Clinical Trial on the Efficacy of Dhatryarishta (Ayurveda formulation) in Iron Deficiency Anaemia of Children

Background: Iron deficiency is one of the major causes of anaemia in children the presentation of which resembles the disease Pandu mentioned in Ayurveda. Limited capacity of iron absorption by GIT is a major constraint in oral iron replacement therapy. Aim: The present clinical trial was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of a non-iron formulation, Dhatryarishta in Pandu with special reference to Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA). Materials& Methods: 30 diagnosed children of Pandu, between the age group of 6 to 12 years were selected for the study. 10 ? 15ml of Dhatryarishta in fixed dose according to age was given to the selected children for a period of 60 days. Assessment of the parameters was done in pre and post-test design and the results of the study were analysed statistically. Results: The study revealed highly significant effect of the trial drug in relieving almost all the clinical features of IDA within the duration of 60 days. The values of Haemoglobin and Mean cell indices showed a significant response to the drug. Maximum number of children had a normal blood picture after the trial. No adverse drug reaction was reported and the drug was well tolerated by all the children. Conclusion: Dhatryarishta, a non-iron formulation has significant effect in treating Pandu (IDA) of children and is a safe and palatable formulation for paediatric usage.