Contamination of aflatoxins as threat to the safety of herbal Unani drugs: an overview

Unani medicine is an oldest system of traditional medicine,where drugs of animal,mineral and herbal origin are used for centuries to cure diseases.Unani remedies are now available not only in drug stores,but also in food stores and super markets.Therefore the efficacy and safety of these drugs is very crucial.One of the most serious risks associated with these remedies is,consumer assumes that they are natural,so they are safe.But biological contamination(bacterial,fungal and insect)of herbal medicines is a serious concern.The Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus are the fungal species that occur naturally,release aflatoxins and is a threat to the natural drugs.The World Health Organization has recommended determination of aflatoxins in natural drugs(Unani)as one of the parameter of their safety studies as Aflatoxin contamination is concerned significantly with health and economic loss affecting humans,animals,and agriculture.Aflatoxin B1 is categorized as a group 1 carcinogen by The International Agency for Research on Cancer that causes a variety of health issues.Thus keeping in mind the deleterious health effects of aflatoxins,here,in this review we have made an attempt to summarize the aflatoxins with respect to their origin,occurrence,structure and properties to generate the awareness among the people dealing mainly with Unani herbal drugs.Besides these their toxicity and effects on health have also been discussed.The analytical methods for their determination and some measures to prevent their contamination are also suggested to improve the efficacy and safety of Unani herbal drugs.

Aamar-e-Advia(shelf-lives) of drugs in Unani system of medicine:A conceptual review

In an era of globalization and increased global demand for herbal medicines, it is essential to ensure the quality and consistency of drugs. Changes in the quality of an herbal product over time should be detectable. The assessments of chemical quality and therapeutic efficacy of herbal drugs are necessary to establish their shelf-lives. Thus, stability testing is needed to establish standards for herbal products. Unani medicine has its own conceptual framework for studying health and disease. The mode of treatment includes Ilaj bit Tadbeer(regimental therapy), Ilaj bil Ghiza(dietotherapy), Ilaj bil Dawa(pharmacotherapy) and Ilaj bil Yad/Jarahat(surgery) as a final option. Ilaj bil Dawa is the most used mode of treatment.The drugs include either crude drugs prepared from plant, animal and mineral sources, called Mufrad(single) drugs or various formulations prepared from these crude drugs, called Murakkab(compound)drugs. To date, stability studies have been carried out on compound drugs, whereas only a few single drugs had had their stability tested. These studies are needed to understand how the quality of an herbal drug varies over the time when it is prepared and consumed. This may also help to standardize procedures for manufacturing compound formulations ab initio. The present study reviews the concept of Aamar-e-Advia(shelf-lives) described in the literature of the Unani system of medicine. Further, various factors that are considered important to assess the shelf-life of Unani drugs are discussed in the context of contemporary protocols for shelf-life assessment.

Antifertility Activity of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Ocimum Basilicum Linn. Leaves on Female Wistar Rats

Objective To determine the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Ocimum basilicum Linn. leaves on ovulation, implantation and maintenance of pregnancy in adult female cyclic Wistar rats. Methods Ocimum basilicum leaves extract （364 mg/kg and 624 mg/kg） was screened for its antiovulatory, antiimplantation and abortifacient activities. Vaginal smear of each rat was monitored daily during the 15-day treatment of the first experiment. Estimation of cholesterol in ovarian tissue and its histology was carried out to confirm its antiovulatory activity. In the second and third experiments, animals received treatment from 1st to 7th and 8th to 16th day of pregnancy, respectively. The number of implantations and litter size were determined through laparotomy on l Oth and 20th day of pregnancy, respectively in two tests. The treated groups were compared with pain control. Results A significant increase in duration of estrus cycle and diestrus phase was observed （P〈O.O01）. A significant decrease in ovarian weight and notable increase in ovarian tissue cholesterol level was also observed （P〈O. 001）. Weight of uterus in treated group was found to be decreased. Histological report showed presence of large corpora lutea in ovarian parenchyma. Neither antiimplantation nor abortifacient effect was observed in rats treated with both the doses of extract. Conclusion Hydroalcoholic extract of Ocimum basilicum interferes normal ovulation by disrupting the estrus cycle and prolonging diestrus phase thus, has a potential of being developed into a female contraceptive.

Understanding hypothyroidism in Unani medicine

Hypothyroidism(Qillat-e-Ifraz-e-Darqiyya) is a condition where the thyroid gland is underactive and unable to produce enough thyroid hormone. The description of hypothyroidism as a disease is not directly found in Unani texts. However, the signs and symptom of hypothyroidism resemble the clinical manifestation associated with Su-e-Mizaj Barid Maddi(derangement in cold temperament), such as plethora(Imtila), excessive salivation(Kasrat-e-Luabe-e-Dahan), tiredness(Aa'yan), loss of appetite(Zoaf-e-Ishteha), excessive sleeping(Kasrat-e-Naum) and cold skin(Baroodat-e-Jildia). These signs and symptoms are the result of an excess in abnormal phlegm(Ghair Tabayi Balgham) in the body. This review article identifies the observations from Unani literature that describe derangement in cold temperament and relate them to the clinical presentation of primary hypothyroidism in conventional medicine. We also discuss management of these symptoms in Unani medicine.