Intimation for weekly common seminar- 25/08/2016

Intimation for weekly common seminar- 25/08/2016

 

DEPARTMENT : dravyaguna vijnana

 GOVT. AYURVEDA COLLEGE , THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Subject      :     1.  THE SAFTEY OF FOOD ADDITIVES- IT’S OUR HEALTH

                  2. QUALITY OF HERBAL MEDICINES: SERIOUS ISSUES                                            DEMANDING DILIGENCE

Presenters :       1. Pooja Ravindran, Final year P.G Scholar

                             2.  Aswathi Mohan P,Final year P.G Scholar

Date and Time   :   25/08/2016,  02:00 pm 

Venue                  :   College Auditorium
Moderator           :   Dr. V.N. Radhakrishnan

Abstract of Paper I

THE SAFTEY OF FOOD ADDITIVES- IT’S OUR HEALTH

*Pooja Ravindran

The three upasthambhas or sub pillars of life are the Ahara, Nidra and Brahmacharya. Ahara is only one of the upasthambhas for life, but it has gained unprecedented importance now - a - days. Presently everyone is interested in having new flavored foods than the traditional ones. A traditional sadya is less pleasing than a five star buffet. What is the reason behind this shift? Is it the globalization of food? The more the globalization, the faster has our life become, so has our food. The fast food needs additives to satisfy our senses. Thus from a simple salt or sugar from the grandma days, these additives have evolved into the mighty MSG, tartrazine etc.

This presentation is a humble attempt to introduce food additives with emphasis on its safety issues. 

                                                           Abstract of Paper II

              QUALITY OF HERBAL MEDICINES: SERIOUS ISSUES 
                                              DEMANDING DILIGENCE                                                                                          

                                                                                                                *Aswathi Mohan P

The efficacy of treatment depends on the quality of the medicines prescribed. A treatment is successful if a pure genuine drug is available and is used safely. Thus the quality of a drug is determined by its availability, genuinity, purity and safety.  However loss of biodiversity, over exploitation, industrialization and huge market demand together with lack of knowledge about the collection and cultivation practices lead to impediments to the above factors. This presentation aims to highlight some of the facts related to the quality aspects of herbal medicines based on various studies conducted in Dravyagunavijnanam department. The availability, genuinity, safety and purity aspects of widely used herbal drugs were studied to check the quality.

The study ‘Preliminary pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluation of market samples of Nalpamarapatta’ was carried out to check the availability of Nalpamarapatta- an important group of medicine used in Ayurveda. The results showed the procured market samples were devoid of some drugs of the group indicating the unavailability of some herbal drugs. ‘Physico-chemical evaluation for assessing the genuinity of Gingelly oil (Tila taila) in Kerala market’, ‘Pharmacognostical and phytochemical screening of market samples of Arjuna bark [ Terminalia arjuna] in Kerala’ and ‘Genuineness of Trivrut (Operculina terpethum) in Kerala markets’ were the studies conducted to assess the genuinity of herbal drugs available in the raw drug market. These studies revealed the presence of adulteration and substitution of the drugs with low quality drugs and less effective drugs. The purity aspect of some herbal drugs were studied under the headings ‘Cross sectional study on presence of heavy metal content in Punarnava [Boerhhavia diffusa]’ and ‘Microbial contamination in market samples of Sunti [Zingiber officinale] in Kerala’. These studies enforced the need of good collection and storage practices by revealing the presence of high lead and cadmium content in Punarnava samples collected from polluted areas and presence of microbial contamination in market samples of Sunti. ‘Evaluation of Pramehaghna property of commonly known Insulin plant [Costus pictus]’ was the study aimed to found out the safety of herbal drugs. The experimental studies showed the effectiveness of the drug in reducing blood sugar level, but the histopathological investigation suggested that the drug causes degeneration in liver, kidney and spleen. The research works discussed here throws light into the current burning issues in herbal drug quality and enforces the need of a thorough serious thought regarding this.