Pharmaceutics, ethnopharmacology, chemistry and pharmacology of ayurvedic marine drugs: A review

Abstract

Ayurveda is the ancient thought and treatise that are being used in the Ayurvedic mode of treatment. The source of these drugs is diverse and belongs to different category. The category ranges from plants and animals to minerals, and encircles around different types of species of plants and animals with vivid habitats. In the course of last thirty years, marine organisms have been proven to be a rich source of wide range of worthy compounds for medicine. In Ayurveda there is a wide range of marine drugs like Mukta, Varatika, Praval, Agnijvar, Samudra phena, etc that are useful in the management of numerous diseases like paralysis, hyperacidity, cancer, dyspepsia, eye diseases, etc. This review makes a humble effort to summarize and gather knowledge about different types of marine drugs that are described and explained in Ayurvedic system of medicine, its traditional processing and chemistry, ethno pharmacology and pharmacological role.