Browsing by Author "Vinamra Sharma"

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Ayurvedic pharmacology and herbal medicine
(Medknow Publications, 2015) Vinamra Sharma; Anand K. Chaudhary
Ayurveda, a science of well-being with its unique approaches of social and spiritual life is in practice since centuries in the Indian sub-continent. Approximately, five decades have been passed when it is getting global attention for health benefits of community with its basic principles of healing. New terminology like herbal medicines appeared in contemporary era with a little bit difference at the level of pharmaceutics, but therapeutics is almost same. In this review paper, we have tried to understand the effective mechanism of herbal medicines with ancient Ayurvedic terminology and its correlation with the contemporary researches. Therefore, we have selected some commonly used herbal drugs such as Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (Phyllanthus emblica Linn.) (Amalaki), Commiphora wightii (Arn.), Bhand (Commiphora mukul) (Guggulu), and one herbo-mineral drug Black Bitumen, or Mineral Pitch (Shilajit) for explanations of thrust and theme of the title. Our methodology to get data is just by referring relevant literature from the ancient Samhita (Charaka Samhita onward) period to contemporary peer-reviewed published papers in journals of repute. Experimental and clinical studies and practices of Amalaki, Guggulu, and Shilajit validated classical claims of the therapeutic effect of these drugs. There is the probability that ancient Ayurvedic pharmacology is at par to express genuineness of herbal medicines.
Characterization and comparative physico-chemical studies of Manahshila (traditionally used arsenic mineral) and the corresponding polymorphs of realgar (As4S4)
(Indian Academy of Sciences, 2017) Vinamra Sharma; Amiya K. Samal; Anand K. Chaudhary; Rajesh K. Srivastava
This communication presents characterization and comparison of the physico-chemical properties of different varieties of Manahshila with the corresponding polymorphs of realgar. Three varieties of Manahshila have been described in Ayurveda, viz. Shyamangi, Kanavirak and Khandakhya; the last two are acceptable therapeutically. Khandakhya contains high percentage of arsenic than Kanavirak. In this study, both samples of Manahshila have been collected. Their physical and chemical properties have been correlated with the polymorphs of realgar. XRD study classifies Kanavirak as alacranite and Khandakhya as realgar. EDXA study confirms 51.33% and 68.14% of arsenic in alacranite and realgar samples respectively. This work correlates the ancient description of Manahshila with contemporary mineralogical classification (polymorphs) of mineral realgar.
Characterization of Hg-based ayurvedic drug Kajjali: Classical and contemporary approaches
(Indian Academy of Sciences, 2018) Vinamra Sharma; Amiya K. Samal; Shruti Pandey; Anand K. Chaudhary; Rajesh K. Srivastava
This communication presents characterization of Kajjali, a mercury (Hg) based Indian traditional ayurvedic drug, by both ancient and contemporary methodology. For preparation of Kajjali, 225 g each of Shuddha Parada (purified mercury) and Shuddha Gandhak (purified sulphur), initially purified through traditional methods of purification as described in ayurvedic literature, were manually triturated using stone mortar and pestle until it became a very fine black coloured powder. This preparation process took up to ~78 h. Thereafter, Kajjali was characterized by classical and contemporary methods. Kajjali passed the classical tests like Rekhapurnatwa, Slakshanatwa, Nishchandratwa and Varitara. XRD study confirmed that Kajjali contains mercury sulphide (HgS), identified as metacinnabar (cubic form of HgS), in addition to free sulphur. Composition of Kajjali has been determined by EDXA method, which validated the presence of 88.84% mercury and 11.16% sulphur. SEM studies substantiated particle size distribution of Kajjali, which varied from 60 nm to 2 μm range. Such integration of classical and contemporary studies is important, because such vital medicines should be characterized properly for safety and efficacy before their appropriate use for diseases. © 2018, Current Science Association.
Chelation therapy and chelating agents of Ayurveda
(Medknow Publications, 2016) Shruti Pandey; Vinamra Sharma; Anand Kumar Chaudhary
Consumption of metals and minerals are very common in today's life either in the form of medicine or in the form of commercial products. However, the accumulation of free metals above the normal level in human body is the prime cause of metal toxicity. To remove this toxicity from human body chelation therapy is adopted by modern system of medicine, where different chelating agents are described. Chelation therapy is the preferred medical treatment for reducing the toxic effects of metals. Chelating agents are capable of binding to toxic metal ions to form complex structures which are easily excreted from the body removing them from intracellular or extracellular spaces. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and 2,3-Dimercaprol are some of the common chelating agents, which have been used for the chelation of lead or arsenic poisoning. However, serious side effects of these agents have been reported by causing the loss of essential metals and minerals from the body. This may lead researchers to develop less toxic analogs. In Ayurveda (Ayur = life, Veda = science; the science of life) system of medicine, metals and minerals in the form of medicines (Rasaushadhies) are frequently used to treat different diseases. Yet, the ancient scholars of Ayurveda while practicing came to know about the ill-effects of these medicines on human body which may be caused due to the use of medicines made from improper processed metals and minerals. At the same time, they advised to administer various natural substances in the form of antidotes such as honey, ghee, cow's milk, garlic, coriander, turmeric, and coconut water to remove ill effects or toxicity occurred from these medicines. These natural antidotes may consider as chelating agents of Ayurveda, which not only helpful to remove the toxic effects of metal and minerals without causing any side effects but also protect the loss of essential elements from the body. Thus, in this review study, we have tried to correlate the natural antidotes as explained in Ayurveda vis-à-vis with the term chelation or chelating agents of contemporary science.
Isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from natural resources: Metabolomics and molecular approaches
(Elsevier Science Ltd., 2020) Diksha Sharma; V.P. Singh; Rajesh Kumar Singh; C.S. Joshi; Vinamra Sharma
The plants are an essential natural source of pharmaceutical agents. They play an important part in new drug discovery and development. However, the isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from natural resources is extremely challengeable due to the complexity in traditional methodologies. Recently, new strategy of adjuvant therapy is introduced in drug research. Therefore, natural bioactive compounds are being used in the combination of other marker compounds. Natural products are a rich source of lead molecules and have a unique and diverse chemical structure in drug discovery. The vast number of metabolites typically present in natural products takes part in metabolism pathways. Metabolomics is the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites and allows a systematic study of a complex mixture through biological testing systems. Metabolomics improve the effectiveness of previous approaches restoring the relevance of natural products as source of novel potential pharmaceutical agents. Starting from this viewpoint, the aim of this chapter is to address plant based bioactive compounds isolation and analytical techniques employed for the identification of metabolites and the metabolomics applications in the drug discovery process. The molecular approaches of lead compounds from natural sources for the biological activity are also being addressed. © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Safety assessment on chronic administration of Swarna Bindu Prashan— a popular ayurvedic preparation of incinerated gold ash used as immune booster to children in southern India
(National Institute of Science Communication, 2017) Vinamra Sharma; Rudramma R. Hiremath; P.A. Patil; B.S. Prasad
Swarna Bindu Prashan (SBP) is an Ayurvedic proprietary preparation of incinerated gold ash (Swarna Bhasma) administered frequently with ghee and honey to children as immune booster in southern-India. In this study, we assessed the safety parameters of SBP and its vehicle’s effect on chronic administration. The groups of Wistar strain male albino rats were identified as control, vehicle group of ghee, honey and both ghee-honey and group of SBP, respectively. In SBP group, Swarna Bhasma was administered in dose of 5.625 mg/ kg body wt. alongwith 0.4 mL of each ghee and honey. Vehicles group also received same dose of 0.4 mL/kg of each substance in graded quantities by oral route for 90 days. During the course of study, no mortality and no significant behavioral changes were noticed in any group studied. The effect on food and water consumption and fecal and urine output remained unaffected. No major alterations were observed in hematology and serum biochemistry. Histopathology of vital organs also supported the nontoxic effect of SBP. It is concluded that the chronic use of SBP is safe and non-toxic at this tested dose level when compared to other vehicle groups. © 2017, National Institute of Science Communication. All rights reserved.
Semecarpus anacardium L.f. leaf extract exhibits activities against breast cancer and prolongs the survival of tumor-bearing mice
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2024) Rajesh Kumar Singh; Bhagaban Mallik; Amit Ranjan; Ruchita Tripathi; Sumit Singh Verma; Vinamra Sharma; Subash Chandra Gupta; Anil Kumar Singh
Semecarpus anacardium L.f. has been commonly used in various traditional medicines from ancient times. The nuts have been described in Ayurveda medication systems to treat numerous clinical ailments. However, isolating phytochemical constituents from nuts remain challenging and exhibits cytotoxic effects on other cells. In this study, we have standardized procedures for isolating phytochemicals from the leaf extract. The ethyl acetate leaf extract selectively affects cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner (IC50: 0.57 µg/ml in MCF-7 cells) in various cancer cell lines and induces apoptosis in cancer cells. However, the non-malignant cells were relatively insensitive to the extract. Next, the incubation of the leaf extract induces cell cycle arrest and suppresses cancer cell migration in the cell culture model. Moreover, oral administration of extract significantly restored tumor growth in mice. Together, these observations suggest the anti-cancer activities of S. anacardium L.f. leaf potential for both in vitro and in vivo models. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.