Authorities fail to detect steroids in Ayurvedic joint pain medicine

Arjun Sharma

Advertisement

Jammu, March 17

Even after a wait of over two months, the authorities have not been able to detect if there was presence of steroids in an Ayurvedic medicine whose sale was put on hold by the office of Drugs and Food Control Organization of J&K after a complaint was received against it.

The department had sent the samples of the medicine ‘Batnashak Batika’ to Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in January after which a testing for heavy metals on the sample was done by the institute.

It was found that the presence of Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead and Mercury was much below the prescribed limits, which meant the medicine was safe in respect of heavy metals. However, complainant Sukesh Khajuria, who is a social activist, said the samples should have been tested for steroids as there was instant pain relief from the Ayurvedic medicine, which is contrary to the healing properties of such medicines.

“Secondly, even after putting the sale of the said medicine on hold, the authorities did not put out any public notice for the information of people which raises many questions,” said Sukesh.

It has been learnt that Deepika Singh, who is the Principal Scientist at IIIM, Jammu, in a letter had stated to the Drugs Control Department that the samples of the medicine may be sent to National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) or steroid testing lab. She had stated that the IIIM only has expertise on heavy metals.

A senior official from Ayush told The Tribune that due to a court case, the Drugs and Food Control Organization may not test an Ayurvedic medicine. He said there is complication due to which the testing of the medicine for steroids is caught in the middle. He, however, said that Ayush Jammu will set up its own laboratory in the coming months to test such medicines.

The issue started when Sukesh Khajuria observed in January this year that the effect of the ayurvedic medicine used for pain in joints was instant, which is contrary to the conventional understanding that these herbal medicines facilitate gradual healing and recovery.