Ayurveda In The New Millennium

Ayurveda or "the sacred knowledge of longevity" has been practiced in India and many Asian countries since time immemorial. Interest in Ayurveda started growing all over the world in the late 1970s, following the Alma Ata Declaration adopted by the W.H.O. in 1978. Ayurveda in the New Millennium: Emerging Roles and Future Challenges attempts to survey the progress made in this field and to formulate a course of action to take Ayurveda through the new millennium. It also identifies the many stumbling blocks that need to be removed if Ayurveda is to cater to the needs of a wider audience. Features: Newer insights into the history of Ayurveda Regulatory aspects of the manufacture of ayurvedic medicines Industrial production of traditional ayurvedic medicines Quality control The scientific rationale of single herb therapy Biological effects of ayurvedic formulations Optimization of ancient wisdom and newer knowledge Conservation of threatened herbs Nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals from Ayurveda Critical view of Ayurveda in the West Direction for the Ayurveda renaissance Ayurveda in the New Millennium: Emerging Roles and Future Challenges describes the strength of Ayurveda and how to usher in the Ayurveda renaissance. This book will be of interest to proponents of Ayurveda and all branches of traditional and alternative medicine. Experts from the fields of medicine, pharmacology, new drug discovery and food technology will also find it useful.

Ayurveda, the ancient art of healing, has been practiced in India for more than two thousand years and survives today as a living medical tradition whose principles are at the heart of many "alternative" therapies now used in the West. This "science of longevity" has parallels with Buddhist thought, and advocates a life of moderation through which the three humors of the body will be brought into balance. The writings selected for this volume are taken from Sanskrit medical texts written by the first Ayurvedic physicians, who lived between the fifth century b.c. and the fourteenth century a.d. Here readers will find wide-ranging and fascinating advice on the benefits of garlic therapy, prayers for protection against malevolent disease deities, surgical techniques, exercise regimens, the treatment of poisons, the interpretation of dreams, and more.

An ethnography of Ayurvedic medicine which argues the ills it cures are largely effects of postcolonial identity.

During the past several years tremendous advancements have been made in the field of pharmacology and therapeutics. While new therapeutic strategies are coming up, old ones are being improved by modifications, or being replaced with newer ones. The major topics covered in this book include: endothelins, current topics in cardiovascular research, molecular pharmacology, recent developments in cancer research, antioxidants, oxidants and human disease, herbal drugs, developments in neuropharmacology, myelin biology and demyelinating disease, pharmacovigilance, role of cytokines in health and disease, ocular pharmacology, detoxification of xenobiotics-biotransformation and transport, and several other topics of current interest. The aim of this book is to fulfill the needs of the basic and clinical researchers as well as the students, particularly related to areas of current interest in pharmacology and therapeutics.

Well-Mannered Medicine explores the moral discourses on the practice of medicine in the foundational texts of Ayurveda. The classical ayurvedic treatises were composed in Sanskrit between the first and the seventh centuries CE, and later works, dating into the sixteenth century CE, are still considered strongly authoritative. As Wujastyk shows, these works testify to an elaborate system of medical ethics and etiquette. Physicians looked to the ayurvedic treatises for a guide to professional conduct. Ayurvedic discourses on good medical practice depict the physician as highly-educated, skilled, moral, and well-mannered. The rules of conduct positioned physicians within mainstream society and characterized medical practice as a trustworthy and socially acceptable profession. At the same time, professional success was largely based on a particular physician's ability to cure his patients. This resulted in tension, as some treatments and medications were considered socially or religiously unacceptable. Doctors needed to treat their patients successfully while ostensibly following the rules of acceptable behavior. Wujastyk offers insight into the many unorthodox methods of avoiding conflict while ensuring patient compliance shown in the ayurvedic treatises, giving a disarmingly candid perspective on the realities of medical practice and its crucial role in a profoundly well-mannered society.

Worldwide interest in Ayurveda is on the rise, ever since the World Health Organization adopted the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978. Ayurveda is increasingly being adopted and many phytotherapy schools in Europe and the Americas teach Ayurveda as a wellness system. Considering the prominent position that Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya occupies in Ayurveda, a scientific synopsis of this masterpiece is now presented before the world of Ayurveda. In eight comprehensive chapters, Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya: A Scientific Synopsis of the Classic Ayurveda Text presents a lucid summary of the teachings of Vāgbhaṭa. Ayurvedic view of the human body, basic principles of Ayurveda, surgical armamentarium, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, herbs and other medicinal substances used in the preparation of various dosage forms, ayurvedic pharmaceutialcs, ayurvedic approach to food fortification, salient features of Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya and a roadmap for the future are among the topics discussed. Key Features: Presents the ayurvedic view of conception and the human body. Discusses aspects of ayurvedic pharmaceuticals. Examines diagnosis of diseases, lines of treatment, prognosis of diseases, signs of imminent death, management of mishaps and treatment of new diseases. The voluminous information pertaining to the subjects of the various chapters is presented in the form of many tables for ready reference and quick survey. This book provides a helping hand to those interested in rediscovering the teachings of Vāgbhaṭa and is a great resource for researchers of medicine, traditional and alternative medicine, pharmacology and drug discovery.

Traditional medicines, especially the folk herbal medicines have recently been receiving heightened interest the world over. This reference book contains 24 papers by eminent scientists on herbal drugs, drug discovery and other related topics which deal with biological activities and aspects of herbal drug research, such as anti-cancer, antidiabetic, anti-ischemic, anti-microbial, ethnomedicine, ethnopharmacology, pharmacognostic and phytochemistry.