Abstract

DHUPANA KARMA: A DRUG DELIVERY METHOD

Dr. Manita Ahlawat*, Dr. Reetu Sharma and Dr. S. K. Mandal

Abstract

Drug delivery system is an important part of pharmaceutics. It has a significant role in imparting the efficacy to the drug. In context of Ayurveda therapeutics, a comprehensive description is available regarding the mode of drug delivery. Panchvidha kashaya kalpana lays the foundation of Ayurveda pharmaceutics indicating the form and dosage of drug to be used. With the course of time, new derived forms of drug were discovered and added to this. This is accompanied with discovery of new modes of drug delivery. Neither section of Ayurveda classics deals with the direct description of drug delivery methods as a whole. But the review of the texts gives a picture of vivid methods starting from the oral route (like Vati, Swaras) to intanasal therapy (Dhumpana), topical administration (Lepa, Pradeha, fomentation therapy etc.), rectal route (Basti, Varti), oil therapies like Shirodara, Shiroabyanga, Shiropitchu, Shirovasti and Shiropralepa in which drugs are delivered by the transcranial route. In the same context, a new technique has been found known as Dhupana which can be considered as an additional drug delivery method in Ayurveda science. It is the administration of drugs in fumes form. The present study entails the detailed description about this new mode of drug delivery i.e fumigation therapy covering its various aspects. Ayurveda classics along with modern literature, web references, published research articles are referred for the study. On review of literature, it is found that Dhupana serves as promising approach in drug delivery system.

Keywords: Drug delivery, Dhupana, fumigation therapy.