Ayurveda in The History of Medicine

Prehistoric Medicine

The "art of healing" began thousands of years ago with the innovations of the primitive man trying to provide relief to those close to him, in sickness and suffering, motivated by feelings of sympathy and kindness. In the absence of an obvious explanation, his limited intelligence attributed disease and other calamities to the anger of God, the invasion of the body by evil spirits, or the influence of stars and planets. As a logical sequence, the medicine he practiced consisted of appeasing God with prayers, rituals, and sacrifices, driving out evil spirits from the human body. There is also evidence that prehistoric man improvised stone and flint instruments with which he performed circumcisions, amputations, and trephining of skulls. It is thus obvious that medicine in the prehistoric era (5000 BC) was intermingled with superstition, religion, magic, and witchcraft. Elements of prehistoric medicine are still present in many countries. Primitive man may be extinct, but "the supernatural theory of disease" in which he believed is not yet extinct in our modern society (Smith, 1999).

Indian Medicine: The Evolution of Ayurveda

Hindu medicine is as ancient as Hindu Civilization. Ayurveda, by definition, implies "The Science of Life" (Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word derived from two roots: Ayur, which means life, and Veda, knowledge). Its origin is traced back to the Vedic times about 5000 BC. Ayurveda is a part of the Atharva Veda, which solely deals with medicine. The principles of Ayurveda focus on maintaining a balance between the body, mind, and spirit, which are considered essential for good health (Sharma, 2001).

In 1833, Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor of India, appointed a Committee to make a report on the existing medical education and institutions in order to revise and improve Indian medical education. The Committee submitted their report on October 20th, 1834. The Committee advised the immediate abolition of the Native Medical School and suggested the formation of a Medical College for Indians. English was chosen as the language of instruction mainly for the utilization of the immense wealth of printed work and illustrations in Western medical literature. On the recommendation of the committee, a Government Order No.28 of 28th January 1835, Medical College of Bengal was established. This day is still celebrated as the Foundation day of the Calcutta Medical College. A small hospital consisting of 20 beds was established on 1st April 1838. In 1840, a large Hospital for women was founded with 100 beds to afford instruction in Midwifery. Assistant Surgeon M.J. Bramley was appointed as Superintendent with Assistant Surgeon Dr. H. H. Goodeve as his only assistant. Pandit Madhusudan Gupta, a Baidya Professor of the Native Medical Institute, was transferred with two assistants from the Sanskrit College to the New Medical College. The period of study was four years, and the examination was conducted under the supervision of the Committee of the Council of Education. The certificate qualified them to practice Surgery and Medicine (Ray, 1986).

A Glimpse of Ayurveda – The Forgotten History and Principles

Ayurveda is one of the most renowned traditional systems of medicine that has survived and flourished from ages to date. With the enormous knowledge of nature-based medicine, the relationship of human body constitution and function to nature and the elements of the universe that act in coordination and affect living beings, this system will continue to flourish in ages still to come. There are many avenues still to be explored by researchers, practitioners, and experts in the field who carry the responsibility of keeping the traditional systems of medicine (TSMs) alive and contributing to their growth in the future. However, due to many barriers such as a lack of literature sources in different languages and insufficiency of awareness about the basic principles and histories of the systems from different ethnic origins, there is a lacuna of exchange of information from systems around the globe. Knowledge of systems from different ethnic origins would bring about the interchange of knowledge and increase the understanding of different systems, and this can ultimately contribute to the integration and advancement of herbal drug research when accompanied by the collaborative work of researchers from different countries. These futuristic goals can be accomplished when one gains insights into the systems, the principles, and works upon the strengthening aspects common between the various TSMs. In this review, we have made an attempt to put forth the basic principles of doctrine and history of Ayurveda to contribute to the above-said perspectives (Mukherjee, 2012).

Current Status of Ayurveda and Perspectives for Its Future Applications

In recent decades, Ayurveda has experienced a considerable shift in its paradigm, and a significant change in the outlook of researchers towards its applications has occurred. The therapeutic principles of Ayurveda focus on Prakriti and tridoshas, and these principles explain that every individual has his unique constitution called Prakriti. Prakriti determines the characteristic response of each individual to medications and dietary factors. ‘Ayurgenomics,’ a recently introduced research field, bridges this gap between genomics and Ayurveda and serves as an aid in understanding inter-individual differences in responses to therapies in various diseases. It especially emphasizes studying inter-individual variances in patients from identical ethnic backgrounds (Patwardhan, 2014). TSMs are now being looked upon for recourse to some limitations faced by Western medicine, such as the need for individualized therapies, potential side effects, and lack of desired therapeutic efficacy (Joshi, 2013).

Rotti et al. have published several studies correlating the concept of Prakriti in Ayurveda to present-day science. A report indicating the correlation of dominant Prakriti with the Body Mass Index (BMI) and place of birth in individuals was published. Studies involving subjects of various Prakriti types viz. Vata, Pitta, and Kapha were carried out to identify molecular differences that affect susceptibility and responses of individuals to various environmental or disease conditions. A classification method for the human population, with respect to DNA methylation signatures, is reported based on the traditional Ayurveda concept of Prakriti. In a study involving genome-wide SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) in 262 male individuals from three different Prakriti, it was found that the PGM1 gene is associated with energy production. PGM1 was found to be more homogeneous in Pitta Prakriti than the Kapha and Vata Prakriti (Rotti et al., 2015).

An integration of the knowledge of modern analytical techniques with a broader perspective for applications of Ayurveda principles can help in its wider acceptance globally. There is an increasing need to prove and foster the scientific basis of the principles of Ayurveda, to keep this age-old valuable system of medicine as a living tradition in the future (Chaudhary, 2011).

References:

Chaudhary, A. (2011). Global acceptance of Ayurveda: Need of the hour. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 2(4), 179-186.

Joshi, K., & Ghodke, Y. (2013). Prakriti-based research: Goodness for wellness. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 4(4), 233-237.

Mukherjee, P. K., & Wahile, A. (2012). Integrated approaches towards drug development from Ayurveda and other Indian system of medicines. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 103(1), 25-35.

Patwardhan, B., & Bodeker, G. (2014). Ayurvedic genomics: Establishing a genetic basis for mind-body typologies. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 14(5), 571-576.

Ray, I. (1986). History of Public Health in Colonial Bengal. Cambridge University Press.

Rotti, H., et al. (2015). Determinants of Prakriti, the human constitution types of Indian traditional medicine and its correlation with contemporary science. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, 6(1), 3-9.

Sharma, P. V. (2001). History of Medicine in India. Indian National Science Academy.

Smith, F. (1999). Superstition in Medicine. Routledge.