Herbal Asthma Drug Developed 

Description And Advantages

The much-needed relief for people suffering from the suffocating problem called Asthma, especially bronchial type, is here, and the big news is that the herbal drug has been developed by Indian scientists. 

Called 'ASMON', the plant-based drug, which promises to provide relief and cure from asthma, is to be manufactured on licence by Herbo Chem, Kolkata. It can be taken by people of all ages suffering from bronchial asthma. 

The breakthrough research work on herbal medicine was carried out by scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB). the Kolkata-based national laboratory, under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). 

The drug. given licence as a traditional medicine, helps control typical symptoms of asthma - like acute breathing problems. According to IICB scientists. a dosage of 2-3, 500 mg capsules or 4-5, 300 mg per day or as prescribed by the physician would be quite effective. 

In studies carried out on patients, ASMON has helped improve airway function and with it, a gradual elimination of the medication used by them. In the case of patients with mild-to-moderate-to-acute asthma, onto beta-agonists inhalers daily, the drug helped in reducing the number of puffs per day, gradually. 

The herbal drug as a supplement to the existing asthma medication also led to improvements in overall lung function. The daytime and nighttime symptom also showed dramatic improvements, according to the IICB. 

The drug has been prepared from plants which are known and used by the people for their medicinal properties over centuries. It is also quite safe and has been proposed as an anti-leukotriene asthma medicine. 

Anti-leukotrienes, are a new class of drugs representing a more positive direction in the treatment of asthma. However, the synthetic drugs developed and introduced in the West have been associated with possible side effects, restricting their use, the IICB said. Being a herbal drug, ASMON has very little known side effects and the CSIR lab has transferred the technology to Herbo Chem recently. 

Commercialisation 

'ASMON' is to be manufactured on licence by Herbo Chem, Kolkata. 

Source : Business Line, May 23 2001