Ayurvedic Medicine May Realise Nano Dream

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It sounds 'fantastic' now but it can become a reality in the days to come. If city-based scientist Dr Mahadev Sagare has his way, medicines won't come with an expiry date.

Sagare was recently awarded Doctor of Science (D.Sc) for this research dissertation by the Open International University of Colombo (Sri Lanka).

"This theory is just an extension of my research work on lithium, cadmium ferrite, which I did in 1993," says Sagare, who is presently joint secretary of Bharati Vidyapeeth University, India .
Sagare uses the basic principle of milling and grinding to explain his concept. Ferrite is a basic compound used for manufacturing electronic components.

It is prepared through ceramic method, which includes milling and grinding. Explaining it further, he says, "Ayurvedic medicines, for the last so many years, are being prepared by milling and grinding".

"No ayurvedic medicine ever has an expiry date", notes Sagare. With milling and grinding, the particles of the compound are turned into nano-particles.

Medicines, which are prepared in molecular stage (not in nano), are normally affected by higher atmospheric temperature and also by moisture in the air.

This causes binding of molecules and changes the properties of the molecules and hence there is an 'expiry' to such medicines, reasons Sagare.

But when some of the medicines in the form of tablets and powders were again crushed and ground mechanically upto nano-scale and used, it was observed there was no change in the properties of these medicines, he said.

"I concluded that nano technology can be applied in manufacturing allopathic medicines by converting them into nano-particles and preventing their expiry," Sagare explained.

As part of the last stage of his research, Sagare wants to experiment with expired allopathic medicines to see how they react once broken to nano-scale.

Calling it a viable preposition, Dr D.P. Nerkar, principal of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology said unlike ayurvedic medicines where the particles are in nano size, the particles of the compound used in allopathic medicines are large.

Therefore, the disintegration of the compound is possible, which in turn affects therapeutic value of medicine. Hence, the concept of 'expiry' in medicines. But the theory proposed by Dr Sagare overcomes this limitation and breaks new grounds in pharmacy, Nerkar said.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com