Ayurveda can help prevent AIDS
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26 May 2002, 1907 hrs IST,PTI

NEW DELHI: Ayurveda can help in preventing AIDS by strengthening the
body's defence system through herbs and a supplementary code of
conduct, doctors at a recent meeting of international policymakers on
HIV here, said.
"Apart from 'Achaar Rasayan' (code of conduct), the ancient system of
Indian medicine provides for a whole range of herbs for the
prevention of AIDS through strengthening the immune system," Naveen
Gupta, president of Ashtvaidyan Ayurveda, an NGO of Ayurvedics, told
the International Policy Makers Conference on HIV/AIDS 'Towards a
world without AIDS', which concluded here recently.
Some of the herbs found useful in the prevention process included
amla ( Emblica officinalis ), bala ( Sida cordifolia ), haritaki (
Terminalia chabula ), nirgundi ( Vitex nirgundo ) and amrita (
Tinospora wedifolia ), Gupta said.
The code of conduct or Ayurveda lifestyle prohibits organised
commercial sex or even casual sex with unknown partners, he said.
"The basis of Ayurveda lies in prevention, strengthening the body's
defence system and self-repair mechanism to enable the individual to
resist the disease process," he said.
Gupta said the goal of Ayurveda was to preserve health, prevent
disease and promote longevity of life with the help of prescribed
regimen of diet and lifestyle including sex behaviour pattern. "The
prevention of AIDS benefits no one except the patients," he said,
adding, cure only benefits pharmaceutical lobbies and health
maintenance organisations.
--- In aash_4all@yahoogroups.com, "Dr. Avnish Jolly"
<avnishjolly@...> wrote:
>
> Ayurveda takes on allopathy in AIDS fight
>
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/10/22/stories/200210220253010
> 0.htm
> P.T. Jyothi Datta
>
> NEW DELHI, Oct. 21
>
> IT may not be long before a certain green-eyed Bollywood diva or
the
> man who almost won India an Oscar Award this year are roped in to
> spread awareness on AIDS in the country. But this and much more are
> on the anvil in the anti-AIDS segment, with Maharashtra-based
> Veronica Laboratories Ltd (VLL) set to take on the Goliaths of
> the "highly-cartelised" drug industry with Herbtab, an herbal anti-
> AIDS drug.
>
> Mumbai-based Enpee Healthcare Ltd owns Herbtab. But its marketing
> would be spearheaded by the Rs 22-crore VLL, following a 10-year
> marketing deal that VLL recently inked with Enpee. India alone has
an
> estimated 3.8 million HIV positive people - , but VLL has no easy
> road ahead as it seeks to propel itself into the drug industry's
big
> league.
>
> Given the stiff competition from allopathic counterparts, Mr Bipin
> Shah, MD, VLL, told Business Line that Herbtab would be supported
by
> social marketing in India, tie-ups abroad and public interests
> campaigns. Domestic pharma big daddies to contend with in this
> segment include: Ranbaxy, Cipla, Aurbindo and Hetero, while
> GlaxoSmithKline is among the biggest global players.
>
> "Herbtab is born out of Ayurvedic and Unani therapies and has no
> toxic elements or side-effects. Unlike the allopathic anti-AIDS
> cocktail that need to be taken life-long - Herbtab needs to be
taken
> only for 12 to 15 months. It strengthens the immune system by
> facilitating increase in CD4 blood cells, vital for immunity. And
> this has been proved in clinical trials," he claimed.
>
> Priced at Rs 10 per tablet, the dosage per patient is three tablets
> taken three times a day or about Rs 2,700 per month. "Allopathic
> drugs cost between Rs 1,000 to Rs 20, 000 per month, per patient.
And
> yet, anti-AIDS drugs clocked a sales of only Rs 30 crore last
year,"
> he points out.
>
> Cost to patient being of paramount concern, VLL seeks to network
with
> non-governmental organisations and government-run institutions to
> make Herbtab available to the consumer at one-third the cost, Mr
Shah
> informs
>
> Multi-centre Phase III trials, at an Rs 5-crore budget, are being
> negotiated with premier government institutes in New Delhi,
Bangalore
> and the North East. After successful trials at Mumbai's KEM
Hospital,
> Herbtab is available in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
It
> would be available nationally in three months.
>
> Roping in Bollywood
>
> VLL has roped in Dr Jabbar Patel, director of Bollywood-flick
> Ambedkar, for a documentary on AIDS, expected to feature silver
> screen's biggest names. In the past, Shabana Azmi and more
recently,
> Madhuri Dixit had featured in anti-AIDS campaigns. But the
grapevine
> has it that film world's leading model-turned-actress and actor-
> turned-producer may be roped in this time. Unwilling to spill the
> beans, Mr Shah revealed that different regions would have their
> respective matinee-idols in the documentary. Meanwhile, public
> interest campaigns, to be aired in a month, are being done by
> Avishkar Advertising Services.
>
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