Ayurvedic immunity boosting measures through  the ‘Ayuraksha kit’ have saved frontline warriors, Delhi cops, from the grip of Covid-19, with just .48 per cent of the force getting infected despite being vulnerable to the virus, a study by the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has claimed.

Dr Tanuja Nesari, director  from the apex institute under the Union Ayush Ministry, said that for boosting  immunity and increasing quality of life against Coronavirus, the Delhi cops were given the Ayuraksha kit containing 'Kadha' concoction (herbal tea), 'Sanshmani' tablet (made from Giloy), Anu taila ie oil to be used as nasal drops and four pack of Chyawanprash since May.

All 80,000 Delhi police personnel across the 15 districts of Delhi have been covered, she added.

"Till date over 2 lakh Ayuraksha kits have been distributed in two phases with an overall compliance of more than 90 per cent.

“To find out its impact, we took the feedback of the Delhi police personnel with the help of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the results have been very encouraging," Dr Nesari said, indicating that there is a wide scope to explore the variety of pertinent medicines present in Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia which can be used more rationally to suit every stage of the disease.

As per Dr Nesari,an  immune status questionnaire (ISQ) was collected before the distribution of kits to collect the baseline data, consequently at 30, 60 and 90th day of the study to capture the various parameters at different stages of the study.

The ayurveda experts pointed out that the herbal intervention has helped in enhancing immunity of police personnel, as infection has been as low as .48 per cent of the total staff.

The study also analysed infection level among the cops from Karnataka, Mumbai and Delhi. Delhi cops who had been given Ayuraksha kits reported least infection, as per the study. The kits are being procured from Indian Medicine Pharmaceutical Corporation limited (IMPCL).

Dr Nesari also talked about  400 patients who were successfully recovered from Covid-19 in their institute through ayurveda and only 4 per cent needed integration with oxygen and urged the modern allopathic doctors to work in integrated manner to save the people from the virus.

In fact, pointed out Dr Nesari, none of the healthcare staff at the AIIA till date has fallen ill to the virus as they had been taking the specified ayurvedic products. She said the herbal concoction and tablets were formulation of time tested immunity booster herbal plants like giloy while medications like anu taila are antimicrobial and act as a protective filter inside the nose and throat—the primary entry point for the viruses.