From Kadhaa to Giloy: States adopt herbal immunity boosters in fight against Covid-19

By Rahul Chhabra

With Covid-19 showing no sign of abatement, states seem to have accepted the Narendra Modi government’s suggestions and turned to herbal immunity boosters in their fight against the pandemic which has so far infected over 57 lakh people and claimed 91,000 lives across the country.

Police personnel in Delhi are getting ‘Ayuraksha Kit’ comprising of ‘Kadha’ concoction (herbal tea), ‘Sanshmani’ tablet (made from Giloy), oil to be used as nasal drops and pack of Chyawanprash.

Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh of Punjab, where nearly 3,800 police personnel have tested Covid positive, recently started offering all law-enforcers personal Covid-care kits with masks, medical gadgets like oximeter besides medicines and an herbal immunity booster Amynity Plus to combat the virus.

Sanchit Sharma, Executive Director of AIMIL Pharmaceuticals which has developed Amynity Plus herbal brew, noted that not only a strong immune system but multi-system immune defence could be the perfect solution to tackle the infection which has brought the world standstill. The herbal formulation Amynity Plus is an extract of around 51 herbs like Harad, Neem, Amla, Sunthi, Ashwagandha, Gudduchi besides eight essential oils to empower immunity of the body system, he said.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan recently told Lok Sabha MPs that Ayush system of medicine is useful in Covid-19 management and guidelines have been circulated to help 7 lakh registered Ayush practitioners manage the pandemic uniformaly.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu is offering concoctions like ‘Athimathuram’ and ‘Kabasura Kudineer’ to its frontline warriors. “These are not a cure for Covid-19 but for boosting the immunity of an individual,” said Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami while launching the scheme by distributing the drink to police personnel.

Similarly, the Karnataka government is offering ayurveda-based immunity boosting tablets and decoction to lakhs of families in Shivamogga under an initiative by Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa as part of the fight against Covid-19. Uttar Pradesh, too, is pushing herbal immunity boosters among its locals to fight the virus.