A study published in an international journal has noted that ayurvedic drug, BGR-34, a composition of Indian herbs has been found to be effective in cutting down heart attack risk by fifty per cent in the diabetes patients.
The study found that in at least half of the total patients who participated in the clinical trial for the drug, glycosylated haemoglobin level (tested to monitor the long-term control of diabetes mellitus) was under control.
The results hold importance given that achieving near normal glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) significantly decreases risk of microvascular and macrovascular complications causing organ and tissue damage.
Glycosylated hemoglobin is the hemoglobin in the Red Blood Cell (RBC) to which glucose is bound.
It is an indicator of the average blood glucose concentrations over the preceding 2-3 months and is used as a convenient and well-known biomarker in clinical practice.
As per the study, published in international publications like the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, the clinical trial of the anti-diabetic potential of BGR-34 was conducted as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines on conducting trials of ayurvedic substances.
It noted that though there are many allopathic drugs which too have been found effective in controlling blood glucose level, these were not preventive enough to prevent all the complications of diabetes.
In contrast, BGR-3, prepared from six medicinal plants viz. Daruharidra, Giloy , Vijaysar, Gudmar, Manjeestha and Methi, is an appropriate option to consider for addition to a managed care drug formulary, said the study conducted on around 56 patients in a Delhi hospital.
Sold by Delhi-based AIMIl Pharma, the intake of BGR-34 collectively releases 34 active phytoconstituents in the recipient body that helps manage the sugar level in the blood, said the study. The drug has been jointly developed by two CSIR laboratories — National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) and Central Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plant (CIMAP).
Keeping in view of the possibility of side effects of allopathic drugs, the WHO Expert Committee on diabetes has encouraged that traditional medicinal herbs should be investigated on large scale for discovering safe and effective oral anti-diabetic agents.
Doctors say that adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to die from heart disease than adults without diabetes.
According to the official WHO data, India tops the list of countries with the highest number of diabetics followed by China, America, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil, Italy and Bangladesh.
From 31.7 million in 2000, diabetes cases are expected to rise by more than 100 per cent in 2030 to account to a whopping 79.4 million in India.