Treatment of infective hepatitis: Where biomedicine has no answers, Ayurveda has!!

BACKGROUND: Infective hepatitis is a major health hazard in the Indian sub-continent with a large population and improper sanitation adding to the malady. Water-borne or infective hepatitis has no treatment in modern medicine. However, there are multiple accounts of how infective hepatitis can be successfully cured by Ayurvedic medicine. AIM: To review relevant studies in Ayurveda claiming to treat hepatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive PubMed search was conducted using ‘Treatment of Hepatitis’ and ‘Ayurveda’ as the primary search criterion. RESULTS: 27 articles were revealed by the search. 16 of these 27 articles were selected after reading all abstracts. All 16 articles were reviewed in detail and thereafter the current article was written. CONCLUSION: Ayurveda definitely has a lot to offer in terms of the treatment of hepatitis. However, a mass awareness of this potential of Ayurvedic medicine is desirable to achieve a larger impact on the society.