MANAGEMENT OF PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDERS THROUGH AYURVEDIC DRUGS- A CRITICAL REVIEW
Om Prakash Rout, Rabinarayana Acharya, Rakshapal Gupta, Shrikanta R Inchulkar, Kamleshwar S Karbhal, Rashmibala Sahoo
ABSTRACT
The Psychosomatic disease (disorder of stress) to the problem of health
and disease has attained the central theme of the current trends of
modern medicine. Psychotherapeutics does not meet properly for
therapeutic possibilities of majority of patients with psychosomatic
problems. Ayurvedic remedies are immerging as ultimate therapeutic
hope for such disorders. These disorders may be prevented by the use
of psychotropic drugs, highlighted as medhya dravyas and medhya
rasayanas either as a single drug or in the form of compound
formulations, in classical texts of Ayurveda. Global search is on, for
the development of an effective antistress drug from natural source
which could effectively tone up the disturbed physiological functioning
of the subjects affected by such stress problems. A number of such
drugs mostly in the form of their extracts (holistic approach) or in
some, as active principles isolated from them, have been evaluated for
their antistress activity by a number of tests which include open field behavior etc. This
review covers a broad spectrum of Ayurvedic drugs and formulations used in specificpsychosomatic disorders, their active constituent and specific part of the plant being used. It
is observed that traditionally nearly 28 single drugs are being used either as a single or in
combination for the management of Apasmara, Bhrama, Unmada, Sanyasa and Murccha.
Nearly 78 single Indian medicinal plants and 50 classical Ayurvedic formulations are
generally in use for psychosomatic disorders. Active constituents extracted from specific
parts of 14 medicinal plants are used for the purpose of to benificial the mental health
problems and nearly 46 medicinal plants are reported to have pharmacologically potent as
having anxiolytic effect, adaptogenic and anti-stress activity.
Keywords: Ayurveda, medhya, psychosomatic disorder, stress, medicinal plants, antianxiety, adaptogenic effect.
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