With the entire world fighting against the threatening pandemic of COVID-19, it is safe to say that some groups are fighting more intensively than others. Yes, I’m referring to all those officials, workers and medical practitioners stationed at high-risk areas who have now become heroes without capes. Another group of people not mentioned enough is teams of academicians, scientists and researchers that are attempting to comprehend the Coronavirus.
They are responsible for creating a reliable body of knowledge about a virus, so little is known about. It is only with this credible information that this rapidly mutating virus can be understood and consequently recovered from.
A collaborative study was conducted between DIALAB in IIT Delhi and DIALAB at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan. This study was the ripple effect of a priorly performed study that involved the Ministry of AYUSH and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, among others. For more information regarding this particular study, you can refer to our blog piece here.
The DIALAB research concluded that natural compounds of ancient Ayurvedic Ashwagandha may be ideal candidates to be used in the making of anti-COVID drugs. This popular Indian household herb has multiple health benefits like managing stress, anxiety and metabolism that helps to lead a healthy life. To read further about the benefits of Ashwagandha, click on our blog piece here.
Withania somnifera is a compound naturally derived from Ashwagandha and scientists, researchers and academicians have been examining its bioactives as interacting with SARS-Cov-2. This amalgamation of state-of-the-art, modern technology and age-old, traditional, epistemic medicine, might just pave the path for a solution oriented approach for a pandemic that we are facing globally.
This paper received a positive response and is now accepted for publication in the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics- ranked 58th out of about 286 journals that specialize in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Feel free to read and learn more about these developments in the press release of The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, dated 18/05/2020. Stay safe!
Medically reviewed by Rishabh Verma, RP
