ABSTRACT
An Ayurvedic polyherbal formulation (Ayush-64) was repurposed for use in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases based on the supportive evidence obtained from a pilot study on its effect on Influenza like illness (ILI) and molecular docking study which revealed that several compounds isolated from Ayush-64 demonstrated antiviral activity. The study aims at evaluating the effect of an Ayurvedic intervention (Ayush-64) in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. A prospective single arm, pilot study in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. The study was conducted at Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan (CBPACS), New Delhi, India. A total of 37 COVID-19 participants confirmed through RT-PCR were included in the study. The proportion of participants with negative SARS-CoV-2 on nasal or throat swab in a 2-day consecutive real-time RT-PCR test was evaluated as the secondary outcome. In the study, 86.1% of participants demonstrated clinical recovery with 14 days of use of Ayush-64 as stand-alone treatment without any other conventional medicines, out of which 75% clinically recovered within 8 days. Further, 69.4% of participants turned negative by the 15th day, out of which 50% became COVID-19 negative on the 8th day. No AE/ ADR was observed during the study. Ayush-64 may significantly facilitate clinical improvement in terms of duration for clinical recovery and attaining negative conversion in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Outbreak of Corona Virus Disease in late 2019 (COVID-19) has become a pandemic global Public health emergency. Since there is no approved anti-viral drug or vaccine declared for the disease and investigating existing drugs against the COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: AYUSH-64 is an Ayurvedic formulation, developed and patented by Central Council of Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, India, has been in clinical use as anti-malarial, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic drug for few decades. Thus, the present study was undertaken to evaluate AYUSH-64 compounds available in this drug against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) Main Protease (Mpro; PDB ID: 6LU7) via in silico techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different molecular docking software's of Discovery studio and Auto Dock Vina were used for drugs from selected AYUSH-64 compounds against SARS-CoV-2. We also conducted 100 ns period of molecular dynamics simulations with Desmond and further MM/GBSA for the best complex of AYUSH-64 with Mpro of SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: Among 36 compounds of four ingredients of AYUSH-64 screened, 35 observed to exhibits good binding energies than the published positive co-crystal compound of N3 pepetide. The best affinity and interactions of Akuammicine N-Oxide (from Alstonia scholaris) towards the Mpro with binding energy (AutoDock Vina) of -8.4 kcal/mol and Discovery studio of Libdock score of 147.92 kcal/mol. Further, molecular dynamics simulations with MM-GBSA were also performed for Mpro- Akuammicine N-Oxide docked complex to identify the stability, specific interaction between the enzyme and the ligand. Akuammicine N-Oxide is strongly formed h-bonds with crucial Mpro residues, Cys145, and His164. CONCLUSION: The results provide lead that, the presence of Mpro- Akuammicine N-Oxide with highest Mpro binding energy along with other 34 chemical compounds having similar activity as part of AYUSH-64 make it a suitable candidate for repurposing to management of COVID-19 by further validating through experimental, clinical studies.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Influenza-like Illness (ILI) refers to a wide range of viral infections with an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The global incidence of ILI is estimated at 5-10% in adults and 20-30% in children. In India influenza accounts for 20-42% of monthly acute medical illness hospitalizations during the peak rainy season. AYUSH-64, a poly-herbal drug, is in practice for 40 years for various clinical conditions like fevers, microfilaremia, and inflammatory conditions. OBJECTIVE: A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Ayurvedic formulation, AYUSH-64 in clinically diagnosed ILI for accelerating the recovery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective, open-label, nonrandomized, single group, single-center pilot clinical study with pre-test and post-test design was conducted at Raja Ramdeo Anandilal Podar Central Ayurveda Research Institute for Cancer, Mumbai, an institute of Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) between June 2018 and July 2019. A total of 38 participants of clinically diagnosed ILI (18-65 years) were studied with an one-week intervention of 'AYUSH 64' in a dose of 3 gm/day and three weeks post-treatment observation period. Assessment of parameters viz. improvement in the symptoms of ILI, frequency of usage of acetaminophen, antihistaminic and cough syrup, hematology, liver function and kidney function tests along with incidence of secondary complications, and time to return to a normal routine was done. RESULTS: One-week intervention of AYUSH 64 helped to recover from ILI symptoms with reduced frequency of usage of acetaminophen and antihistaminic. The intervention was safe on hematology and biochemical parameters. No serious adverse effects were observed during the study. CONCLUSION: AYUSH 64 along-with standard care in ILI is safe and efficacious and this may be used in other viral infections with pyrexia as add-on to standard care for early recovery and better outcome.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Anu Taila is an ancient medicated oil Ayurvedic preparation that is commonly used for nasya karma. It contains more than 25 herbs and goat milk as per the Ayurvedic Formulary of India (AFI). It strengthens the neck, shoulder, and chest muscles and improves the capacity of sense organs. It delays the aging process and reduces hair fall. Recent studies showed that it is also useful in COVID-19. In the current study, an attempt to develop quality control protocols and evaluate the standardization parameters like refractive index, iodine value, saponification value, peroxide value, acid value, rancidity, HPTLC fingerprint profile along with major bioactive compound and quantification of Berberine chloride, Negundoside, and Marmelosin by HPLC. Establishing quality protocol and standard parameters like physicochemical parameters and estimation of bioactive compounds of this preparation is significant for quality control. RESULTS: In this study, HPTLC identifies bioactive chemical compounds like Berberine chloride, Marmelosin, Negundoside, glycyrrhizin, and para hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), Lupeol, Embelin, and Solasodine, which were present in the Anu Taila formulation. HPLC was used to estimate the bioactive marker compounds Negundoside, Berberine chloride, and Marmelosin were present in the Anu Taila formulation. The quantitative evaluation of Berberine chloride (0.0013%), Marmelosin (0.0366%), Negundoside (0.0086%) is present in Anu Taila formulation. CONCLUSION: The study reveals that sufficient quality control parameters were followed during the preparation of the formulation. Physicochemical analysis was carried out as per the guidelines of Ayurvedic Pharmacopeia of India. HPTLC and HPLC profiles generated in this particular study can be considered as a preliminary tool ascertaining the authenticity of Anu Taila.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: India follows a pluralistic system for strategic and focused health care delivery in which traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, and homoeopathy (AYUSH) coexist with contemporary medicine, and this system functions under the Ministry of AYUSH (MoA). The MoA developed a mobile app, called AYUSH Sanjivani, to document the trends of the use of AYUSH-based traditional and holistic measures by the public across India. Analysis of the data generated through this app can help monitor the extent of the use of AYUSH measures for maintenance of health during the COVID-19 pandemic and aid effective health promotion and communication efforts focused on targeted health care delivery during the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to determine the extent of use of AYUSH measures by the public in India for maintenance of health during the COVID-19 pandemic as reported through the AYUSH Sanjivani mobile app. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of the data generated through the Ayush Sanjivani app from May 4 to July 31, 2020, was performed to study the pattern and extent of the use of AYUSH-based measures by the Indian population. The responses of the respondents in terms of demographic profile, use pattern, and benefits obtained; the association between the use of AYUSH-based measures and symptomatic status; and the association between the duration of use of AYUSH-based measures and the outcome of COVID-19 testing were evaluated based on bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Data from 723,459 respondents were used for the analysis, among whom 616,295 (85.2%) reported that they had been using AYUSH measures for maintenance of health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these 616,295 users, 553,801 (89.8%) either strongly or moderately agreed to have benefitted from AYUSH measures. Ayurveda and homeopathic measures and interventions were the most preferred by the respondents across India. Among the 359,785 AYUSH users who described their overall improvement in general health, 144,927 (40.3%) rated it as good, 30,848 (8.6%) as moderate, and 133,046 (40.3%) as slight. Respondents who had been using AYUSH measures for less than 30 days were more likely to be COVID-19-positive among those who were tested (odds ratio 1.52, 95% CI 1.44-1.60). The odds of nonusers of AYUSH measures being symptomatic if they tested positive were greater than those of AYUSH users (odds ratio 4.01, 95% CI 3.61-4.59). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this cross-sectional analysis assert that a large proportion of the representative population practiced AYUSH measures across different geographic locations of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and benefitted considerably in terms of general well-being, with a possible impact on their quality of life and specific domains of health.