Ayurvedic Herbal Therapies: A Review of Treatment and Management of Dementia.

Dementia has been characterized by atypical neurological syndromes and several cognitive deficits, such as extended memory loss, strange behavior, unusual thinking, impaired judgment, impotence, and difficulty with daily living activities. Dementia is not a disease, but it is caused by several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lewy's bodies. Several drugs and remedies are indicated for alleviating unusual cognitive decline, but no effective pharmacological treatment regimens are available without side effects. Herbal drugs or traditional medicines like Ayurveda have been known for facilitating and corroborating the balance between mind, brain, body, and environment. Ayurvedic therapy comprises 600 herbal formulas, 250 single plant remedies, and natural and holistic health-giving treatments that relieve dementia in patients and increase vitality. Ayurvedic Rasayana herbs [rejuvenating elements] strengthen the brain cells, enhance memory, and decrease stress. The current medicine scenario in the treatment of dementia has prompted the shift in exploring the efficacy of ayurvedic medicine, its safety, and its efficiency. This review presents the literature on several herbal treatments for improving dementia symptomatology and patients' quality of life.

Convolvulus pluricaulis (Shankhapushpi) ameliorates human microtubule-associated protein tau (hMAPτ) induced neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease Drosophila model.

Convolvulus pluricaulis (Shankhapushpi) has long been used as traditional herbal medicine in India as nerve tonic. We studied the neuroprotective effects of C. pluricaulis extract (aqueous) against human microtubule-associated protein tau (hMAPτ) induced neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) Drosophila model. We analysed the lifespan, locomotor activity, τ protein level, reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation (LPO), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities in 10th, 20th and 30th days old control (wild type), τ control tauopathy Drosophila reared on C. pluricaulis supplemented with regular food or regular standard food. C. pluricaulis significantly offsets hMAPτ induced early death and extends the lifespan and diminishes the level of τ protein in tauopathy Drosophila. C. pluricaulis also enhances the antioxidant enzyme activities and ameliorates the τ-induced oxidative stress and restore the depleted AChE activity in the fly model. This study provides the first evidence that supplementation of C. pluricaulis along with the regular standard food ameliorate the neurotoxic effect of hMAPτ in AD Drosophila model and also reveals that it is a potent neuroprotective agent.

Nootropic efficacy of Satvavajaya Chikitsa and Ayurvedic drug therapy: A comparative clinical exposition.

INTRODUCTION: Ayurveda is known for philosophical basis, and its approach to psychological ailments is quite different from conventional system of management. Satvavajaya Chikitsa (Ayurvedic psychotherapy) is a nonpharmacological approach aimed at control of mind and restraining it from unwholesome Artha (objects) or stressors. Withdrawal of the mind from unwholesome objects is known as Sattvavajaya Chikitsa or it is a treatment by Self Control. Charaka defines it as a mind controlling therapy in which a stress has been laid on restraining of mind from unwholesome objects. Thus, it includes all the methods of Manonigraha and Astanga Yoga (Yogic techniques) too. Indian philosophy portrays Astanga Yoga as a primary tool to control mind; hence it can be used as Satvavajaya Chikitsa. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate efficacy of Satvavajaya Chikitsa and Aushadhiya Medhya Chikitsa for improving Smriti in young healthy volunteers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Totally, 102 physically healthy volunteers between age group 16 and 25 years were divided into two groups. In Group A, Satvavajaya Chikitsa was adopted in form of Yogic procedures such as Asana, Pranayama, Chanting etc., with counseling and placebo. Group B was Shankhapushpi tablets made with whole part of Shankhpushpi plant was used as standard control. The Weschler's memory scale (WMS) was adopted to collect data before and after intervention period of 2 months. Paired and Unpaired t-test were used for analysis the data in Sigmastat Software. RESULTS: Group A (Satvavajaya + placebo) with counseling showed statistically highly significant result (P < 0.001) in verbal retention for similar pair, verbal retention for dissimilar pair and visual immediate tests; while Group B (Shankhapushpi tablets) showed significant result (P < 0.01) in auditory delayed, visual delayed, auditory recognition and visual recognition tests. CONCLUSION: Satvavajaya Chikitsa shows better results in immediate recollection in terms of short-term memory; while Shankhapushpi found much better in long-term memory enhancement on various tests of WMS.