'Siddha' Drugs Combination Lowers Anaemia in Adolescent Girls, Says Study

New Delhi: A combination of 'Siddha' drugs can reduce anaemia among adolescent girls, according to a recent study.

The results of the study -- conducted under the Public Health Initiative and undertaken to mainstream the use of 'Siddha' drugs to combat anaemia -- was published in the reputable Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge.

According to a statement from the Union Ayush ministry, the researchers were from Siddha institutions, including the National Institute of Siddha, Xavier Research Foundation (Tamil Nadu), and Velumailu Siddha Medical College and Hospital (Tamil Nadu).

The researchers found that ABMN (Annapeticenturam, Bavana katukkay, Matulai manappaku and Nellikkay lekiyam) -- a combination of 'Siddha' drug treatment -- can improve haemoglobin levels as well as packed cell volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin in anaemic adolescent girls, it said.

The study observed 2,648 girls, of whom 2,300 completed the standard 45-day programme.

Reportedly, before the programme started, the researchers dewormed the participants with cuntaivarral curanam, and then a 45-day ABMN treatment was given, the statement said.

The study noted that the presence of clinical features such as breathlessness, fatigue, giddiness, headache, anorexia and pallor was evaluated by the investigators before and after completion of the programme, along with haemoglobin evaluation and biochemical estimations.

Following World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the cut-off point for anaemia was set at 11.9 mg/dl and haemoglobin level below 8.0 mg/dl considered as 'severe', between 8.0 and 10.9 mg/dl as 'moderate' and between 11.0 and 11.9 mg/dl as 'mild'.

The study reported that a laboratory investigation was done for haemoglobin, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, red blood corpuscles, platelets, total white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils in a randomly selected subset of 283 girls.

The researchers found that ABMN significantly lowered the clinical features of anaemia such as fatigue, hair loss, headache, loss of interest and menstrual irregularities and significantly improved the level of haemoglobin and packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular haemoglobin in all anaemic girls.

National Institute of Siddha Director Dr R Meenakumari, who was also among the senior authors of the study, said, "'Siddha' medicine plays a notable role in public health initiatives of the Ministry of Ayush." "The awareness created among adolescent girls, dietary advice and preventive care provided to them and the treatment through 'Siddha' drugs provided therapeutic benefits to the anaemic patients. Hence, 'Siddha' drugs for anaemia can contribute to public health by providing cost-effective and accessible treatment in various settings."