EVIDENCE BASED ANALYSIS OF A POSSIBLE THERAPEUTIC ROLE OF GUM GUGGAL [COMMIPHORA WIGHTII (ARNOTT.) BHANDARI. (AN AYURVEDIC DRUG) IN CANCER; A PHARMACOLOGICAL APPROACH)
AbstractCancer is a devastating disease affecting human population and challenging its personal, social and economical facets along with giving a lot of pain and agony. It has also posed a great challenge to the medical fraternity and also the biomedical scientists in terms of curability, recurrence and drug discovery. If not treated earlier, it is obviously life threatening. Traditional medicines have not been properly explored in the treatment of cancer. Gum Guggal commonly called as Guggulu (Commiphora wightii) in Ayurveda is one such drug used in Ayurvedic clinical practice since time immemorial in various inflammatory clinical conditions like Sopha (inflammation), Dusta Vrana (chronic unhealed ulcer), Galaganda (Thyroiditis), Apachi (scrophula), Gandamala (cervical lymphadenitis), Arvuda (malignant tumor), Granthi (benign tumors) etc. Inflammatory pathway is known to be over-activated in cancer. Since Guggulu in Ayurveda is an anti-inflammatory and analgesic drug and is clinically used in various cancer related conditions, it is judicious to make a review on the anti-cancer potential of Gum Guggal in order to establish it as an anti-cancer drug either for monotherapy or for combined therapy in cancer. In this paper attempts have been made to compile the properties, actions and indications of Gum Guggal mentioned in Ayurvedic literature in various cancer related clinical conditions. Again, attempts are also made to compile the results of various preclinical and clinical studies conducted on Guggulu and its constituents and published in different journals and database with reference to their cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and related immunomodulatory activities with special reference to its molecular mechanism of action. The review suggests that Commiphora wightii can be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of various types of cancer either for monotherapy or for combined drug therapy along with conventional anticancer drugs.
Article Information
4
151-167
528 KB
117
English
IJP
Sudeep Kumar Brahma
Department of Dravyaguna, Ayurvedic Pharmacology and Materia Medica, Kalawati Ayurvedic Medical College and Research Centre and Hospital, Gorha, Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, India.
drskbrahma@rediffmail.com
16 April 2024
26 April 2024
28 April 2024
10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.11(4).151-67
30 April 2024