[india-drug] Adulteration of traditional medicine rampant: AIIMS study

[Sunitha Srinivas <s.srinivas@ru.ac.za>]

Adulteration of traditional medicine rampant: AIIMS study

(From
http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=19403&sectionid=)

Wednesday, December 10, 2003 08:00 IST 
Joe C Mathew, New Delhi

The National Pharmacovigilance Centre (NPC) at the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences has come out with startling facts that show
indiscriminate adulteration of traditional drugs prescribed by
alternative medicine experts in the country. Of the random samples
tested by the Department of Pharmacology at AIIMS during March 2000 to
February 2002, 26 per cent tested positive for cortico-steroids. The
various ailments for which these drugs were prescribed include
osteoarthritis, bronchial asthma, skin allergy, diabetes, neuropathy,
hypothyroidism, leucoderma and cardiac problems. 

The unprofessional use of steroids by quacks to render quick relief to
patients especially suffering from chronic illnesses has serious
implications, warns Prof SK Gupta, chief NPC. "The deliberate
contamination of corticosteroids, or for that matter illegal,
irrational and unspecified inclusion of any other drug in indigenous
medicines and their misuse has raised serious concerns specially for
the majority of poor and illiterate rural population of India who are
not aware of such malpractices," he said.

He wanted the government to strengthen pharmacovigilance of traditional
medicine as regards their safety, efficacy and counterfeiting for
safeguarding public health. 

The survey was conducted by using the drugs that were received for
analysis through doctors from out patient departments in AIIMS, from
patients themselves or from the hospital staff who either suspected
adulteration or as a precautionary measure wanted to get the samples
analyzed. Of the 150 samples analyzed 48 per cent were ayurvedic, 28
per cent homoeopathic, 1.3 per cent allopathic and 22.6 per cent were
of unknown category. In the ayurvedic group 31 per cent samples were
adulterated whereas in the homoeopathic group and the drugs
samples in the unknown category, 3.3 per cent and 32.4 per cent of the
total number in each group, tested positive for corticosteroids
respectively.

Prof Gupta said that the boom in sales in alternative medicine that are
available over the counter as health and dietary supplements is due to
the absence of stringent regulatory control over such drugs. "The rise
in the number of self-styled and unprofessional traditional medicine
experts and practitioners has compounded the situation further. They
usually dispense unspecified mixture of herbal drugs to the patient and
also hide the identity of the constituents in the dispensed
preparation. 

This leads to wide spread malpractice and drug adulteration", he said.
The pharmacovigilance study on traditional medicines undertaken by the
Department of Pharmacology, AIIMS has proven this beyond doubt, he
adds.
















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