Giving a ray of hope for COVID-19 patients, AYUSH 64, a poly herbal formulation has emerged as a potential cure for asymptomatic, mild and moderate coronavirus infection. It is noteworthy that the drug developed by Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) was first introduced in 1980 for the treatment of Malaria and now is repurposed for COVID-19.
Extensively studied and scientifically developed Ayush 64 comprises Alstonia scholaris (aqueous bark extract), Picrorhiza kurroa (aqueous rhizome extract), Swertia chirata (aqueous extract of whole plant) and Caesalpinia crista (fine-powdered seed pulp).
The medicine is also being recommended in National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga, a national task force on COVID-19 management of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The Ministry of Ayush-Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) collaboration has recently concluded a robust multi-centre clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of herbal formulation in the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
Informing about the medicinal trials Dr. Arvind Chopra, Director, Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, Pune and chief clinical coordinator of the Ministry of Ayush said,” the trial was conducted at three centres namely KGMU, Lucknow; DMIMS, Wardha and BMC COVID Centre, Mumbai involving 70 participants in each trail.”
Further stating the benefits of Ayush 64, Dr. Chopra asserted that several significant beneficial effects of AYUSH 64 on general health, fatigue, anxiety, stress, appetite, general happiness and sleep were also observed.
Concluding that Ayush 64 trial study has provided substantial evidence in effectively treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19, Dr. Chopra said, “patients on AYUSH 64 will still require monitoring so as to identify any worsening of disease requiring more intensive therapy with oxygen and other treatment measures provided during hospitalisation.”
Doctor Dr. N. Srikanth, Director General, CCRAS elaborated that,” the outcome of the seven clinical studies has revealed that AYUSH 64 exhibits early clinical recovery in COVID-19 cases without further progression. In all clinical studies, AYUSH 64 was found to be well tolerated and found clinically safe.”
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