A Review Article on use of Mansa Rasa-an effective Adjuvant therapy in Rajyakshma(Pulmonary Tuberculosis)..

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a transmissible disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The bacterium normally targets the lungs causing pulmonary TB (PTB). It can also infect and spread to the other parts of the body like kidney, spine and brain causing extra pulmonary TB (EPTB) there. It usually spreads through the air by means of respiratory droplets through the sneeze or cough of an infected person. For diagnosis of pulmonary TB (PTB)which is more common, samples from respiratory tract like sputum, induced sputum, broncho aleveolar lavage or lung biopsy is usually done. Tuberculosis continues to be the major cause of mortality despite all sorts of developments inmedicare including diagnostics and medicines. It poses continued threat to the health programs and services in resource poor set-ups.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is an age old disease described in Vedic Medicine as ‘Yakshma’. Later on, in Ayurveda it earned a prefix and found way into mythology as ‘Rajayakshma’. After the discovery of streptomycin, the therapeutic management of PTB received a major breakthrough. The treatment module changed remarkably with the formulation of newer anti-tubercular drugs (ATD) with appreciable success but the major threat , now-a-days is the major side effects with the ATDs and further the resistance cases to these drugs i.e. MDR TB.

In this study, it has been tried to use Mansa rasa especially Aja mansa(Goat’s meat) in a patient of Pulmonary tuberculosis along with ATDs and see the beneficial effects of these adjuvant therapy. Certain parameters like weight, appetite, and side effects of the anti-tubercular drugs esp. Isoniazide were taken into consideration during this study.