Evaluation of Yograj Guggulu, Ashwagandha Churna and Narayana Taila in management of Osteoarthritis Knee: A study in tribal dominant community

Background

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease and a major cause of joint impairment and physical debility, common in elderly, women and laborious workers. The available non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) are being prescribed to manage the condition; however, newly discovered alternatives are looked upon by the practitioners. Thus, the study was aimed to provide an effective and safer alternative through Ayurveda for the management of OA.

Objective

To document the role of the selected Ayurveda formulations in the management of OA and to assess the tolerability of the formulations.

Material and methods

It was an open-label, multicentric, single-arm, prospective, study conducted at 14 peripheral institutes of the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, New Delhi. 483 participants of any gender between the age 40 to 65 years diagnosed with OA knee as per the ACR diagnostic criteria (2012) and willing to provide consent were enrolled in the study. Oral administration of Ayurvedic formulations Yograj Guggulu, Ashwagandha Churna and the local application of Narayana Taila was given for 12 weeks and assessment was done by means of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) Modified-CRD, Pune version Score, Visual Analogue Scale score and disease-specific symptoms on 28th, 56th, 84th and 112th day.

Results

Significant change (P<0.001) was observed in WOMAC score, VAS score and cardinal symptoms of OA knee. No adverse events reported in the study and the study drugs were well tolerated by the participants.

Conclusion

The study substantiates that administration of Yograj guggulu, Ashwagandha Churna and Narayana Taila, is well acceptable and tolerable. The interventions effectively alleviate the cardinal symptoms of OA knee.