Role of ayurvedic intervention in the management of anemia

Abstract

Anemia is an important public health problem in India. Complementary and alternative systems/traditional medicines can also be explored for the control of anemia apart from the existing platforms. Interventions with various herbal and iron formulations have been reported in Ayurveda. Hence, this review was aimed to explore the effect of various ayurvedic drugs on anemia from the existing literature. Literature was searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Medline (Ovid), IndMed and by cross-referencing the articles. Key words used included “Pandu Roga,” “Anemia” and “Ayurveda.” The search was restricted to original research articles published in the English language from January 2005 to June 2018 among human subjects. Randomized and nonrandomized control trials were included in this review, which assessed the effectiveness of ayurvedic drugs on improvement in hemoglobin as well as subjective parameters such as weakness, anorexia, and pallor. Effectiveness of 17 different Ayurvedic preparations was assessed in the studies. The maximum increase in hemoglobin was observed by the drug Sarva-juara-hara-lauha in a dose of 500 mg (145.55 mg elemental iron), when administered daily for 30 days using honey as a vehicle. Increase in hemoglobin from 7.3 ± 1.9 to 12.1 ± 1.6 g/dL was observed. All studies that assessed the effect of the drugs on the basis of subjective parameters reported a decreased percentage of complaints by the patients. No adverse reactions were reported. In conclusion, administration of ayurvedic drugs is an effective and safe approach for prevention and management of anemia in various population groups. However, larger multicentric studies are required to assess the exact potential of these drugs in the control of anemia.