Has ayurvedic medicine been studied for anything besides type 2 diabetes?

1.

Kumar Verma A, Kumar V, Singh S, et al. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapie. 2021;137:111356. doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111356.

Publish date: May 6, 2021.

All the plants and their secondary metabolites used in the present study were obtained from Ayurveda, with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The selected secondary metabolites have been experimentally validated and reported as potent antiviral agents against genetically-close human viruses. The plants have also been used as a folk medicine to treat cold, cough, asthma, bronchitis, and severe acute respiratory syndrome in India and across the globe since time immemorial. The present study aimed to assess the repurposing possibility of potent antiviral compounds with SARS-CoV-2 target proteins and also with host-specific receptor and activator protease that facilitates the viral entry into the host body. Molecular docking (MDc) was performed to study molecular affinities of antiviral compounds with aforesaid target proteins. The top-scoring conformations identified through docking analysis were further validated by 100 ns molecular dynamic (MD) simulation run. The stability of the conformation was studied in detail by investigating the binding free energy using MM-PBSA method. Finally, the binding affinities of all the compounds were also compared with a reference ligand, remdesivir, against the target protein RdRp. Additionally, pharmacophore features, 3D structure alignment of potent compounds and Bayesian machine learning model were also used to support the MDc and MD simulation. Overall, the study emphasized that curcumin possesses a strong binding ability with host-specific receptors, furin and ACE2.

2.

Hecht, Frederick M. (2024). In Goldman-Cecil Medicine (pp. 153). DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-93038-3.00030-7

Natural products encompass vitamins, minerals, herbs (also known as botanicals), and probiotics, all of which are often sold as dietary supplements. Although many of these products have anecdotal support, evidence of efficacy is limited for most of them.Under the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, dietary supplements are considered to be food, so manufacturers are not required to obtain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before marketing any supplement that was already available before 1994 (“grandfathered status”). By comparison, new dietary ingredients introduced after 1994 require reasonable evidence of safety, which must be reviewed before marketing. Some dietary supplements can cause severe adverse effects, in part due to impurities or excessive levels of certain active ingredients,and in aggregate they represent the second most common cause of drug-induced liver disease (Chapter 136). The Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act of 2006 requires that physicians in hospitals report any serious adverse event associated with a dietary supplement (using a form available on the FDA website: MedWatch Form 3500A). The updated status of different natural products is available on the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health website (https://nccih.nih.gov/health/herbsataglance.htm), and the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements has additional information on the current status of different dietary supplements (https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/). Although rigorous research has not found evidence that clearly supports the use of many nutritional supplements, intriguing exceptions exist. An example is turmeric (a traditional medicine from the Indian subcontinent), which is high in curcumin, a curcuminoid that has substantial anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Data suggest that a curcuminoid preparation may be more effective than placebo for decreasing pain and improving postexercise recovery.

Acupuncture,which has been practiced in China for thousands of years, involves placing thin needles in specific sites, or acupuncture points, which are often stimulated in a variety of ways, such as by spinning the needle. Controversy exists as to whether the benefits of acupuncture are due to a placebo effect versus actual effects of the needle insertion. Data from meta-analysis suggest that about 50% of its benefits are consistent with a placebo effect, but it still improves pain compared with sham treatment, such as stimulation of an acupuncture point without a needle penetrating the skin.,Substantial evidence also indicates that acupuncture can decrease the duration of postoperative ileus,as well as nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy or surgery. Other components of traditional Chinese medicine include an assessment of potential imbalances or blockages in the circulation ofqi, or vital energy, through the body; the use of herbal medicine; and recommendations for diet and exercise (including qigong). Evidence for these broader elements of traditional Chinese medicine is still limited, but one randomized trial suggested that a traditional Chinese medicine compound might improve outcomes after an ST-elevation myocardial infarction.Data are also limited for the true benefit of Ayurveda (traditional medicine from the Indian subcontinent), which includes some elements of yoga along with components parallel to traditional Chinese medicine.