Exploring issues in the development of Ayurvedic research methodology

Research is the prime need of contemporary Ayurveda, but modern research on Ayurveda has not been very rewarding for Ayurveda itself. Much of it uses Ayurveda to extend modern bioscience. In contrast, Ayurveda needs research designed to test and validate its fundamental concepts as well as its treatments. In this context, if Ayurveda is to be truly explored and validated in all its aspects, scientific inputs should conform to Ayurveda's principles and philosophy. While its evidence base, established since antiquity, may need further verification, research should now focus on the Science of Ayurveda, rather than merely looking for new drugs based on Ayurveda herbals; in-depth research is needed on Ayurveda. Such research will require teamwork between scientists and vaidyas based on truth and trust. Ayurveda research methodology requires the ‘whole system testing approach’, global participation with protocols evolved through intense interface with modern science, regulatory reforms to eliminate barriers, and to be investigated ‘as it is’, using approaches adapted from its own basic principles.