The concept of Poly-herbal formulations is not strict principle of Ayurveda. Single drugs have been indicated in Ayurvedic Materia Medica. Ayurvedic pharmacy is a multipurpose subject. Patala-yantra described in Rasa-Shastra (alchemy) was used to isolate aromatic oils from herbs. Some, but not all of the Ayurvedic drugs are time–tested because traditionally they have been used for centuries. Triphala, Trikatu and Hinga-vashtaka-churana are classical examples.
Vipaka and prabhava parameters are comparable with metabolism and therapeutic activity of the drug. In synthetic system of medicine, extensive pharmaco-kinetic and pharmaco-dynamic studies are done. This is major drawback of Ayurvedic system as no efforts have been done for carrying out pharmaco-kinetic and pharmaco-dynamic studies of formulations used in Ayurveda. Various authors have reported about kinetic and dynamic data for Ayurvedic drugs which is a welcome step.
Karma parameter describes pharmacological activity of a drug in detail. Ayurveda has classified drugs according to pharmacological activity.
These herbs have been standardized chemically. Proper Ayurvedic drug standardization requires rational approach and in this regard fundamental aspects of Ayurvedic drug should be preserved. Main obstacle in Ayurvedic drug standardization is biological source of the drug. The active constituent may vary according to geographical source of the drug and it may not be easy to standardize drug chemically.
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