Trikatu Churna In The Management Of Hypothyroidism

Thyroid disease especially Hypothyroidism is one of the commonest endocrine disorders worldwide and its prevalence of is increasing day by day. In allopathic system hypothyroidism is managed by replacement therapy with L-thyroxin which appears effective in restoring biochemical euthyroidism. However, studies continue to show problems in the management of this condition. Many patients report not feeling well with persistent symptoms despite adequate T4 replacement therapy. It has become necessary to find alternative medicine for managing hypothyroid symptoms. The main underlying pathology in Hypothyroidism is Hypometabolism in the tissues. This hypometabolism can be correlated to Mandagni in Ayurveda. Keeping this in mind we can plan the treatment of hypothyroidism in the line of treatment of Mandagni. In the treatment of Mandagni, on effective Ayurvedic formulation is Trikatu Churna. In this clinical study we have used Trikatu churna, as a dietary supplement in 30 patients from the OPD of Govt. Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Guwahati, to study its potential in the management of hypothyroidism. The statistical analysis of the data in trial group with Trikatu churna showed the value at 1.86 with level of significance at 1% (p<0.10). The Result of the clinical trial signifies that Trikatu churna is effective in the management of hypothyroidism.

Reversal of CRF- and stress-induced anorexia by an ayurvedic formulation

Trikatu churna is one of the commonly used Ayurvedic formulations in the traditional system of medicine in India for the treatment of agnimandya, i.e. anorexia. Trikatu contains equal amounts of finely powdered rhizomes of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (Zingiberaceae) and fruits of Piper longum L. and Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae). The chief objective of the study was to determine the antianorectic effects of three drugs individually and to compare these effects with the effect of Trikatu. The activity of the drugs was studied after anorexia was induced in rats by (1) physical stress arising from immobilization for 60 min; (2) intraperitoneal injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 100 μg/kg body weight); and (3) intraperitoneal administration of fluoxetine (8 mg/kg body weight). Similar doses of the extracts were tested on freely feeding rats and on rats that had been deprived of food for 20 h. Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF, 0.3 μg/rat) can induce anxiogenic-like behavior and reduced food intake. This model was also studied, and the results were compared. The components of Trikatu churna failed to individually reverse the inhibition of feeding. In contrast, Trikatu churna pretreatment reversed stress-, fluoxetine- and CRF-induced anorexia. The study provides strong evidence of the synergistic action of Ayurvedic formulas and also proves the ability of Trikatu churna to reduce stress and CRF-induced anorexia.

Anthelmintic activity of aqueous and ethanolic extract of Trikatu Churna.

The present study was done with the aim to evaluate anthelmintic activity of Trikatu churna containing traditionally user herbs viz., Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae), Piper longum L. (Piperaceae) and rhizome of Zingiber officinale Roscoe using adult earthworm Pheritima posthuma. All these three ingredients are spicy, commonly used in our daily diet, also well known for their tremendous therapeutic potential, since from the Vedic period. The aqueous and ethanolic extract of Trikatu churna and its ingredients were also screened for preliminary phytochemical studies. Piperazine citrate was used as standard and it was found that the TCEE activity is higher than TCAE.