In Ayurvedic medicine ''rasaśāstra'' (रसशास्त्र), refers to processes by which various

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

s, minerals and other substances, including most notably mercury, are purified and combined with herbs in an attempt to treat illnesses. Rasaśāstra is a pharmaceutical branch of Indian system of medicine and a genre of literature which mainly deals with the metals, minerals, product of animal origin, toxic herbs and their use in therapeutics.

Origin

The ''Kalyāṇakāraka'', composed in South India by Ugrāditya, is the earliest medical work to contain alchemical content. It is datable to the early ninth century CE. It gives descriptions for the processing of mercury and uses technical terminology related to the procedures and implements required for alchemy. It is the first work to describe purifying (''śodhana'') and calcining (''māraṇaʼ) mercury for medicinal use.'' The first work of the Sanskrit alchemical literary genre called ''rasaśāstra'' is the 10th century ''Rasahṛdayatantra''. The texts 19 chapters focus on the processing mercury, outlines 18 means to process mercury and discusses the transmutation of metals and the body.

Methods

Early medical texts, especially the '' Carakasaṃhitā'' and '' Suśrutasaṃhitā,'' are often claimed to contain early references to ''rasaśāstra''. Where these texts use the word ''rasa'', later commentators interpret ''rasa'' as mercury, despite the word having various other meanings. The earliest mentions of mercury are to the unprocessed substance and it is not until the 9th century ''Kalyāṇakāraka'' that we find recipes for purifying and calcination. The 13th century ''Śārṅgadharasaṃhitā'' also contains elaborate descriptions of the processing and uses of mercury. An important feature is the use of metals, including several that are toxic. In addition to mercury,

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

, tin,

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

and bell metal are used. In addition to these metals,

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

s and other substances such as

coral Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...

, seashells, and

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s are also used. The usual means used to administer these substances is by preparations called ''bhasma'',

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

for "ash".

Calcination Calcination is thermal treatment of a solid chemical compound (e.g. mixed carbonate ores) whereby the compound is raised to high temperature without melting under restricted supply of ambient oxygen (i.e. gaseous O2 fraction of air), generally f ...

, which is described in the literature of the art as ''śodhana'', "purification", is the process used to prepare these ''bhasma'' for administration. Sublimation and the preparation of a mercury

sulfide Sulfide (also sulphide in British English) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to large families o ...

are also in use in the preparation of its ''materia medica''. A variety of methods are used to achieve this. One involves the heating of thin sheets of metal and then immersing them in oil (''taila''), extract (''takra''), cow urine (''gomutra'') and other substances. Others are calcined in crucibles heated with fires of cow dung (''puttam''). Ayurvedic practitioners believe that this process of purification removes undesirable qualities and enhances their therapeutic power.

Toxicity

Modern medicine finds that mercury is inherently toxic, and that its toxicity is not due to the presence of impurities. While mercury does have anti-microbial properties, and used to be widely used in Western medicine, its toxicity does not warrant the risk of using it as a health product in most circumstances. The

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

have also reported a number of cases of lead poisoning associated with Ayurvedic medicine. Other incidents of heavy metal poisoning have been attributed to the use of ''rasashastra'' compounds in the United States, and

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

has also been found in some of the preparations, which have been marketed in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

under trade names such as "AyurRelief", "GlucoRite", "Acnenil", "Energize", "Cold Aid", and "Lean Plus". Ayurvedic practitioners claim that these reports of toxicity are due to failure to follow traditional practices in the mass production of these preparations for sale,Hammett-Stabler, Catherine A. (2011) ''Herbal Supplements: Efficacy, Toxicity, Interactions with Western Drugs, and Effects on Clinical Laboratory Tests''. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 205–206. however there is ample evidence of mercury and lead toxicity. The

government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

has ordered that Ayurvedic products must specify their metallic content directly on the labels of the product; however, M. S. Valiathan noted that "the absence of post-market surveillance and the paucity of test laboratory facilities n Indiamake the quality control of Ayurvedic medicines exceedingly difficult at this time."

Origin

Methods

Toxicity

See also

References

See also