Volume 3, Issue 1

Ayurveda is the most ancient science of life; health and cure, practiced in India for thousands of years based on its own unique fundamental principles such as promotion of health, prevention of disease, promotion of longevity etc. Ayurvedic classics give special emphasis on three important values which have been considered as the important conducive factors for maintenance of life and health. This important triune consists of Ahara (food), Nidra (Sleep) and Brahmacarya (Good conduct). These three have been considered as Upastambha or the basis of life and health. Among traya-upastambha, Ahara (diet) has been considered as the first one which shows its importance. Intake of wholesome and unwholesome diet is responsible for prevention and production of various diseases respectively including life style disorders. Acarya Caraka has clearly stated, that a daily diet should be (of such quality), which not only helps to maintain present well-being but serves as a prophylactic against coming diseases. This is a very important aspect of preventive medicine as mentioned in Ayurveda classics. Lifestyle disorders are a big problem for our society today. Such diseases mainly result from life style related factors such as unhealthy diet, bad food habits, lack of physical activity etc. In this article, we are mainly concerned with the various regimen of diet and dietetics principle as mentioned in the Ayurveda for the prevention of lifestyle disorders.

Coleus forskohlii is an important indigenous medicinal plant in India. It has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for curing various disorders and this is the only source of the diterpenoid forskolin. Forskolin has a unique property of activating almost all hormone sensitive adenylate cyclase enzymes in a biological system & is used for the treatment of eczema, asthma, psoriasis, cardiovascular disorders and hypertension, where decreased intracellular cAMP level is believed to be a major factor in the development of disease process. This review article has through light on a comprehensive account of the morphology, distribution, medicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and biotechnological approaches for forskolin production.

Definition Relaxation refers to the muscles which are relatively free from tension and are at rest.

Lemon is an important medicinal plant of the family Rutaceae. It is cultivated mainly for its alkaloids, which are having anticancer activities and the antibacterial potential in crude extracts of different parts (viz., leaves, stem, root and flower) of Lemon against clinically significant bacterial strains has been reported (Kawaii et al., 2000). Citrus flavonoids have a large spectrum of biological activity including antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, anticancer and antiviral activities (Burt, 2004 and Ortuno et al., 2006). Flavonoids can function as direct antioxidants and free radical scavengers, and the capacity to modulate enzymatic activities and inhibit cell proliferation (Duthie and Crozier, 2000). In plants, they appear to play a defensive role against invading pathogens, including bacteria, fungi and viruses (Sohn et al., 2004). Flavonoids are generally present in glycosylated forms in plants, and the sugar moiety is an important factor determining their bioavailability. Preparation from peel, flowers and leaves of bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L.) are popularly used in order to minimize central nervous system disorders (Pultrini et al., 2006).The peel of Citrus fruits is a rich source of flavonoid glycosides, coumarins, and volatile oils (Shahnah et al., 2007). Many polymethoxylated flavones have several important bioactivities, which are very rare in other plants (Ahmad et al., 2006). In addition the fiber of citrus fruit also contains bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, the most important being vitamin C (or ascorbic acid), and they certainly prevent and cure vitamin C deficiency-the cause of scurvy (Aronson, 2001).

In Sanskrit Samhita Malati is described as flower of god. It is perennial climbing shrub with white flower. It is also cultivated at various parts of India. Analgesic (mild), antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, carminative, cicatrisant, expectorant, galactagogue, parturient, sedative and a tonic for the uterus.

The available drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis have been shown to have toxic effects which besides their efficacy reduction urge the development of new therapeutic agents capable of controlling this disease. In this sense, the immunomodulatory plants used in traditional medicine are gaining particular importance nowadays. The herbal plants Emblica officinalis as well as Azadirachta indica have strong immunomodulatory and medicinal properties. The current study was designed to evaluate the leishmanicidal effect of both the herbal plants alone or in combination. The control of infection was assessed in terms of Leishman Donovan Units (LDU) in the impression smears of liver. There was a significant reduction in parasite load in animals treated with herbal drugs in combination. DTH responses were measured as an index of cell-mediated immune response and were found to be higher in treated animals as compared to the infected controls, the most pronounced being in the animals treated with combination of herbal drugs. Higher levels of IgG2a and lower levels IgG1 levels were observed in this group of animals. The hematological and biochemical parameters were found to be normal in treated groups of animals.

"Rasayana tantram naam vayasthaapanam ayurmedhabalakaram rogaapaharan samartham cha " (Su. Su. Here, according to Sushruta, Rasayana helps in arresting ageing process, lengthening of life span, improves memory, stamina and develops resistance against diseases. Acharya Charak has included 'Rasayana' as the first chapter in Chikitsasthan . Owing to the immense importance given for rasayana, we are persuaded to think on the exact role of rasayana dravyas. Apparently, all the karmas appear unrealistic as to how can just a formulation simultaneously act on such a broad scale. The following article throws light on the probable mode of action of Rasayana w.s.r. to Haritatakyadi yoga that is stated by Charak to be consumed before taking Rasayana therapy .

Ayurveda considers Vata, Pitta and Kapha or Tridoshas (Ayurvedic biological constituents) as main determinants of human constitution. In this study 800 healthy individuals from the age group of 18 to 25 years were screened for their Tridoshas (Ayurvedic biological constituents) and the correlation between Tridoshas and blood groups (A B O system) was studied. We tried to find out whether there is any correlation between predominant Dosha (Ayurvedic biological constituent) and blood groups. After finding out the Tridosha Prakriti (Ayurvedic constitution), it was found that out of 800 subjects, only 447 were having predominance of a single Dosha (Ayurvedic biological constituent).The reason for this was that the remaining 353 persons were having almost similar percentage of either two or all the three Doshas. That means they were having either Dwandwaja Prakriti (combination of two Doshas) or Tridoshatmaka Prakriti (combination of three Doshas). After correlating predominant doshas with A,B,O blood groups, significant correlation was found. Kapha (Ayurvedic biological constituent) was found to be correlated with blood group A, Pitta (Ayurvedic biological constituent) was correlated with blood group B and Vata (Ayurvedic biological constituent) was correlated with blood group O.

Yava is a main food grain well known to the present era since Vedic kala. It is considered as the most ancient cereal in Atharvaveda. An Ayurvedic text entails the uses of Yava in religious ceremony, dietary and medicinal preparations. There is detailed description of Yava in various samhita and nigantu under dhanya varga. It is mainly indicated as a pathya diet in many disorders. Here in this review Yava references from important Ayurvedic texts and the compilation of diseases in which yava is used as pathya is described.

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the allelopathic potential of eight selected medicinal species from different plant families. Aqueous leaf extract of different concentrations (1%, 3%& 5%) were used for this screening against Wheat and Pea (test plants). Filter paper method was used in this evaluation. All species showed a variable allelopathic potential against both test plants.Pongamia glabra and Albizia lebbeck showed more negative effect against the growth of wheat plant while in case of pea plant, the growth was more reduced by the effect of Lantana camara and Tagetes erecta. All plants showed significant effect against both test plants except Tagetes erecta, which showed non-significant effect against wheat plant.

With the advance technology, 21st Century gave man many health disturbances due to changed life style and fast food habit. The longevity of life as compared to ancient time decreased significantly. Patients suffering from diseases have lower immunity. Ayurveda have described Rasāyana chikitsa for the sake of qualitative and quantitative life span of human. Rasāyana churna is one of the Rasāyana explained by Vāgabhațācārya for betterment of health of an individual. Thus the present clinical study was under taken with the aim to evaluate clinically the effect of Rasāyana churna to improve health in middle age group. In this present research work 30 patients were treated with Rasāyana churna for 1month and placebo group of 30 patients treated with Capsule contained Wheat flour. It was found that the therapeutic efficacy of trial drug was very much encouraging and all the patients responded well and improvement was statistically significant in patients.