
Are AYUSH supported BGR-34 and IME-9 drugs safe and effective for diabetes?
In November 2014, the Modi govt. created a new ministry called the AYUSH, which stands for the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, with Shripad Yesso Naik appointed as the AYUSH minister of state (Independent Charge). Under UPA govt., AYUSH existed in the form of a department under the Health Ministry called the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H). This upgrade to the ministry status also signaled an increased focus on research in alternative medicines.
The ministry of AYUSH has helped develop, in collaboration with CSIR and CCRAS, two Ayurvedic anti-diabetic drugs namely BGR34 and AYUSH82 (sold as IME9). Alt News have found that, both of these drugs have been released with insufficient clinical testing and have relied on pre-clinical animal testing for the majority of its claims. Moreover, contrary to the popular belief, in some patients, treatment with these Ayurvedic drugs have revealed a plethora of side effects; and, in contrast to its claims, have known to increase the blood glucose level to a dangerous high.
Alt News’ Research
Alt News examined the claims made by BGR34 and AYUSH82 using published scientific evidence available at Google Scholar and PUBMED. In the area of drug formulations, health practitioners use the clinical and academic research indexed by Google Scholar and PUBMED to verify and seek information regarding new drugs. As a corollary, the absence of scientific research information regarding various drugs in Google Scholar and PUBMED indicates lack of clinical research for those drug
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