METALS & AYURVEDA

By

Dr. U. Indulal
punarnava@sancharnet.in
dr.indulal@punarnava.com

© PUNARNAVA AYURVEDA
www.punarnava-ayurveda.com

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 METALS & AYURVEDA

Basics: A verse in aSTAGgahRdayam introduces the whole

world as a pharmacopoeia that rests on the applicatory
acumen of the physician. It says that there is nothing in this
world, not even sand and dust, that is non-medicinal. This
concept is rooted in the understanding of the constitutional
make-up of everything that is “being”, as caused by the five
great Elements. The body, the plants, the metals and the minerals are all
made of these in proportional variations. Thus we see good physicians using
plants, precious stones and cow’s urine with equal regard and efficacy. There
is only one category of things that is available in the world – that is medicinal.
Metals, like plants, thus become part of Ayurveda pharmacopoeia.

Logic: Paracelsus, a Swiss physician, said in the 16th

century: “The right dose differentiates between a poison
and a remedy”. Ayurveda too advocates the same – a
properly used poison acts as ambrosia and improperly-used
ambrosia acts as a poison. In the context of mercury, it is
told that a pure sample kills death and fever, while an impure one is
poisonous. Procedures are then explained to make an impure sample pure
and fit to be used as a medicine. The pharmacological information did not
just end with the saying that everything in the world is medicinal. It also
covered the procedures to make toxic things not only non-toxic, but also
medicinally potent.

Ethics: Metals also had lot of mythological significance –

gold is considered as the semen of God of Fire, silver as the
tears and mercury as the semen of Lord Siva, sulphur as the
menstrual blood of Goddess Parvati. This belief, strong in the
practitioner, makes him essentially truthful and righteous in
preparing and practicing this style of Ayurveda. A flaw in the
processing or prescription is believed to bring ill-effect not only to the patient
and the physician’s fame, but also to his/her future generations. This worked
more like a quality control measure of spiritual dimension.

Practice: Out of the 23 heavy metals, Ayurveda uses

arsenic, copper, gold, iron, lead, mercury, and zinc
commonly. Elaborate procedures- like the general and
specific purification processes, incineration processing and
biologization - are mentioned in the texts to make them pure,
edible and having enhanced potency. Mercury, for example,
undergoes eight levels of processing, lasting for weeks,
before it qualifies as a medicinally useful one. The final product, bhasma in
dust form, undergoes further stringent quality check. This includes checking

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the particle size and convertibility to metal. Bhasma that is very fine, from
which metal cannot be extracted by any means, which ensures complete
conversion of the metal to a non-metal form only, is administered.
Adaptations of modern technological help in these procedures ensure higher
purity and quality.

Traditional quality control is nowhere evident like this as in

the case of metallic preparations. Proper guidelines are set
in the selection of raw materials, purification, processing
and administration.

The guidelines that are strictly followed in the

administration are:

i. Minimal Dose: Such medicines are prescribed in milligrams,

and decided based on the strength and age of the patient.
ii. Shortest Duration: They are not prescribed for longer period,
to avoid any chance even for cumulative effect, as told in the
case of chronic exposure.
iii. Organic medium: They are administered by
mixing with natural organic media like honey,
ghee, milk, herbal juices etc that further
reduces the risk of toxicity.

Rules: AYUSH (Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani,

Siddha and Homeopathy, India) issued an order stating that
the testing for heavy metals is mandatory for export purpose, in respect of
every batch and that the permissible limits of the metals will be as
recommended by WHO. (In case of arsenic, cadmium and lead. In case of
mercury, the permissible level will be 1 ppm).

Apprehensions: A study “Heavy metal content in

Ayurvedic herbal medicine products” was published in the
2004 December issue of the Journal of American Medical
Association (JAMA) triggered a fear wave causing a few
countries to ban the use of Ayurveda medicines, and many
individuals to reject Ayurveda treatment under the wake of
suspicion. The impact that the article created persists even after two years.
This particular study is refuted thus:

i. Heavy metals become toxic when they are not metabolized by

the body and accumulate in the soft tissues. Finest particles of
such preparations when mixed in suitable organic medium will
not get indigested or accumulated.
ii. Ayurvedic formulations have synergistic effect; one should not
conclude about the effect merely with the presence of 1 or 2
ingredients.
iii. The study was not able to conclusively ascertain the metal’s
chemical forms which can impact bioavailability and toxicity,
especially so in the case of mercury.

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 iv. The data is limited and cannot be generalized to all herbal
medicinal products.
v. The study was more on the “quantity” of the metals and not
the “quality” – i.e. whether the available quantity is of toxic
quality or not.

Painfully, in India, the political and media power, which are supposed to stand
for truth, only contributed to strengthen that negative impact.

Truth: Metals that are now “feared” in Ayurveda

medicines are also there in Bombay-mix, frozen prawns
and Soya sauce. Thimerosal, a mercury containing
compound is used a preservative used in vaccines, which
are often the single largest source of mercury exposure
post-natally. 9,000 chemicals are said to be currently
included in the personal care products, without we being
sufficiently protected against their potential toxicity. Are
we going to stop any of them?

It should be understood that there is nothing that is universally good or

universally bad. If improper, the use of even a common food item or plain
drinking water can be harmful. It is up to us to understand each from a wider
perspective and use them correctly and ethically.

Visit www.punarnava-ayurveda.com to learn more about Ayurveda education and

treatment, Ayurveda centres in India and various Ayurveda therapies in India

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