In May this year, Indian Medical Association officials filed a police complaint against yoga guru Baba Ramdev for making defamatory statements about allopathic doctors. Just a few months before that, the association was protesting against a Central government notification allowing Ayurveda postgraduates to conduct some surgical procedures. In the meanwhile, the government has been promoting traditional medicine products, including Coronil for immunity against COVID-19 for which there is no evidence. 

Traditional medicine, be it Ayurveda or Homeopathy, is very popular in India. In this episode, Suno India’s Padmapriya DVL and Menaka Rao report on the various aspects related to the debate related to traditional medicine, from the safety of drugs to the legitimacy of these traditional forms of medicine.

This episode features Dr Ritu Priya Mehrotra, professor at the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, Dr Sanjay Nagral, a Mumbai-based gastrointestinal and liver surgeon and on the editorial board of Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, and Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a Kochi-based hepatologist who has been revealing how unregulated traditional medicines are causing liver injuries in people. 

Additional reading:

Union Budget 2020-21 places the AYUSH Sector on a sustainable path of growth, say sectoral
The Cure – fiftytwo.in
Traditional Indian Medicine Guidelines To Build COVID Immunity Published
General guidelines for Safety/toxicity evaluation of Ayurvedic formulations
Can Ayush cure Covid?
AYUSH for COVID-19: Science or Superstition? Priya R, Sujatha V – Indian J Public Health
Research conducted by Kovai scientists on rheumatic patients shortlisted for prestigious award | Coimbatore News
Clinical outcomes histopathological patterns and chemical analysis of Ayurveda and herbal medicines associated with severe liver injury- A single center experience from Southern India