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Name of Topic:
Page No.
Ayurveda . 2-10
Introduction 2
Definition . 2
History ..... 3-5
Source ...... 6-8
Contribution of Traditional Drugs to Modern Medicine 9-10
Introduction . 11
Definition .. 11
History 11
Source .. 13-14
Contribution of Traditional Drugs to Modern Medicine . 15-17
Homeopathy 18-21
Introduction . 18
Definition .. 18
History 18
Source .. 19-21
Ayurveda
Introduction
(Ayurveda= ayus: age, life, longevity, and veda=knowledge).
Ayurveda or Ayurvedic medicine is a system of Hindu traditional medicine
native to the Indian subcontinent.
Originated in prehistoric times, some of the concepts of Ayurveda have been
discovered since the times of Indus Valley Civilization and earlier. Ayurveda
significantly developed during the Vedic period and later some of the nonVedic systems such as Buddhism and Jainism also incorporated in the
system.
Ayurvedic
practitioners
had
developed
various
medicinal
There are also various legendary accounts of the origin of Ayurveda. That it
was received by Dhanvantari (or Divodasa) from Brahma.
Ayurvedic practices include the use of herbal medicines, mineral or metal
supplementation e.g. rasa shastra; surgical techniques, opium, and
application of oil by massages.
History:
The origins of Ayurveda have been traced back to 5,000 BCE and earlier,
when they originated as an oral tradition. Some of the concepts of Ayurveda
have been discovered since the times of Indus Valley Civilization. The first
recorded forms of Ayurveda as medical texts evolved from the Vedas.
Ayurveda is a discipline of the upaveda or "auxiliary knowledge" in Vedic
tradition. The origins of Ayurveda are also found in Atharvaveda, which
contains 114 hymns and incantations described as magical cures for
disease. There are various legendary accounts of the origin of Ayurveda, e.g.
that it was received by Dhanvantari (or Divodasa) from Brahma. Tradition
also holds that the writings of Ayurveda were influenced by a lost text by the
sage Agnivesa.
Main texts
There are three principal early texts on Ayurveda include the Charaka
Samhita, the Sushruta Samhita and the Bhela Samhita. The
Sushruta Samhita is based on an original from the 6th century BCE,
and was updated by the Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna in the 2nd
century CE. The Charaka Samhita, written by Charaka, and the Bhela
Samhita, attributed to Atreya Punarvasu, are also dated to the 6th
century BCE. The Charaka Samhita was also updated by Dridhabala
during the early centuries of the Common Era.
and
Dravyaguna
sangraha
(11th
century)
by
instruments
became
widespread.
During
this
period,
Source:
Plant-based treatments in Ayurveda may be derived from roots, leaves,
fruits, bark, or seeds such as cardamom and cinnamon. In the 19th
century, William Dymock and co-authors summarized hundreds of plantderived medicines along with the uses, microscopic structure, chemical
composition, toxicology, prevalent myths and stories, and relation to
commerce in British India. Animal products used in Ayurveda include milk,
bones, and gallstones. In addition, fats are prescribed both for consumption
and for external use. Consumption of minerals, including sulphur, arsenic,
lead, copper sulfate and gold, are also prescribed. The addition of minerals
to herbal medicine is called rasa shastra.
6
Ayurveda uses alcoholic beverages called Madya, which are said to adjust
the doshas by increasing Pitta and reducing Vatta and Kapha. Madya are
classified by the raw material and fermentation process, and the categories
include: sugar-based, fruit-based, cereal-based, cereal-based with herbs,
fermentated with vinegar, and tonic wines. The intended outcomes can
include causing purgation, improving digestion or taste, creating dryness, or
loosening joints. Ayurvedic texts describe Madya as non-viscid and fastacting, and say that it enters and cleans minute pores in the body.
Purified opium is used in eight Ayurvedic preparations and is said to balance
the Vata and Kapha doshas and increase the Pitta dosha. It is prescribed for
diarrhea and dysentery, for increasing the sexual and muscular ability, and
for affecting the brain. The sedative and pain-relieving properties of opium
are not considered in Ayurveda. The use of opium is not found in the ancient
Ayurvedic texts, and is first mentioned in the Sarngadhara Samhita (13001400 CE), a book on pharmacy used in Rajasthan in Western India, as an
ingredient of an aphrodisiac to delay male ejaculation. It is possible that
that opium was brought to India along with or before the Mohammedan
conquest. The book Yoga Ratnakara (1700-1800 CE, unknown author),
which is popular in Maharashtra, uses opium in a herbo-mineral
composition prescribed for diarrhea. In the Bhaisajya Ratnavali, opium and
camphor are used for acute gastro-enteritis. In this drug, the respiratory
depressant action of opium is counteracted by the respiratory stimulant
property of Camphor. Later books have included the narcotic property for
use as analgesic pain reliever.
Cannabis indica is also absent from the ancient Ayurvedic books, and is first
mentioned in the Sarngadhara Samhita as a treatment for diarrhea. In the
Bhaisajya Ratnavali it is named as an ingredient in an aphrodisiac.
Ayurveda says that both oil and tar can be used to stop bleeding, and that
traumatic bleeding can be stopped by four different methods: ligation of the
blood vessel, cauterisation by heat, use of preparations to facilitate clotting,
and use of preparations to constrict the blood vessels. Oils are also used in
a number of ways, including regular consumption, anointing, smearing,
head massage, application to affected areas, and oil pulling. Liquids may
also be poured on the patient's forehead, a technique called shirodhara.
Eight Components
The canonical components of Ayurveda are derived from classical
Sanskrit literature, in which Ayurveda was called "the science of eight
components" (Sanskrit a ga).
The components are:
children.
Shalya tantra: Deals with surgical techniques.
lkya-tantra (Ophthalmology): Deals with diseases of the
teeth, eye, nose, ear etc.
Bhuta-vidya: Deals with the causes, which are not directly
visible and not directly explained by tridosha, pertaining to
micro-organisms or spirits.
Agada-tantra: Deals with antidotes to poison.
Rasayana-tantra
(Geriatrics)
(Anti
Agings) :
Deals
with
rejuvenation.
Vajikarana tantra (aphrodisiacs): Deals with healthy and desired
progeny.
growth
factor),
cancer-promoting
enzymes
(such
as
for breast and ovarian cancers and arsenic trioxide for acute myelogenous
leukemia are being used after they were scientifically proven to be effective
by modern science.
List of Herbs Commonly Used by Ayurvedic Doctors for the Prevention and
Treatment of Cancer
Scientific Name
Abrus precatorius
Allium sativum
Aloe vera
Boswellia serrata
Curcuma longa
Datura metal
Plumbago zeylanica
Hindi Name
Gunja
Lasuna
Kumari
Shallaki
Haridra
Dhattura
Chitraka
English Name
Coral bead vine
Garlic
Aloe
Indian olibanum
Turmeric
Angels trumpet
Leadwort
11
Unani
Introduction
Unani-tibb or Unani Medicine also spelled Yunani Medicine is a form of
traditional medicine practiced in middle-east & south-Asian countries. It
refers to a tradition of Graeco-Arabic medicine, which is based on the
teachings of Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen, and developed into an
elaborate medical system in middle age era by Arabian and Persian
physicians, such as Rhazes (al-Razi), Avicenna (Ibn Sena), Al-Zahrawi, and
Ibn Nafis.
Definition
An Islamic healing philosophy that incorporates major elements of ancient
Greek medicine (unani means Greek in Arabic), which assumes four
elementsearth, fire, water, airand four corresponding humours: Phlegm
(balgham), Blood (dam), Yellow bile (safra) and Black bile (sauda),
respectively.
History
12
Unani medicine first arrived in India around 12th or 13th century with
establishment of Delhi Sultanate (12061527) and Islamic rule over North
India and subsequently flourished under Mughal Empire. Alauddin Khilji
had several eminent Unani physicians (Hakims) in his royal courts. In the
coming years this royal patronage meant development of Unani practice in
India, but also of Unani literature with the aid of Indian Ayurvedic
physicians.
The first encyclopedia of medicine in Arabic language was by Persian
scientist Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari's Firdous al-Hikmah ("Paradise of
Wisdom"), written in seven parts, c. 860. Al-Tabari, a pioneer in the field of
child
development,
emphasized
strong
ties
between
psychology
and
medicine, and the need for psychotherapy and counseling in the therapeutic
treatment of patients. His encyclopedia also discussed the influence of
Sushruta and Chanakya on medicine, including psychotherapy.
The art of healing was dead, Galen revived it; it was scattered and disarrayed, Razi re-arranged and re-aligned it; it was incomplete, Ibn Sinna
perfected it.
Ali ibn Mousa al-Ridha
Ali ibn Mousa al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of shia (765-818), was at the
top of the scientists of his time in medical science, and his treatise in
medicine is regarded as most precious Islamic literature in the science
of medicine. It has been called the Golden Dissertation.
Ali ibn al-'Abbas al-Majusi
'Ali ibn al-'Abbas al-Majusi (died 982-994), also known as Haly Abbas,
was famous for the Kitab al-Maliki or Complete Book of the Medical
Art, his textbook on medicine.
13
Source
Unani medicine is based on the concept of the four humours: Phlegm
(Balgham), Blood (Dam), Yellow bile ( afr') and Black bile (Saud'). The time
of origin is thus dated at circa 1025 AD, when Avicenna wrote The Canon of
Medicine in Persia. While he was primarily influenced by Greek and Islamic
medicine, he was also influenced by the Indian medical teachings of
Sushruta and Charaka.
There are various therapeutic approaches available to the hakim. Ilaj-bighiza, or dietotherapy, involves recommending a specific diet, which is the
simplest and most natural course of treatment by a hakim. For fever, for
example, Unani medicine stresses a nutrient-rich, low-roughage diet that
might include dalia (porridge) and kheer (a milk broth). Both the amount
14
scientist
Salimuzzaman
Siddiqui,
who
specialized
in
15
the
practice.
Surgery
was
uncommonly
practiced
by
physicians and other medical affiliates due to a very low success rate,
even though earlier records provided favorable outcomes to certain
operations. There were many different types of procedures performed
in ancient Islam, especially in the area of ophthalmology.
Anesthesia and antisepsis
17
and
antisepsis,
surgery
was
limited
to
fractures,
18
although
his
writings
on
the
subject
were
only
19
Homeopathy
Introduction
Homeopathy also spelled homoeopathy is a form of alternative medicine
created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann based on his doctrine of like cures
like (similia similibus curentur), whereby a substance that causes the
symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick
people.
Homeopathy is pseudoscience. It is not effective for any condition, and no
homeopathic remedy has been proven to be more effective than placeb.
Definition
Homeopathy, or homeopathic medicine, is a holistic system of treatment that
originated in the late eighteenth century. The name homeopathy is derived
from two Greek words that mean "like disease." The system is based on the
idea that substances that produce symptoms of sickness in healthy people
will have a curative effect when given in very dilute quantities to sick people
who exhibit those same symptoms. Homeopathic remedies are believed to
stimulate the body's own healing processes. Homeopaths use the term
20
including
opium,
myrrh,
and
viper's
flesh.
These
remedies. The practitioner will ask the patient questions about lifestyle,
dietary habits, and personality traits, as well as specific questions about the
nature of the headache and when it occurs. This information gathering is
called profiling or case-taking.
Homeopathic Remedies That Work:
Aconite
Allium cepa
poison.
Commonly known as red onion, homeopathic physicians use a dilute extract of red onion to treat
symptoms similar to that of red onionwatery eyes,
Apis
burning, etc.
Commonly known as the honeybee, apis as a
homeo-pathic remedy is made from the body of the
bee. It is used to treat symptoms similar to that of a
Arnica
Arsenicum album
Belladonna
Calcarea carbonica
as
belladonna
in
is
used
deadly
knightshade,
homeopathy
to
treat
in
homeopathy
to
treat
symptoms
of
23
Ipecac
Unani
An Islamic healing
Homeopathy
Homeopathic remedies
philosophy that
internal consumption
incorporates major
animal, synthetic
elements of ancient
Greek medicine
distilled water.
Homeopathy was
created by Samuel
18th century.
Canon of Medicine in
Persia.
Ayurveda believes in the Unani medicine is
Homeopathy believes in
Phlegm (Balgham),
human body.
(Saud').
Unani follow three
disciplines of treatment
different pattern.
principle of
involved in Ayurveda.
In India, Ayurveda is
homeopathy.
The Food, Drug, and
professionals. The
recognized
is use as unani
homeopathicremedies
Research in Ayurveda
world.
1970s, homeopathy
a state sponsored
made a significant
institution involved in
some homeopathic
companies increased
other aspects of
tenfold.
Ayurveda.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_in_the_medieval_Islamic_world
25
www.medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Unani+medicine
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1899343/Unanimedicine/306595/Modes-of-treatment
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy
26