A Critical Review and Scientific Prospective on Contraceptive Therapeutics from Ayurveda and Allied Ancient Knowledge

Commonly used synthetic or prescribed hormonal drugs are known to interfere with the endocrine system and may have adverse reproductive, neurological, developmental, and metabolic effects in the body. These may also produce adverse effects such as polycystic ovarian disorder, endometriosis, early puberty, infertility or toxicity to gonads, testicular germ cell cancer, breast or prostate cancer, brain developmental problems, and even birth defects. Globally, the emergence of renewed interest in natural products for reproductive health is on the rise, which offers opportunities for new contraceptive developments. The search for alternate, safer contraceptive products or agents of natural origin is of scientific interest. Ayurvedic classical texts offer knowledge and information about the reproductive function and therapeutics including those for enhancement and limiting male and female fertility. Review of ancient, medieval, and recent—including texts on erotica that provide information on approaches and large numbers of formulations and drugs of plant, mineral or animal origin—claimed to have sterilizing, contraceptive, abortifacient, and related properties is presented. Few among these are known to be toxic and few are not so common. However, most of the formulations, ingredients, or modes of administration have remained unattended to, due to issues related to consumer compliance and limitations of standardization and lack of appropriate validation modalities. Several of these ingredients have been studied for their phytoconstituents and for the variety of pharmacological activities. Efforts to standardize several classical dosage forms and attempts to adapt to modern technologies have been made. List of formulations, ingredients, and their properties linked with known constituents, pharmacological, biological, and toxicity studies have been provided in a series of tables. The possible effectiveness and safety of selected formulations and ingredients have been examined. Suggestions based on new drug delivery systems integrated with advances in biotechnology, to provide prospects for new therapeutics for contraception, have been considered. Ayurveda is built on a holistic paradigm of biological entity rather than limited gonadal functions. Graphic presentation of a few carefully chosen possibilities has been depicted. New approaches to standardization and ethnopharmacological validation of natural contraceptive therapeutics may offer novel mechanisms and modalities and therapeutic opportunities to satisfy unmet needs of contraception.