Osteoarthritis vs Ayurveda

Before proceeding with a new blog, I would first like to wish every member and reader of pharmainfo a very very happy independence day and Raksha Bandhan. Today, its the turn for a desi blog to fetch a prior seat along with a desi system of medicine- ayurveda.

Osteoarthritis (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gonarthrose-Knorpelaufbrauch.jpg)

Dr. Siba Raychaudhuri, University of California has found out a new power of ayurveda in the aegis of osteoarthritis. He and his team have found out that 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) has immense potential in treating osteoarthritis. AKBA has an anti-inflammatory property which is utilized in treating away the disease. Moreover, AKBA along with salai (Boswella serratia) have been proved by them to act effectively against osteoarthritis (especially of knee region).

What they hads done in their research was that patients were exposed to a randomized, double-blind, 90-day trial which showed significantly greater reductions in pain scores with the agent than with placebo.

The Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) in the synovial fluid is significantly high in osteoarthritis. It is responsible for cartilage degeneration. However, on application of AKBA, the MMP-3 went down as against the placebo controlled group.

AKBA is a lipo-oxygenase inhibitor and has been showed by them to produce no mutagenic complications and also exhibited no major toxicities as well.

Reference Link

http://www.medindia.com/news/Ayurvedas-Anti-osteoarthritis-Mechanism-39964-1.htm

http://www.medindia.com/news/Ayurvedas-Anti-osteoarthritis-Mechanism-39964-1.htm