Insufficient clinical data, lack of large scale and well defined investigation plan on wide scale on various territories with a common goal are some of the deterrents which are not permitting gelling of these three with allopathic medicines. If sole herbals are not very effective then the only option is to marry these with well defined and recommended allopathic medicine to make powerful formulae for existing medical problems.
We all know about onion, garlic and ginger. People are using them as food, salad, spice, or condiments (I put their use together). Many recipes are tasteless and considered to be incomplete without their use (onion, garlic and ginger) in dishes. There are various uses or documented uses (in various ailments) of these three natural stuff, uprooted from ground, when matured. The trio is underground modification of stem. Onion and garlic are bulbs and ginger is an example of rhizome, from view point of botany. Will it be wrong to compare these three with Vicks, Iodex and Zandu Balm, from view point of utility and importance and indispensability?
Onions (scientifically Allium cepa) are readily available throughout the world and grow favorably in most northern climates. Use of onion in herbal remedies and ancient medicine is well documented. Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic is consumed by people as blood thinner and cholesterol lowering. In use for more than 7000 years, Ginger (Zingiber officinale), is a flowering plant. It is also consumed as common stuff in most of the kitchens world over, also have important medicinal features.
There are various review and research articles on the said plants. There are various reports of their role in some disease management. Few studies are very initial or done at primary or crude level just to check their role in some therapeutic application. To date there is no sure shot or well defined report which could indicate that the said quantity or isolated stuff from any of these three (or their cocktail for that matter) is highly valuable for treating any disorder or symptoms permanently.
Though there are ancient literatures/scripts which say onion, garlic and ginger are really effective and recommended for so and so medical conditions, but there is something missing from view point of modern system of medicine. To make it more simplify; there is no formulation in the world made from these bulbs and finger, recommended or approved by FDA or any other stern regulatory agency.
What I mean to write here is that these three stems should be rigorously investigated for all type of possibilities to bring them to mainline treatment so that they could see prescription for life threatening disorders like heart attack, cancer for which onion and garlic are actually recommended in CAM (complementary and alternative system of medicine).
In my opinion the day is not far when you will see an allopathic formulation with some stuff from one such time tested herbal option. There is a new variant of Iodex from GSK in market featuring diclofenac sodium (well known allopathic painkiller) and other paraphernalia of classical Iodex. This indicates possibilities on wide scale about marriage of herbal with allopathic.
Insufficient clinical data, lack of large scale and well defined investigation plan on wide scale on various territories with a common goal are some of the deterrents which are not permitting gelling of these three with allopathic medicines. If sole herbals are not very effective then the only option is to marry these with well defined and recommended allopathic medicine to make powerful formulae for existing medical problems. I am not talking about separate consumption of allopathic medicines and herbals, rather I am envisaging mixing of the two. You will see one such product in coming years, because until you mix them scientifically and legally then you can not enjoy fruits of both the world.
Amit Gangwal
MPharm., PhD.,
gangwal.amit@gmail.com
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