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Ayurveda is one of the world's oldest medical sciences, with a history that goes back more than 5,000 years. The knowledge of Ayurveda has at various times had an impact on a number of branches of medicine: From ancient Greek medicine in the West to the Chinese and Tibetan in the East. Ayurveda continues to retain its prominent position in our modern world, being officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and enjoying great popularity in the US, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. In India, Ayurveda is recognised by conventional medicine on a par with modern medical science. In the Soviet Union a strong interest in Ayurveda arose for the first time after the Chernobyl disaster, and since then Ayurveda has been actively developing in Russia. In this article we present the chronology of the development of Ayurvedic medicine in Russia since 1989, explore academic literature on the subject available in Russian and review the existing Ayurvedic products and services offered on the Russian market.

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Spinocerebellar ataxia -2 is a progressive, degenerative genetic disease caused by an expanded (CAG) trinucleotide repetition on the chromosome 12 resulting in production of an abnormal protein called ataxin-2. There is no known effective management or cure in biomedicine for this genetic disease. In the present study a case of SCA2 that was treated with Ayurvedic intervention is reported. Ayurvedic treatments in this case were directed towards alleviating symptoms and to reduce severe disability due to progressive nature of disease. A 42 year old male patient was diagnosed for Vāta vyādhi (group of various neurological disorders) and was- treated with Śālisastika pinda svedana (sudation with bolus of medicated cooked rice) for 30 days-, Śirobasti(sudation of head with the help of a cap on head) with Aśvagandhā taila for 45 days and Balaādi ksiāra basti (enema with medicated milk) with Aśvagandhā taila anuvaāsana(enema with oil) for 30 days in Karma basti krama(30 days regime of purification and oleation enema) along with a combination of Ayurvedic oral drugs which consisted of Brahadvaātacintaāmanirasa – 125 mg, Vasantaāmaltiā rasa- 125 mg, Daśamūla kvātha- 40 ml, Aśvagandhā cūrṃa(powder of Withania somnifera DUNAL)- 3g, Amrtaā cūrṃa (powder of Tinospora cordifolia Willd.)- 500 mg, Muktāśukti pisti – 500 mg, Yogaraāja Guggulu – 500 mg twice a day for 2 months. Patient's condition was assessed on the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA). Before treatment, mean SARA score was 35. This reduced to 15 after treatment. Good relief in dysarthria, fasciculation, heaviness in eye, blurred vision, axial tremor; constipation and quality of life were observed in this case.

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Premna integrifolia Linn. (Verbenaceae) is an important constituent of the formulation of ten roots of herbs known as Daśamūla and is widely used for treating various ailments in the Indian system of medicine. Aim of this review is to provide comprehensive information on the pharmacological activities of various parts of P. integrifolia. All the relevant universally accepted electronic databases were searched with respect to the terms “Agnimanthā”, “Headache tree”, “Premna integrifolia”, “Premna obtusifolia”, “Premna serratifolia” including Indian classical texts, pharmacopoeias, Ayurvedic books, journals, etc., for information without specific timeline. Complete information of the plant has been collected manually since the year 1964 and has been arranged chronologically. The collected data reflects that many ethno-medicinal claims have been confirmed through the modern in-vitro and in-vivo pharmacological studies using different extracts and their isolates of P. integrifolia. The isolation of active constituents, their biological actions, clinical safety and validation of traditional uses of P. integrifolia could provide leads for further scientific research. The information collected here will be useful to set-up research protocols for modern drugs and Ayurvedic formulation development.

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Background: Lauha Bhasma(LB) is a complex herbomineral preparation widely used as an Ayurvedic hematinic agent. It is an effective remedy for chronic fever (jīrṃa jvara), phthisis (kşaya), Breathlessness (śvāsa) etc., and possesses vitality enhancing (vājīkara), strength promoting and anti aging (rasāyana) properties. Objectives: The present work was conducted to establish the safety aspects of the use of Lauha bhasma. Setting and Design: LB was prepared by Ayurvedic procedures of purification (śodhana), sun drying (bhānupāka), sthālīpāka, followed by repeated calcination (māraṃa) and “nectarization” (amṃṛtīkaraṃa). The resultant product was subjected to acute and sub acute toxicity studies. Materials and Methods: Acute and subacute toxicity study of LB was conducted in albino rats. Criteria for assessment included ponderal changes, change in biochemical parameters viz., LFT and KFT and hematological parameters. Histopathological studies of different organs including liver, kidney, spleen, testis etc., were also conducted to observe pathological changes if any. Results: In the acute toxicity study, the animal group did not manifest any signs of toxicity and no mortality was observed up to 100 times the therapeutic dose (TD). Significant increase in blood urea (27.83%, P< 0.01), serum creatinine (30.92%, P< 0.05), Aspartate aminotransferase (15.09%, P< 0.05), and serum alkaline phosphatase (27.5%, P< 0.01) was evident in group IV (10 TD). A significant increase in serum total protein (6.04%, P< 0.05) level was observed in group III (5 TD). Histopathological examination of livers in group IV (10 TD) showed mild inflammation in terms of bile stasis, peri-portal hepatic inflammation and sinusoidal congestion; lymphocyte infiltration in kidney and intracellular deposits in the splenic tissue. Conclusion: Lauha Bhasma was found to be safe at the therapeutic dose and also at five times the therapeutic dose levels. However, alteration in some of the biochemical and haematological parameters along with histopathological findings were evident at the highest dose level.

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Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head is the most common type of necrosis affecting the bones. Management of AVN aims at the preservation of structure, function and relief of from pain. Many surgical procedures such as drilling and insertion of bone grafts, modified Whitman or Colonna reconstruction and insertion of prosthesis are carried out to remedy the condition but all these procedures are costly with the prognosis being poor. Signs and symptoms of Avascular necrosis are nearer to asthivāha srotoduşṃi vikāra (disorders of musculoskeletal origin) and can be considered with gambhīra avasthā (chronic stage). An effort has been made in the present study to evaluate the efficiency of Ayurvedic formulations in the conservative management of AVN of the femoral head. A case of AVN with bilateral femoral head was treated with rūkşaṃa (Drying therapy) followed by śodhana (bio purification) and bṃhmaṃa (rejuvenation). Patient was observed for complications during whole course of treatment, untoward complications were not seen. Patient was observed for symptomatic improvements based on assessment done by the questionnaire over graded signs and symptoms before and after treatment. The results were encouraging. The therapy provided marked relief from pain, tenderness, stiffness and improvement in the gait. Conservative management of AVN through Ayurvedic principles provides significant relief and improves quality of life.

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Introduction: Suśruta, Caraka and other ācāryas advocate the collection of medicinal plants keeping in view the part used, season, soil in which the herb grows and the desired pharmacological actions or therapeutic benefits. The logic behind such recommendations is being validated by modern scientific research. Aim: To assess the effect of seasonal variations on the phytoconstituents of Aśvagandhā (Withania somnifera L. Dunal) w.s.r. to lunar cycles. Material and Methods: The plant specimens were collected from Jamnagar identified pharmacognostically and cultivated under a defined habitat in a herbal garden of IPGT and RA on 7 Oct 2013. The root samples were collected on every paurṃimā (full moon) and amāvāsyā (new moon) days in śiśira and grīşṃa ṃṛtu (as per classics) of the year 2013-14. The physicochemical parameters such as pH, ash values, extractive value, total alkaloid content, total flavonoids content (UV spectrometer with AlCl3 reagent), total phenolic content (Singleton and Rossi method), total carbohydrate content (UV spectroscopy with glucose as standard), UV-VIS-NIR and HPTLC were determined. Result: The results of the analytical studies clearly validate the logic of the recommendations of Suśruta and Cakrapāṃi. According to these recommendations, uşṃa vīrya drugs must be collected during āgneya ṃṛtu i.e. grīşṃa ṃṛtu. In present study, total phenolic, flavonide and carbohydrate content were found more in pournima samples. GAP samples showed maximum differentiation from rest of the samples with regards to TCA, TCW, TFW, MEx, WEX, pH etc. parameters. The Grīşṃa Jyeşṃha Paurṃimā (GJP) and Āşāḍha Paurṃimā (GAP) samples were found to be superior than amāvāsyā samples w.r.t. functional groups and withanoloid content respectively on HPTLC. Conclusion: The observations of experimental studies validate the concept of seasonal as well as lunar collection of herb Ashwagandha to yield a drug of superior quality of active principles.

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Background: Infective hepatitis is a major health hazard in the Indian sub-continent with a large population and improper sanitation adding to the malady. Water-borne or infective hepatitis has no treatment in modern medicine. However, there are multiple accounts of how infective hepatitis can be successfully cured by Ayurvedic medicine. Aim: To review relevant studies in Ayurveda claiming to treat hepatitis. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive PubMed search was conducted using 'Treatment of Hepatitis' and 'Ayurveda' as the primary search criterion. Results: 27 articles were revealed by the search. 16 of these 27 articles were selected after reading all abstracts. All 16 articles were reviewed in detail and thereafter the current article was written. Conclusion: Ayurveda definitely has a lot to offer in terms of the treatment of hepatitis. However, a mass awareness of this potential of Ayurvedic medicine is desirable to achieve a larger impact on the society.

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