The relationship between the plants and the population is well evaluated with the help of a survey and a review. Plants have been used both in the prevention and cure of various diseases of humans as well as in animals. The plant-based traditional medical systems continue to provide primary health care to more than three-quarters of the world's population. In India, the use of plants for medicinal treatment dates back to around 5000 years. It was officially recognized that 6500 plant species have medicinal value while over 6000 plants are estimated to be explored in traditional, folk and herbal medicine. An important prerequisite for proper utilization of raw materials of the country is the survey of its natural resources and the preparation of an inventory. Punjab is the state of India which has a great potentiality both from the economic and botanical points of view. In ancient Indian medical science of Ayurveda, Dravyaguna part has the detail information of various plants belonging to herbal practices. However, the information about herbs available in Punjab State with reference to Ayurveda is not available. Therefore, the online screening was done to get the information about herbs present in the flora of Punjab. Further, these available herbs were classified in different Varga (class) with special reference to Bhavprakasha Nighantu (Indian Materia Medica). The literary screening concluded that there are around 322 herb species recommended as available Ayurveda herbs in the flora of Punjab.

Ashwagandha (Withania somniferaDunal

A quality drug is central to the success of any therapeutic plan. The quality of drug is determined right from the collection to delivery to the patients. The commonest problem involving the medicinal plant stating materials is intentional or unintentional substitution and adulteration owing to multiple reasons like unavailability, higher costs, unfair trade etc. This trend was also present in the olden days, as evident from the concept of substitute drugs (Pratinidhi Dravya) as available in Yogratanakara, Bhavaprakasha and Bhaishajyaratnawali. Therefore, Charka and later Acharyas also have dealt with authentication and standardization of herbal drugs and formulations in detail by using four Pramanas (tools of knowledge) Ch.Vi.8/87. Nowadays the concept of substitution is entirely converted into intentional and unintentional malpractices of adulteration. The established authenticity parameters for plant material identification and standardization like organoleptic, physical, chemical and genetic parameters are relatively inaccessible for routine use. Not withstanding the accuracy and usefulness of these lab parameters and delay in the development of easy to perform parameters for reasonable drug authentication. These adulteration malpractices spoils the market of herbal industries. In this article we discuss about concept of substitution in ancient Ayurveda and at present intentional and unintentional adulteration practices.

The study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of scholars and trainees studying in Ayurveda colleges of Gujarat state regarding pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting. Methods:The questionnaire-based study was carried out during December 2020 and January 2021. Total 29 questions covering points like participants' knowledge, attitude, and practice towards pharmacovigilance, adverse drug reaction reporting, and misleading advertisements related to Ayurveda drugs were made available to participants in Google forms through their Emails. The result was presented using simple frequencies with percentages in appropriate tables. Results: A total of 1790 scholars and trainees from 17 different colleges of Gujarat state participated in the survey. The majority of participants were BAMS students (97. 15 %) and from private colleges (81. 79%). Analysis of survey data reveals that the majority of the respondents have better knowledge and attitude, but limited practice regarding pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting. Among the respondents, 86. 74 % had correctly defined the Pharmacovigilance and 69. 32 % knew about the specific ADR reporting form for ASU&H drugs. Even though ADR reporting was considered to be important by a large majority of the participants (87. 95 %), the actual practices of ADR reporting were very low. A large number of respondents were also not familiar with reporting misleading advertisements. Conclusion:Findings of the present study reflect a good knowledge of the participants about the concept of Pharmacovigilance but lack of skill in practicing the same. The positive attitude towards the practice of Pharmacovigilance and ADR reporting may help in improving ADR monitoring and reporting. Further, it can be suggested that integration of this subject in the curriculum is pivotal in improving the ongoing pharmacovigilance activities.

Introduction: Ayurveda, the oldest traditional healthcare system gives utmost importance to the prevention of diseases by adopting a healthy lifestyle and restoration of health through Rasayana (Rejuvenation therapy). In various texts of Ayurveda, n number of formulations has been mentioned as Rasayana therapies. Out of this, the formulation mentioned after Chyavanprasha Avaleha in classical text is 'Chaturthamalaka Rasayana', which was selected for the study. Its classical preparation methodology quoted for four different combinations of ingredients were practically explored with the aim to provide a standardization strategy for forthcoming preparations. Methods: Initially, we collected all the raw ingredients in fresh form and then they were authenticated and further standardized as per the classical and modern parameters. The formulations were prepared by strictly adhering to the instructions mentioned in the classical text for each and every step. Result and discussion: When we practically prepared these formulations by adopting the classical methodology, we encountered few difficulties in its preparation and we forced to make few alterations which are addressed in this paper. Conclusion: The preparation of 'Chaturthamalaka Rasayana' by the classical method theoretically seems to be very easy, but practically we have to make extra efforts and alterations so that we can get a good quality product. However, it can also be served as a cost-effective alternative to many other Rasayanas like Chyavanaprasha.