In a breakthrough move that can help the fight against dengue, scientists in India claim to have developed an herbal medicine. Experts are now gearing up for the next step, which is to hold clinical trials and toxicity studies before seeking permission, from the Ministry of Ayush and the Drug Controller of India (DCI), for commercial production.
The project was undertaken jointly by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Ranbaxy Research Laboratory (now owned by Sun Pharma), and employed Ayurveda in devising the drug.
Using the knowledge of traditional Indian medicine, we have developed a systematic bioassay-guided screening approach to explore the indigenous herbal bio-resource to identify plants with pan-DENV (dengue virus) inhibitory activity.Navin Khanna, Scientist