Evaluation of Punarnavadi Mandura in the management of anaemia: A community-based, single-arm, open-label, multicentric interventional study

EVALUATION OF PUNARNAVADI MANDURA IN ANAEMIA

Abstract

Anaemia is a significant global health issue, primarily impacting women and children. The most common type of anaemia is iron deficiency anaemia, which is usually treated with iron supplements. However, adherence and tolerability may be challenging due to potential gastrointestinal side effects. The symptoms of anaemia resemble those described in Ayurvedic literature as Pandu Roga. Ayurvedic formulations may provide a safe and tolerable alternative to conventional treatments. This study aimed to evaluate Punarnavadi Mandura in the management of anaemia through a community-based, multicenter, open-label clinical study. Participants of any gender aged 18 to 55 years with haemoglobin concentrations between 8 and 10 g/dL were enrolled in the study according to the selection criteria. Punarnavadi Mandura 500 mg was given orally with water twice daily after food for 12 weeks. The assessment was done every 4 weeks during treatment, and 4 weeks post-intervention. The haemoglobin concentration and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scores increased (p<0.001), while disease-specific symptoms significantly reduced (p<0.001) during treatment. These effects were sustained at the 4-week post-intervention follow-up without further treatment, and the medication was well tolerated by participants. The study shows that Punarnavadi Mandura is beneficial for managing anaemia and is well-tolerated with no serious adverse events reported. As this study was limited to an open-label single-arm trial, further randomized controlled trials are recommended to validate the results.