Knowledge of Medicine and Pharmacology in Ayurveda - A Literature Review

Ayurveda is a science of life, which describes about the various ways of life which are useful or harmful for our body, the perfect duration, measures of healthy body and healthy life and the laws of social life for a healthful living. From the time of Vedic literature, various herbs and their fundamental principle of action have been mentioned. After the Vedic period, when the Samhita period came, various classical texts like Charak Samhita (1000 BC), Susrut Samhita (5th AD) were written pertaining to various diseases, their treatment protocol (Medicinal or surgical) along with various medicinal formulations as well. So, A literature review is performed aiming at the core knowledge of Ayurvedic pharmacology and bringing it to light with the help of modern knowledge of pharmacology. Various Ayurvedic texts, Samhitas, research journals, electronic data bases, article, and gray literatures are reviewed to collect information’s and to know the gap in the knowledge field. It has been found that Ayurvedic pharmacology comprises of four allied branches i.e. 1) Pharmacognosy-Identification of Drug or Nam Rup Vigyan. 2) Pharmacodynamics (what the drug does to the body) and Pharmaokinetic (what the body does to the drug or Guna Karma Vigyan. 3) Therapeutic use - How the drug can be used to a specific disease (Amayik Prayoga). 4) Pharmacy - Selection, Purification, processes of compounding drugs & their preservation. So, Ayurvedic Pharmacology which is called as Dravya Guna Vigyan deals with principles, qualities (Guna), action & therapeutic profile of plant-based products as well as food products mentioned in Ayurveda. Therefore, to conclude, any Ayurvedic drugs contain some qualities by which it can create an action in the body. Ayurveda says them as Rasa (Taste), Guna (Inherent Quality), Virya (Potency), Vipak (the product after assimilated in body) &Prabhaba (Principle responsible for specific action).