Efficacy of Shankhapushpi Choorna on Borderline IQ in School Going Children - A Randomized Placebo Controlled Clinical Study

Abstract

Objective: To study the concepts regarding Medha, Medhya and IQ. Detailed assessment of IQ level of school going children with 6-8 years of age group. To study the efficacy of Shankhapushpi Choorna in the enhancement of IQ of school going children with Borderline IQ. Design: Open randomized placebo controlled clinical study with pre and post-test design. Setting: O.P.D. of Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Ayurveda and Hospital, Udupi and also nearby schools of Udupi. Interventions: A minimum of 40 children under borderline IQ were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selected children were randomly divided into 2 groups of 20 each. Group A (Trial Group) were treated with Shankhapushpi Choorna with dose of 5grams daily at night, after food with lukewarm milk for a duration of 60 days and Group B was administered with Placebo. The follow up period was 30 days after the intervention. Main outcome measures: The subjective criteria were based on the parameters of Grasping power, Memory power, Courage & Activity. The values obtained using Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC) were considered for objective assessment. Results: Over the duration of the study, the trial drug Shankhapushpi Choorna was seen to have a positive effect on all the subjective and objective parameters with statistically highly significant results. Conclusion: Shankhapushpi Choorna with the proper dosage according to the age definitely improves the Medha of children with borderline IQ. The drug can be used as both promotive as well as curative aspects in accordance with intelligence.