Basic principles of pharmaceutical science in Ayurvĕda.

ABSTRACT

Pharmaceutical is one of the allied branches of science, which is closely associated with Medical science. Today pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacognosy are playing important role in treatment for a disease and its prevention. Herbal medicines are being used by about 80% of the world population mostly in the developing countries in the primary health care. There has been an upsurge in demand for the Phyto-pharmaceutical products of Ayurvĕda in western nations, because of the fact that the synthetic drugs are considered to be unsafe. Due to this many national and multinational pharmaceutical companies are now concentrating on manufacturing of Ayurvĕdic Phyto-pharmaceutical products. Ayurvĕda is the Indian traditional system of medicine, which also deals about pharmaceutical science. The Ayurvĕdic knowledge of the pharmaceutical science is scattered in Ayurvĕdic classical texts. Săranghadhara Samhita, which is written by Săranghadhara, explain systematically about the information of the Ayurvĕdic pharmaceutical science and also updated it. Industrialized manufacturing of Ayurvĕdic dosage forms has brought in new challenges like deviation from basic concepts of medicine preparation. Săranghadhara Samrhită the devout text on pharmaceutics in Ayurvĕda comes handy to solve such problems, as the methods described are very lucid and easy to follow.