Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of Triphala in the community

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Codified and noncodified information about Ayurveda practices and formulations is available and transmitted as science or folk claims. Triphala, a well-researched Ayurveda formulation, lacks studies reporting community perception regarding its usage. This study explores Triphala’s knowledge, attitude, and practice in the community. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This exploratory cross-sectional study involving 806 residents of Pune, New Delhi, Guwahati, Kottakkal, and rural areas of Rajkot was undertaken to evaluate Triphala’s knowledge, attitude, and practice in the community. A pretested and structured questionnaire addressing Triphala’s knowledge, attitude, and practice was administered through Google forms or a personal interview method. Data were managed and analyzed by SPSS 20.0, and descriptive statistics were generated. RESULTS: A total of 30% of participants demonstrated good knowledge, and 42% demonstrated positive attitude. A total of 41.84% of respondents knew the ingredients of Triphala, 68% knew its use in constipation, 26% in health maintenance, and 22.2% in weight loss. Also, powdered dosage form (93.6%) is used predominantly through the oral route with lukewarm water (94.1%) as a vehicle. Around half of the respondents have previously used Triphala for various health conditions. The knowledge regarding the proportion of Triphala ingredients, and other formulations containing Triphala, was less at all sites. A good number of people (38.9%) are ready to consume Triphala for health maintenance. The rural area had a lower response rate compared with the urban but with similar response patterns for most domains. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of people in the general population knew the ingredients of Triphala, its use in various health conditions, route of administration, adjuvants, and cost-effectiveness. A good number of people showed readiness for the consumption of Triphala daily. However, the research component of Triphala has not sufficiently percolated. Hence, empowering the public on the utilization aspects and research evidence of Triphala would propagate the evidence-based practice of Ayurveda for scientific sustainability.