Omission of phytochemistry in UG Dravyaguna curriculum

PHYTOCHEMISTRY has been once an integral part of the undergraduate syllabus by Central Council of Indian Medicine.

- Dr. Amritpal Singh

Recently, Dravyaguna syllabus has been revised by the National Commission of Indian Medicine and surprisingly enough, phytochemistry has been omitted and number of the medicinal plants has been reduced considerably. This is the striking difference between the syllabus designed by CCIM and NCISM.

What is the connection between dravyaguna and phytochemistry? Dravyaguna is closely allied to botany, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy and pharmacology. Dravyaguna was not included in the eight branches coined for Ayurveda but was carved out as a separate subject. Dravyaguna is often categorized as non-clinical subject providing a basis to the clinical subjects.

Some experts are advocating an interdisciplinary nature of dravyaguna and ethnopharmacology. In fact, several articles published in journals related to integrative medicine have addressed ayurvedic medicine as reverse pharmacology and dravyaguna as reverse pharmacognosy. The terms reverse pharmacology or ethnopharmacology serves the same purpose of providing the evidence-based approach to the plant based medicinal systems.

An average BAMS student is least interested in learning dravyaguna skills while pursuing graduation. Probably, lack of pedagogy tools and language barrier can be the possible culprits. However, with the publication and the availability of the quality books, the art of teaching and learning is gradually evolving.

A relevant portion of pharmacology is included in the undergraduate syllabus of dravyaguna. As an observation, it can be argued that the majority of the Ayurveda professionals are inclined towards pharmacology rather than the medicinal herbs.

The Genesis of retaining pharmacology and omitting phytochemistry by NCISM from the latest syllabus is beyond imagination. An integration of dravyaguna with pharmacology and phytochemistry can yield better results for enhancing practical accountability.