Role of Modern Biological Techniques in Evidence-Based Validation of Ayurvedic Herbometallic Preparations

An alternative to synthetic drugs having severe side effects, the use of Ayurvedic preparations from natural sources like herbs, metals, and minerals may be efficient due to better activity profile to combat the harmful nature of the diseases. Ayurvedic therapy can treat those diseases better, which do not respond to the treatment by western medical practices. This preparation may have anticancer, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory effect as evidenced earlier. Further, it may have a specific role in preventing cancer metastasis, neuro-diseases, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and many other chronic diseases. Modern biotechnology and molecular biology-based techniques have contributed to the identification of active components and mechanical effects of these preparations having ethnobiological importance. Treatment with Ayurvedic herbometallic preparations is practiced in India since 5000 BC to prevent, delay, or diminish the incidence of significant ailments. These are having a holistic approach as traditional medicine and have less toxicity and ignorable side effects. However, the experimental validity and nano-materialistic method of different Ayurvedic herbometallic preparations are not sufficiently acknowledged. An evidence-based validation of Ayurvedic herbometallic preparations, their mechanism of action in disease prevention or remedy is the main focus of this chapter. The information from the in vitro and in vivo studies on these preparations and mechanism-based analyses and challenges to evaluate its efficacy can add on therapy to improve the quality of life in patients.