Clinical Role of Modern Ayurveda in Treating Cancer

Abstract

“Ayurveda”, an ancient Indian science of living which originated about 5000 thousand years ago, establishes ways of living a healthy life by establishing harmony between body, mind, and spirit. Ayurveda suggests lifestyle and dietary changes for the management of cancer and cancer like symptoms. Though the occurrence of this disease about five thousand years ago was sparce, yet the ayurvedic texts do mention some symptoms that can be aliased to cancer. These are often treated by different Ayurvedic procedures and formulations. Majority of these formulations balance the elements in our body referred to as “Tridoshas” which are vatta, pitta and kapha. It has been reported that the herbs, lifestyle and dietary changes that act by balancing “Tridoshas” show beneficial effects on cancer at various stages of the disease. Medicinal plants that possess a set of defined attributes such as bitter, pungent, astringent biopotency, act as excellent candidates for prevention, mitigation and treatment of cancers. Moreover, using systems pharmacology and bioactivity-guided fractionation, it is now possible to decipher the molecular mechanism of action of these potent anti-cancer herbs. An amalgamation of Ayurvedic systems and modern medicine put together as “Modern Ayurveda” is proving efficient in cancer therapy.