fruit flies, so that was an interesting
suggestion. So, very quickly we got this Amalaki Rasayana the same preparation from
Kottakkal. And it took him time to find out the dosage, because it is not easy to
determine the dosage for Drosophila. How much Amalaki Rasayana to give?

He took almost a year and he had his own doubts whether may be the results are
produced by the ghee and honey that you are using. So, he fed them honey and ghee
alone and see what happens. So, it took quite some time to determine the protocol, but
anyway after a year finally it got started; they had made a personal visit to Kottakkal to
see how this is being made and no attempt was made; from the beginning itself we
realized the Amalaki Rasayana the preparation are you going to look for the compounds
in that? Now this question always comes some referees would say, what is the compound
that is doing this?
Now that question we decided in the beginning itself, we would not get involved because
that is a reputation of what the Ayurveda claims in the original texts, because it is the
whole preparation which has to be used not a component on that. Because often they
search for a component becomes a complete diversion from what you really wanted to do
and you may end up with searching for the components and not looking for the effect of
Amalaki Rasayana. So, we did not want to make that mistake, so no attempt was made
deliberately. But in this kind of research I remember this paper was sent to PLoS one and
one of the problems which we would face in doing this kind of research the referee, one
of the referee is pointed out that the procedure that you are following for making this
Rasayana, it is not exactly the same as it is mentioned in the original text which we had
quoted.

Now this problem comes because the original text many times it will not give you the
detailed procedure such as you would see in today’s description a standard operating
procedure; that kind of a description you will not see in this ancient texts written 1600
hundred years ago or 2000 years ago. Some of the things are not clarified, sometimes the
measurements those measures may not be well known or agreed upon today, there are
many such little problems. So, what generally happens is Ayurvedic physicians with
great experience, they have a consensus among themselves that basically it is the same
procedure, but in the minor details there may be things that they decide not written in
that original texts, because you cannot expect what happened 2000 years ago to remain
exactly the same today.

So, this referee was literally correct, it is not mentioned in that original protocol. So, how
can we accept this? And finally we resolved it by saying in the materials and methods
part, we will describe exactly what we have done. And then in the discussion part we
will say this is the method that we followed is based on this particular description in the
original say Ashtanga Hrudaya. Now that was acceptable, so we have these little things
we have to learn; if you want to publish this type of work in modern journals, many of
these requirements you have to comply with to satisfy international standards.

Now here the Drosophila they are fed with this Amalaki Rasayana, Larvae as well as
adult flies, they show earlier pupation; that is one of the first things that you see and also
earlier adult eclosion, they become adults; they become pupae sooner compared to the
flies which have not been fed Amalaki Rasayana. The salivary glands the growth in size
you will see the pictures; it is much bigger in those flies which have been fed Amalaki
Rasayana and the DNA count for nucleus increases and a significant increase in the total
enhatched eggs. So, the fecundity is much greater in these flies these are all shown by
these.

(Refer Slide Time: 22:31)

Now here if you look at them the control animals median pupation is 116 hours and
hours is a long time in a fruit flies life, whereas in the median adult eclosion time is 246,
those are the controls not fed Amalaki Rasayana. And as I mention Professor Lakhotia he
wanted to know what happens if honey and ghee alone not the Amalaki Rasayana that
was given and you can see there is hardly any change. The median pupation time
remains the same, median adult eclosion time remains the same, there is no change. But
Amalaki Rasayana fed you can see the median pupation time is reduced by 4 hours
which is a long time in a fruit flies life. And the adult eclosion time is again reduced, so
they mature faster.
(Refer Slide Time: 23:26)

And look at the salivary gland size on the left hand side is the control and the middle is
Amalaki Rasayana fed; it is almost double the size. And the third one is Rasasindur, I
would not get into that that is a different study but here for our purpose the control and
the Amalaki Rasayana, there is no question that the size of the salivary gland very
important organ of fruit flies that is very much increased.

(Refer Slide Time: 23:53)

And then you look at the fecundity or the number of eggs, and here on the left hand side
that is the control without getting the Amalaki Rasayana. And the next the tall bar, that is
the animal, that is a fruit fly getting this one getting Amalaki Rasayana. You can see the
hatched eggs the number is much greater. See consistently it is above the level of the
controls in terms of the number of eggs produced.

(Refer Slide Time: 24:30)

Then we come to the life span in days, control is 36, Amalaki Rasayna supplemented
feeds its 40 days statistically significant.

(Refer Slide Time: 24:45)

Then we have heat shock 37 degrees for 90 minutes, 38 degrees for 120 minutes and 39
degrees for 30 minutes; that is the heat shock which is being applied to these flies and
you can see the survival, the control is 67. Rasayana supplemented is 84, and 38 degrees
it is 41 and 79, the difference becomes much greater. At 39 degrees there are no
survivors in the controls but 6.3 surviving in those fed Amalaki Rasayana. So, here again
the thermal stress the response, there is no question that the Amalaki fed flies they are
doing significantly better.

(Refer Slide Time: 25:36)

Then we look at starvation tolerance, these are all various types of stresses being applied
very difficult to do in animals; this can only be done in the fruit flies. Now here you will
find the Amalaki Rasayana fed flies they survived much longer than controls, because
controls it is only 56 hours whereas the LT is the life time that is 56 in controls whereas
those which are fed with Rasayana it is 70. So, it is a very significant difference in the
starvation tolerance and lastly the class of nuclear proteins involved in the RNA transfer
that is much greater in quantity in these Rasayana fed flies and this could possibly
promote more robust gene expression that is only a kind of speculations, we have no
evidence for this RNA processing. So, some of these nuclear protein functions could be
improved in these Amalaki Rasayana fed flies.

Now this particular paper of Professor Lakhotia in PLoS one that attracted global
attention, because it came in nature news and they picked it up because the reason why it
attracted their attention is for the first time fruit flies are being used for testing two
Ayurvedic preparations. Because we were primarily interested in Amalaki Rasayana and
how do the personal interest of professor Lakhotia in Rasasindur, he tried that also. So,
here two entirely diverse preparation used for different purposes and Rasasindur is not
really used as a Rasayana. So, he had taken these two for his own personal interest he
took Rasasindur and this was a model so he tried it; he did find some interesting changes.
So, this new model for testing Ayurvedic drugs; that is how nature looked at it, because
there is a problem today in the regulation of Ayurvedic drugs, what kind of toxicity test
do you do? This is an area which is not very clear today.

So, when you are trying to develop a protocol, if you are thinking of exporting
Ayurvedic drugs for example, we have no idea what kind of requirements will come and
there is all worldwide interest in developing less invasive less traumatic ways of testing.
If you can get rid of animal test all together that will be the best, but that is not possible.
So, if you can use lesser animal or even fruit flies for example, it would make it much
easier for drug testing and certification. So, this is a subject of global interest that is how
they picked it up. So, here this is a useful piece of information. So, if toxicity even at the
screening preliminary, if it can be done in fruit flies; suppose, it is highly toxic in fruit
flies may be there is no need to do it in rats and other animals. So, it could have
implications from a regulatory angle; that is how they showed interest in this work, but it
is an interesting piece of work.

Now this is what I referred to earlier because if Rasayana as you know it involves
character, truthfulness, all these are involved in Rasayana which are not amenable to test
in the laboratory. So, we can only take a small part. Here the chain breaks in DNA in the
brain cells; that is really part of ageing, forgetfulness, deteriorating mental functions,
intellectual functions that are part of old age. Now when you say that the DNA chain
breaks in the neurons and astrocytes, they are slowed by taking this Rasayana; that
immediately is an indication that it could have some effect in arresting the decline of
intellectual functions. So, that is an important way to look at it and it is interesting that
Amalaki Rasayana which is not primarily Medhya Rasayana shows these very interesting
results.
(Refer Slide Time: 29:44)

And then we come to the next project that is Rasasindur which is mercury-based Bhasma
extensively used in Ayurveda and this will not be approved by any modern drug
controller because of the mercury being used it is highly toxic and we have good reason
to fear mercury because even when I was a medical student 1950s I remember we had no
diuretic at that time oral diuretic. So, the only way to treat a patient with congestive heart
failure, we have to admit him into the hospital and mercurial diuretics by injection.

And this was something greatly feared because of the danger of renal shutdown, you
constantly measure the blood urea we have been watching. So, this was the situation in
1950s until a diuretic called Diamox became available in 1955 I think. So, a great deal of
fear is there about using mercury; even mercury in amalgams for dental work, they do
not use it anymore. So, here mercury is regularly being used if you talk to Ayurvedic
physicians Rasasindur many people use it, it is a standard drug approved by the council
regulatory body.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:00)

It is used extensively in Siddha medicine and they claim that they do not see these ill
effects. So this is always been a riddle; we cannot dismiss the experience of hundreds of
people over hundreds of years. So, there is a riddle here which needs to be explained and
if you do chemical examination mercury is there, so immediately that objection would
come. The next question is with all the new analytical techniques that we have in
material science, is there some change which is taking place in the preparation of this
very long preparatory step, is there some physical changes taking place which could
explain a different type of behavior that is the rational for doing this test. And this study
was conducted the preparation itself of Rasasindur was made in Kottakkal specifically
for this study; it is not a commercial sample, indeed in Kottakkal they do not
manufacture Rasasindur.
(Refer Slide Time: 32:01)

A special lab was set up to prepare this for this study. So, he was a co-investigator
Doctor Muraleedharan and colleagues from Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal and the
principal investigator doing these analytical studies was Professor Sujit Roy from IIT,
Kharagpur. Subsequently, he has moved to the new IIT in Bhubaneswar and his
colleagues. They had made several visits to Kottakkal and seen the lab, how the chemical
profiling they were doing; they had satisfied themselves the quality of producing this was
of a high order.

(Refer Slide Time: 32:38)

Now the tests which were done, this paper has been it is under review for bulletin of
Material Science high impact journal publish from India. Now the referees have raised
some questions asking for information, so that processing is going on. The parameters
studied were elemental composition, bulk and point and using energy dispersion studies.
Crystalline phase was studied using x-ray powder diffraction, particle size morphology,
surface area was studied by using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron
microscope, BET-isotherm, etcetera and other spectroscopic studies Fourier transform
IR; these were very detailed instrumentations used for studying this.

(Refer Slide Time: 33:27)

And the energy disburses in studies point analysis showed the absence of elements other
than mercury and sulfur. That product contains only mercury and sulfur in spite of all
these processing, purification of mercury, purification of sulfur, plant extracts are used in
further processing and throughout all these but the final EDS point analysis shows only
mercury and sulfur and no other sub-elements in that. And all the samples contained this
is the Rasasindur four phases of mercuric sulfide, it will exists in four phases whereas the
mercury sulfide analyzed by chemical process in IIT, Kharagpur, that exists only in a
single phase. So, there is a difference in the physical structure of this mercuric sulfide
made synthetically by chemical processes that present standard method and the way
Rasasindur is processed by traditional names.
(Refer Slide Time: 34:38)

And the second all the scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy,
all these studies they show that the particles in the Rasasindur, they exist in nano-regime
and they are nano-crystalline. Of course particle size varies, but they are all in the nano-
regime and they are nano-crystalline. So, there is a distinct tendency for these nano
particles to form complexes with albumin, so there is a certain amount of activity
biological activity. Now in nano-regime this is the crucial point, redox property of metal
or material changes drastically from that of the bulk form. We do not know whether this
is the explanation for the possible non-toxicity of Rasasindur that part this study has not
addressed, but that is a possibility we cannot rule out at this stage.

Now another project which has been published I thought we may not have time to go
into it. This is the study done in CIMAP that concerns Vata, Pitta, Kapha, this is as
induced by perturbations of these doshas. These are counted by plants which are specific,
they are classified. Plants which are used for treating Vata perturbation, plants which are
used in treating Pitta perturbation, there is a classification given, but if you look at those
plants there is nothing in common in the taxonomy of those plants. They are all very
different chemically they are different but, therapeutically they seem to have the same
action.

Now this is the puzzle and this was taken up by the two young scientists in centre of
Central for Aromatic and Medicinal plants in Lucknow and Doctor Chidambaram. When
this was approved, he had indicated that the PSA’s office is not a granting agency, but
they can only give a start to a promising area when it is hardly born that he had done.
Now that the papers already have come and some are due to come, the department of
science and technology they have taken over this, there is a new scheme called task force
in Ayurvedic biology with the similar objectives.

Now this task force in Ayurvedic Biology, it is on the website of DST; that does not take
any drug development related programs. That it is not in their area of interest nor do they
take up clinical studies trails for safety efficacy; that also is not taken. Essentially they
look at basic science applied, basic science to a large extent it means modern biology and
immunology. These are applied to Ayurvedic concepts, Ayurvedic procedures, and these
are the projects which the task force takes. Already subsequent the first round we have
mentioned all these here but in the second round new projects for example, Amalaki
Rasayana. It shows positive results in Drosophila in their biomarkers, it shows
interesting results in the rat brain cells.

Now scientists from Rajiv Gandhi centre in Trivandrum, Doctor Karta, he has seen this,
he has a model; he is working on for heart, rat heart hypertrophy of the left ventricle. He
has been studying that for various other purposes. Now Amalaki Rasayana if it is general
effects, certainly it should have some effect on the heart. So, he is doing the study of
Amalaki Rasayana on the rat heart hypertrophy. So, there is a study going on there.
Similarly the dosha specific patterns, if it shows manifestations in these molecular
markers what about autonomic functions, because many of these traits described for
Vata, Pitta and Kapha. They are autonomic functions about sweating, about diarrhea;
many of these are autonomic functions.

So, if you take autonomic functions and if you do a study on them or their dosha specific
patterns, we are not looking at molecular markers now. We are looking at standard
autonomic functions measured and do you find dosha specific patterns there. Now these
are studies which are and also there is a very interesting question, when you look at these
Dosha Prakritis; I was asked a question during this formulation of this project, is there
heritability in this? In other words a father who is Vata, Pitta, what is the son? Does he
have the same Prakriti? Now this is not discussed in the old text. It was asked by young
Ayurvedic physician in SDM College. Now he has a project, he is doing that study now,
so like that there are several projects which have come out of these original first round of
studies which is highly encouraging and we must also realize Ayurvedic biology is not
confined to human biology.

We should also know Ayurveda itself there is a great deal of Ayurveda called Vriksha
Ayurveda; Ayurveda of plants, Ayurveda of trees, there are several books on this.
Similarly Ayurveda of animals, there is a very big book almost as big as Charaka
Samhita on Ayurveda for elephants, Ayurveda for horses. So, there is no reason why in
Ayurvedic biology, we would look for projects in these areas. For example, it is already
we have a project; there is a stipulation in Ayurveda a medicinal plant not for all plants,
but several times you will see it mentioned it should be collected from that particular
area, it should be collected at a particular season or a particular time.

Now is there any importance attached to this, what is the significance of this? If you wish
to investigate that question, one of the projects we have received is on garlic and garlic
should be collected from the Himalayan areas; it should be collected in a particular
season. Now if you collect garlic from that area and also collect garlic regardless of the
specifications from a different area in a different season and if you compare these, what
differences do you see, are they chemically different? If they are not chemically
different, is there some other way that you can investigate? And here there is a new very
rapidly growing area of science called microbiomes. Microbiomes are normal human
beings, plants or animals, they have billions of micro organisms living within them and
they are essentially providing very important service to the organisms in terms of
nutrition, in terms of defense, metabolic process and so on.

So, without them it is hardly possible to live; they are beneficial, they are synergistic,
they part of us. So, this microbiome now has become a huge area of interest, a new wave
more or less. Now if garlic also has microbiome, so if you find that the chemical
composition is different or identical, then how do you explain this particular, you have to
collect it at a particular season. You may find if chemical composition is the same, why
is it that you are insisting on this? You may find the differences because of the
microbiome may be different. If chemical composition is the same still you insist that it
should be used, then only you will have this effect that could well be due to the presence
of a particular microbiome profile.
Already a scientist has put up a project; that is a plant molecular biology work. Again it
comes in the Ayurvedic biology because the cue comes from Ayurveda. So, essentially
all these projects because of this Ayurvedic cue it may be a project in plant molecular
biology or it may be in animal science. For example, in Atharva Veda they noticed that
when the pig is sick or a dog is sick, it would go and nibble at certain medicinal plants;
normal times it would never do that but they do this. There is an extensive amount of
work done in the western countries on Chimpanzees. When they have parasitic disease in
the bowel, intestinal parasites, then they go and nibble on certain plants and it was
believed to be because of their cognitive functions, they are able to identify and so on.
Anyway it is an area of great importance.

Now here for example, can we do a project here because what happens is let us, say, a
dog. A dog which does not normally eat a particular type of grass, but when it becomes
sick then it goes and nibbles on that grass; grass is unchanged, it is the same. It is only
the sickness which has made it smell and taste different, the sensitivity has changed.
Now there is smell and taste institutes at the west. So, here if somebody wants to be a
scientist in animal biology wants to study this particular phenomenon smell and taste in
animals in relation to medicinal plants again the cue comes from Ayurveda, but it is a
very up to date project in molecular biology in relation to animal science. So, like this in
many of these areas the task force would be interested in receiving proposals and
supporting. So, it will slowly over a period of time, may be 10 years, we would have an
impressive body of knowledge, so that Ayurvedic biology becomes a reality and a
promising sunlit road ahead.