Abstract

FORMULATION OF PUNASH ARISHTA AND IT’S MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES

R. Sharadha*, M. Sandhya and G. Krishna Mohan

ABSTRACT

Ayurveda is one of the oldest systems of medicine. Its basic principles are in tune with nature and its formulations are also nature friendly. The limiting aspect of Ayurveda in todays setting is the lack of scientific analytical techniques adopted to prove its worth in a world which requires scientific validation. The attempt of this research work was to highlight the importance of Ayurveda and its formulations by validating it with current scientific approaches. Stress manifests as a function of the body and brain, both of which are essentially chemically driven systems. Rasayanas in Ayurveda, help one cope with stress. E.g. Ashwagandha, Tulsi etc. Arishtas are self generating alcoholic preparations which involve the use of natural crude drugs. We formulated the antistress arishtas, Ashwagnadha and Punarnava arishta individually and also Punash arishta, a combination of Ashwagandha and Punarnava arishta. TLC profiles of the individual and Punash arishta were developed and compared. In the field of molecular docking, docking is useful for predicting both the strength of association and binding affinity between two molecules and also type of signal produced. Molecular docking studies were performed to know the role and working of the antistress components of Ashwagandha. Our literature survey revealed that Sitoindosides are responsible for antistress activity of Ashwagandha. We have proved by molecular docking studies that out of Sitoindosides VII, VIII and IX, Sitoindoside IX has the best fit with G-Protein coupled receptor. This reaffirms the role of Sitoindoside as an antistress substance.

Keywords: Ashwagandha, Punarnava, Arishta, Punash, Sitoindosides, Molecular docking.