Role of Traditional Medicine like Ayurveda in the development of Modern Medicine from Natural Products for Migraine and Headaches

Traditional Medicine is also variously known as complementary and alternative, or ethnic medicine, and it still plays a key role in many countries today. Considerable experience and advances have been accumulated and developed over the past thousands of years with respect to methods of preparation, selection of herbs, identification of medicinal materials, and the best time for obtaining various different plants.  Such forms of medicine as traditional Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Kampo, traditional Korean medicine, and Unani have been practiced in some areas of the world and have blossomed into orderly-regulated systems of medicine. When compared to develop new modern drugs, natural products and traditional medicines have their incomparable advantages, such as abundant clinical experiences, and their unique diversity of chemical structures and biological activities. It is possible to produce remarkable synergy and yield great benefits in developing reformed medicines and new drugs by connecting powerful modern scientific techniques and methods with the reasonable botanical and medical experiences of traditional medicine

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the era of “modern” drugs began. In 1805, the first pharmacologically-active compound morphine was isolated. Subsequently, countless active compounds have been separated from natural products. Later, the development of synthetic techniques led to a significant reduction in the importance of natural products. However, natural products are important for the development of new drugs, and these products have been in constant use. Some type of medicines, such as anticancer, antihypertensive, and antimigraine medication, have benefited greatly from natural products.

Pharmaceutical companies are facing great challenges to develop new products. Over the last few decades, increasing attention has accordingly been paid to natural products in the search for novel drugs in combination with new technology. Natural products, which have evolved over millions of years, have a unique chemical diversity, which results in diversity in their biological activities and drug-like properties. Those products have become one of the most important resources for developing new lead compounds and scaffolds. Natural products will undergo continual use toward meeting the urgent need to develop effective drugs, and they will play a leading role in the discovery of drugs for treating human diseases, especially critical diseases.

Traditional Medicines

Ayurveda can be dated back to the pre-Vedic epochs (4000 BC–1500 BC) Ayurveda uses natural elements to eradicate the main cause of the disease by reinstating balance. The Ayurvedic philosophy is to live a healthy life to avoid the appearance of imbalance and unnecessary pain. In Ayurvedic treatments, multiple herbs are united in a special quotient to create an ideal therapeutic effect and lessen the toxicity. Pharmacologically-active compounds of Ayurvedic medicine and their effectiveness in treatment has been increasingly recognized.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is now an inseparable part of the Chinese public health system. In recent years, TCM has gradually gained considerable approval as a complementary or alternative medicine in Western countries. Chinese herbal medicine, which is the most important component of TCM, is currently used in the health care of millions of people worldwide.

Kampo is the TM of Japan. Some physicians in Japan use Kampo medicines in their daily practice—sometimes as the preferred medication. Together with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, some Japanese physicians frequently utilize Kampo medicines in treating cancer patients. This indicates how modern Western medicine can be well integrated with TM. As the use of Kampo continues to rise in conjunction with Western medicine, there is growing realization of the urgent need to study the interactions between these two types of medicines.

Unani is an ancient Greek holistic medical system with a history that can be traced back 2500 years. Unani medicine has attracted considerable attention all over the world, especially in India, where it has been integrated into the national health care system

Traditional Korean medicine (TKM), Sasang constitutional medicine (SCM)

Traditional Aboriginal medicine -Australia

Russian herbal medicine: Herbal therapy is a formal and independent department of medicine in Russia; thus, herbal medicinal products are regarded as official remedies.

Advantage of TM’s therapeutics is the synergistic role which is greater than that of the individual drug. In the meantime, the “1 disease, 1 target, 1 drug” mode cannot treat some complex diseases effectively, such as Migraine, Joint Pain, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Thus, the treatment has seen a shift to the “multi-drugs and multi-targets” mode for combination therapies. Therefore, in the future, multidisciplinary collaborative research is needed between traditional medicines and modern medicines for development of new modalities of treatments.

Migoherb is a herbal formulation using synergy of powerful herbs like Feverfew, Butterbur and Salix Alba for treatment of Migraine Headache, Tension Headache and Stress Headaches. This Unique combination of herbal and natural supplements for Migraine and Headache management is now available in India.