A scoping review on ‘Maharishi Amrit Kalash’, an ayurveda formulation for cancer prevention and management

Vohra, Rini; Singh, Radha; Shrivastava, Richa

doi:10.1016/j.jaim.2023.100866

Cited by 1 publication

(4 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…After excluding duplicates and irrelevant abstracts, 20 full texts were identified to be assessed for eligibility. For six of those studies, no full text could be retrieved at the time of analysis: Two study registries ( 25 , 26 ), of which one has been published in the mean time ( 25 ) three conference abstracts ( 27–29 ), and one dissertation ( 30 ). Eight full texts were excluded because there were no RCT ( 18 , 31–37 ), and three because it was the wrong intervention ( 37–39 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the literature search, 181 studies were identified via clinicaltrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Of these, two were potentially suitable ( 25 , 26 ). The study titled “Effects of Herbal Antioxidants on Cardiovascular Disease in Older Blacks” was updated as “completed” with a final update in 2010 ( 26 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, results were not filed and could not be identified during the literature search, so a final assessment was not possible. The study titled “Role of MAK, Ayurvedic herbal medicine on Breast Cancer” was registered in 2019, and results are not yet available ( 25 ). In addition, the literature search identified three conference abstracts ( 27–29 ) and one dissertation ( 30 ) that could potentially be considered.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results from these few RCTs complement the findings from other clinical trials suggesting beneficial effects of MAK. A recent scoping review concluded that preclinical studies show promising results for the use of MAK as an anticancer and chemoprotective agent ( 25 ). Furthermore, the results of Zanella et al ( 19 ), who placed healthy individuals on a diet with or without MAK, showed that a MAK-enriched diet decreased oxidative stress parameters and increased antioxidant defenses in both short- and long-term treatments ( 12 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Efficacy and safety of the Ayurvedic herbal preparation Maharishi Amrit Kalash: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Koch,

Patel,

Gupta

et al. 2024

Front. Med.

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BackgroundMaharishi Amrit Kalash (MAK) 4 and 5 are Ayurvedic herbal nutritional supplements that are believed to have beneficial effects on overall health and wellbeing. This study aimed to systematically review all available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the clinical effects and safety of MAK.MethodsWe included RCTs on therapy, health promotion, and prevention for patients and healthy volunteers of all ages. We systematically searched MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE (via Ovid), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library), DHARA, Clinicaltrials.gov, the World Health Organization (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and Google Scholar from inception through 7 May 2023, with no time or language restrictions. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool version 1. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO before conducting the review (CRD42023421655).ResultsThree RCTs with 418 study participants were included. Two studies were on breast cancer patients and one on healthy adults. The two studies on cancer evaluated the efficacy of MAK in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy in women with breast cancer. The study on healthy adults evaluated whether MAK has an effect on an age-related alertness task as an indicator of cognitive aging. Both studies on breast cancer patients found beneficial effects on performance status, anorexia, vomiting, and body weight. One study reported positive effects regarding stomatitis. Regarding visual alertness, results showed that individuals who received MAK improved in performance. None of the three included studies reported adverse events. The risk of bias was mixed. Due to the small number and heterogeneity of the RCTs, no meta-analysis could be performed.ConclusionThere is evidence that MAK may have supportive effects in chemotherapeutic treatments for breast cancer patients and for healthy individuals regarding visual discrimination. However, it is difficult to verify treatment effects due to the small number of RCTs and the mixed risk of bias. Furthermore, none of the included studies recorded adverse events. Therefore, further high-quality studies are warranted to confirm the potential health benefits of MAK and to determine its optimal dosage and duration of use.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO, CRD42023421655.

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