IMS BHU prepared Herbal Antibiotic | 29 Jun 2023

Why in News?

According to information received from the media on June 28, 2023, the Faculty of Ayurveda of The IMS, BHU, Banaras, Uttar Pradesh, has prepared herbal antibiotics in place of ineffective antibiotics to protect against severe infections.

Key Points:

  • The herbal antibiotic has been prepared by the entire team led by Dr. Priya Mohan along with Prof. Anand Chaudhary in the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacology of the Faculty of Ayurveda, BHU.
  • It has been tested on bacteria in the lab of the Microbiology Department. It has been more effective on 'Gram Negative' bacteria. After this, two phases of the trial are still pending. If it is successful, the herbal antibiotic will prove to be a lifeline for the whole world.
  • Two types of bacteria have been taken in BHU's Microbiology lab. Its effect was seen differently on Gram Positive (thick cell) and Gram Negative (thin cell). Scientists found that Gram Negative had more effect.
  • Gram-negative bacteria are more resistant to antibodies. The effect of herbal medicines on this has raised great hope.
  • It is known that Silver Silorac is considered an antibiotic. In addition to Silver Base in herbal antibiotics, there are Neem, Vat, Giloy, and Krishna Tulsi.
  • Prof. Anand Chaudhary said that it will be done in two phases. It is expected that in a year it will be given a final touchup. After this, the patent will be sent to the Facilitating Center (PFC) for the patent.
  • Senior physician Dr. Manoj Srivastava said that people start treatment on their own when there is a problem of respiratory tract infection, cold, sore throat, sinus, pneumonia as well as ear, and chest pain. People take antibiotic tablets from medical stores and swallow them. They do not know that their health has worsened due to the virus, which will be fine only by taking their time.
  • It acts as a 'poison' when eating antibiotics for viral infections. It also destroys the good bacteria that fight infection in the body. This gives dangerous bacteria a chance to dominate the body. Also, the bad bacteria get ready to survive the antibiotics. Then there is no effect of medicines on the body.
  • According to Professor Dheeraj Kishore of the Department of Medicine at IMS BHU, antibiotics are used in the treatment of bacterial infections. Antibiotic is made up of two words 'anti' and 'bios', which means 'anti-life'.
  • That is, these medicines destroy bacteria and prevent them from growing, but bacteria are not the cause of every disease. In such a situation, people take medicines on their own when they are sick. And in rural areas, Quack Doctors also recommend antibiotics for viral infections, which is completely wrong.
  • Some important information-
    • According to the medical journal 'The Lancet', in 2019, there were 12.70 lakh deaths in the world due to reduced antibiotic effects.
    • According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development.
    • According to the World Health Organization, the increasing number of infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis and salmonellosis are becoming increasingly difficult to treat as the antibiotics used to treat them become less effective.
    • A senior scientist of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has claimed that if steps are not taken to improve it in India soon, anti-microbial resistance can take the form of an epidemic in the near future. This resistance is increasing at the rate of five to 10% every year.