Preparation and characterization of mercury‑based traditional herbomineral formulation: Shwas kuthar rasa.

Background: Shwas kuthar rasa is a prestigious and potential herbomineral formulation of Ayurveda tested on 100 years of time scale for the treatment of asthma, allergy, and other respiratory problems. However, there is a lack of scientific work on Shwas kuthar rasa. Objective: To prepare and physicochemically evaluate mercury‑based Shwas kuthar rasa herbomineral formulation of Ayurveda for asthma and allergy. Materials and Methods: Shwas kuthar rasa was prepared as per Ayurvedic text and characterized by various modern analytical techniques, viz., transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‑ray diffraction (XRD), far infrared (IR) spectroscopy, fourier transform IR spectroscopy, energy dispersive X‑ray analysis, and inductively coupled plasma‑mass spectroscopy. Results: Study clearly revealed that prepared Shwas kuthar rasa formulation shows several crystallites agglomerate into a single particle. It yields submicron size particle structure (1.22 µ) with TEM analysis. The usage of mercury in the formulation found in the form of mercuric sulfide (HgS) and reaching to nanocrystalline (31–56 nm) size by XRD analysis. Conclusion: The present study indicates Shwas kuthar rasa is nanocrystallite with submicron size particle. Trituration of Kajjali helps in the formation of HgS and increases the crystallinity in the formulation.

Immediate effects of two relaxation techniques on healthy volunteers.

This controlled study compared immediate effects of two relaxation techniques on state anxiety and sustained attention in healthy subjects. 86 volunteers (56 men and 30 women) were divided into two groups: the first 43 volunteers (age range 18 to 64) practiced 20 minutes of yoga-based Deep Relaxation Technique (DRT), while the second group of 43 volunteers (same age range), practiced 20 minutes Supine Rest (SR). State anxiety was assessed using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI A-State), and sustained attention was assessed using the Six Letter Cancellation (SLC) and Digit Letter Substitution (DLS) tests. All tests were administered immediately before, and immediately after, practice. A significant reduction in State Anxiety score (P<0.001) was observed for the group practicing DRT, but not for the group practicing SR. For the sustained attention tests, however, there were significant increases in scores by both DRT and SR groups (P<0.001). The results suggest that both interventions improve attention, but that only DRT reduces State Anxiety.