Abstract

NANOTECHNOLOGY IN AYURVEDIC MEDICINE W.S.R. TO CLASSICAL BHASMA

Dr. Kanchan D. Raut* and Dr. Ninad Sathe

Abstract

Metals are used as medicine in Ayurveda since Samhita period in the fine powder form named as ‘Ayaskriti’. With the development of marana technique the metals and minerals are converted into very fine and absorbable form of medicines known as bhasma. The process of Bhasmikaran helps converting the metal at zero valent state to a higher oxidation state and the toxic effects of the metals are not only nullified but are transformed into biologically active nanoparticles. Nanotechnology is the newly emerging science in the medical field. Nanoscale objects have at least one dimension that measures between 1 and 999 nanometers. Nano drug delivery systems can reduce the drug consumption and side-effects by lowering the deposition of the active agent in the non targeted sites. This review gives compiled discussion of classical Bhasma and Nanotechnology.

Keywords: Bhasma, Ayaskriti, marana, Bhasmikaran, Nanotechnology.