Herbal Remedy for Asthma

HERBAL REMEDY FOR ASTHMA

                      Asthma is described in the ancient writings in Ayurveda as early as 7th century A.D. The works of Caraka, Susruta and Vagbatha senior refer to this condition as “Tamaka shvara”.’Tama’ meaning darkness and ‘Shvara’ as breath, hence ‘Tamaka shvara’ meaning disorder of the breath.  The siddha”Gunapada”, ‘Tharan Venpa’ poems give an idea about the medicinal uses of the selected plants, for ‘asthma’. Use of many herbal and plant products as part of functional foods, provide the necessary chemical compounds required for regulation of the organs and organ systems of the human body.

                      The product “AV ASMO” is a proprietary herbal formula for Asthma.  Each capsule contains the extracts of Adhathoda vasica, Tylophora asthmatica, Coelus forrkohi, Inula racemosa, Ocimum sanctum, and Alpinia galanga. The above formula will help in controlling the antigen response, reducing the histamine release and relieving inflammation of the bronchial pathway. It reduces mucus build up thereby clearing the bronchial pathways and promoting bronchial dilation.

                      Identification of action of a particular compound, against a specific disease, is a challenging and long process with generally two approaches. First, selecting   a disease and testing several possible plant extracts and compounds that could inhibit enzymes associated with that disease. Second, by selecting an ethnobotanically identified plant and screening extracts or compounds from these plants in a range of assays.

                      The international organization for standardization (ISO) has declared that the ingredients extracted from the herbal plants like Zingiber officinale,  Piper nigrum, Piper longum, Eletteria cardamom, Cinnamomum cassia, Adhatoda vasica, Cassia occidentalis, Solanum xanthocarpum, Solanum indicum and   Agele marmelos used in the herbal formulation help to relieve Asthma and allergies.

                 The drug Alarka is botanically equated to Solanum trilobatum. (Family: Solanaceae). It is an Indian system of medicine for its cardio tonic and carminative properties. This drug either singly or in combination is also used in respiratory diseases (Nadkarani, 1954). Carpersterol, obtained from the same plant, is used for anti-inflammatory activity (Battacharya, 1980).