Department of Ayush’s response to Ayurveda toxicity findings

It took nearly a week for Department of Ayush(Government of India) to get their act together to do a press release in response to Dr.Sapper’s ‘findings’.

Here’s the press release:

The bias of Dr. Saper against Ayurvedic medicines becomes very apparent from the fact that he has included even those Ayurvedic medicines being sold in USA in Table 3 of the above mentioned article in which lead is below WHO’s maximum permissible limit of 10ppm. Further, as per Dr. Saper’s article, these medicines are sold by internet which does not indicate the source of their origin. Further, some of the medicines mentioned in Table 3 of the article, namely Akangvir Ras, Agnitundi Bati, Arogyavardhini Bati are herbo metallic compounds which contain these metals as therapeutic agents after purification process. Dr. Saper has visited India and has been in touch with several Ayurveda experts and is fully aware that these herbo-metallic preparations used in Ayurvedic system of medicine contain heavy metals like lead, mercury and arsenic as therapeutic agents after proper de-toxification process and no significant adverse drug reactions have been reported regarding their use in India. Dr. Saper is also fully aware that a high level scientific research is being undertaken in India for physio chemical characterization and safety of herbo metallic preparations for Rasa Aushadhies.

It needs to be emphasized that as per the directions issued by Department of AYUSH, herbo metallic compounds are not being officially exported because of heavy metal concerns and only purely herbal Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha medicines are being exported from India with effect from 1.1.2006 after certification of heavy metals below the permissible limit by the manufacturing unit. In view of the above, the above mentioned article of Dr. Saper and his associates is seriously flawed and discloses a strong bias against Ayurvedic medicines. Indian scientists and research institutions will be responding to the issues raised by Dr. Saper, howsoever flawed they may be, through research articles based on their work on Ayurvedic medicines in due course.[Read the full press release here]