Utilize traditional medicine to contain COVID-19 spread: Dr. Guna Magesan

In a media release issued here today, they said that time has come to support and utilize ancient, traditional wisdom, knowledge and medicines for the management of COVID-19 infection.

The release said that India is in a much better position as compared to many western countries in managing the coronavirus pandemic because of the proactive approach including lockdown and social distancing taken by both the central and state governments. But the increasing trend of the COVID-19 infection is worrisome.

There is no approved vaccine that can effectively curb the spread of the COVID-19 as of now in modern medicine. However, the Siddha practitioners have claimed about the possible solutions for this virus.

Recently, the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India issued a statement “COVID-19 – Let's shut down the false claims”. In general, we all agree with the above statement that “the false and unsubstantiated claims about remedies for COVID-19 circulating on the digital and online platforms” should be curbed. Public health is very important and is a priority for any Government.

At the same time, the voice of Siddha practitioners who have been practicing this ancient wisdom, generations after generations, have to be heard with an open mind. They may not have resulted from globally accepted “clinical trials” but their formulations and knowledge come from ancient Siddha texts. For example, Siddha literature mentions the availability of traditional medicines/ remedies for 64 types of fevers and 96 lung disorders, with no known side effects.

The release said that the traditional Siddha medicines had played an important role in handling vital infections like Chikungunya, H1N1, Swine Flu, H5N1 Bird Flu, etc. The Government of Tamil Nadu had effectively handled this situation using Siddha medicines.

“We are not aware whether ‘clinical trials’ were done or not. But we know that not only patients recovered and put back into normal life within a short duration, but also successfully prevented the further spread of the diseases”, the release said.

Therefore, it is the right time for the Ministry of AYUSH to help and support these practitioners by conducting proper “clinical trials” meeting WHO standards of those “claimed” formulations so that full documentation can be prepared for future use as well as global acceptance, the release said.

Taking an extraordinary step for the welfare of humanity during a national calamity is not a bad option. When positive results come, India can be proud of promoting traditional Indian medicines (TIM) throughout the world and become a world leader in traditional pharma.

A new situation has arisen with COVID-19 to do a proper “clinical trial” while managing this pandemic.

Let the Ministry of AYUSH with an open mind take help from Siddha doctors and pharma companies throughout India, and conduct proper “clinical trials” by giving traditional medicines.

Let the Ministry also set up a group of reputed Siddha doctors, scientists and representatives from the pharma industry to study, monitor and write a report. Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS), National Institute of Siddha (NIS) can also get involved but full accountability needs to be there for making proper documentation, instead of just publishing papers in the journals.

A recent report in the International Journal of Biological Sciences 2020 (Int J Biol Sci 2020) says greater than 85% of COVID-19 infected patients in China received traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). “Application of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19 is largely inspired by the treatment of SARS caused by the outbreak of SARS coronavirus in late 2002 in the Guangdong Province of China”.

“It is the right time for people who believe in Indian traditional knowledge systems to come together and work together to promote our existing knowledge and wisdom to the whole world,” appealed Prof Guna Magesan, a former Vice-Chancellor of Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

SIDDHA Treatment : The uniqueness of Siddha System is evident by its continuous service to the humanity for more than 5000 years in combating diseases and also in maintaining its physical, mental and moral health while many of its contemporaries had become extinct long ago.

The roots of the ancient Siddha System are intertwined with the mythology and culture of the ancient Tamil civilization that existed in the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, predating much of recorded history.

SIDDHA Treatment consists of three distinct categories: Deva Maruthuvam, (divine method); MaanidaMaruthuvam (rational method); and AsuraMaruthuvam (surgical method). In the divine method, medicines like parpam, chenduram, guru, kuligai prepared from mercury, sulphur and pashanams are used. In the rational method, medicines prepared from herbs like churanam, kudineer, vadagam are used. In surgical method, incision, excision, heat application, bloodletting, leech application etc. are practised. http://www.manushyaablossom.com/manushya-madicine.php

Some of their higher-order Siddha medicines were launched by Shri Shripad Naik ji, Hon. Minister for AYUSH, Government of India during a national seminar on "Popularization of scientifically validated Siddha medicines for global acceptance" organized on 30 March 2018 at the National Institute of Siddha, Chennai.

Their current focus has been on the treatment of autism and other intellectual disabilities using traditional Siddha formulations. They have focused on this when the whole world believes that autism cannot be cured but with early interventions and treatments, a person’s ability to function can improve.

They have been very successful with their mission and many children have benefited from their treatment.