Factors That Make Ayurvedic Medicines Unique

1. Digestive / carminative ingredients:  Ayurveda believes that most of the diseases are caused due to mandagni ( indigestion). So, most of the Ayurvedic medicines contain at least one herb possessing digestive and carminative property.
 
 
2. Catalyst , bio-enhancer – Yogavahi : Ayurveda usually prescribes a Yogavahi herb ,which carries the active ingredient to the required site of action- target cells. Few of the drugs are well known for this action.

                               Trikatu Churna  – Combination of pepper, long pepper and ginger Act as bio availability enhancer, when used in combination with other medicinal herbs. They increase the availability of medicinal phyto-chemicals at the site of therapeutic action. 

 

3. Wide variety of herbs –
Many herbal ingredients are bitter or astringent in taste, some have offensive smell. On the other side, many possess sweetness like sugar candy, jaggery, honey, ghee or else the aromatic substance like cardamomum, bark of cinnamomum, cumin seeds, leaves of cinnamomum etc. In few of the formulations, natural coloring agents are also added like Turmeric, Manjista, Daruharidra etc.

 

4. Different dosage forms based on need of the patient:  Form of medicine too makes the formulation unique. Each kind of pharmaceutical form like
Lehya (herbal jam),
Asava (liquids),
Choorna (herbal powder mix),
Tablet, juice extracts,
Kashaya (herbal decocotion) etc  are advocated with particular intentions. Usually the form of the medicine is selected based upon the stage of the illness.

 

 

5. The time of intake of medicine also brings significant change in the action of the drug. The medicine which should be prescribed in after meals if prescribed in empty stomach may cause gastric irritation. Likewise 11 different specific time duration have been told for the intake of the medicine, depending upon the disease, stage of the illness and type of formulation.