Raviprasad Kamila /The Hindu

Mangalore, Apr 1: The efforts of the Arecanut Research and Development Foundation, Mangalore, to find out an alternative use of arecanut has received a boost with the Directorate of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISMH) giving licence for the commercial manufacture of two Ayurvedic medicines using white arecanut.

The foundation had initiated research on alternative use of arecanut through the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Ayurveda Pharmacy, Udupi. The directorate gave licence for the commercial production of "Pooga syrup" and "Pooga trim" (powder) to the pharmacy on March 17. Pooga in Sanskrit means arecanut.

Badanaje Shankar Bhat, a Vitla-based arecanut researcher, gave preliminary formulations to the pharmacy to develop research. Narayana Sharma of SDM Ayurveda Hospital, Udupi, and his team conducted the clinical trials and developed the final formulation of the two medicines.

M Mohanan, technical adviser at the pharmacy, told that it took five years to find out a formulation after clinical trials. The syrup was used to treat respiratory-related allergies, he said and added that it could also be used to correct hunger-related problems. Pooga trim was used to reduce obesity and control diabetes, he said. According to Dr Mohanan, arecanut constituted 50 per cent of the ingredients in Pooga trim, and 30 per cent in the syrup. The pharmacy was planning to bring out Pooga trim in the capsule form.
 
He said that earlier Ayurvedic practitioners had used arecanut in fermented preparations and in preparation of tooth powder in very small quantity. It was used either as a fermentation initiator or sweetening agent. The arecanut content in "aristhas" was less than 10 per cent, he said.

If there was good demand for these medicines, approximately five per cent of the total white arecanut annually produced in Kerala and Karnataka could be utilised to manufacture them, Dr Mohanan said.

There was a good response from people during the trial marketing, he said and added that no complication related to health was found. The pharmacy would market these medicines, he added.

These medicines will be released to the market at the valedictory of a three-day "Krishi mela" of the Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project at Bantwal on April 6.