Heavy Metal Toxicity in Ayurvedic Drug Formulated using Tinospora cordifolia (Giloy) – An Approach to Probe the Veracity Behind the Blanket Assertions

In Ayurveda, Tinospora cordifolia is considered a nectar plant and has been called "Amruth" in Sanskrit in recognition of its various medicinal properties.But nowadays, this plant is seriously blamed for inducing hepatotoxicity due to the presence of heavy metals in it.Unfortunately, heavy metals accumulate in natural settings due to multiple human activities such as industry, metallurgy, mining, chemical fertilizers containing heavy metals, and traffic activities.Heavy metals released into the air, soil, and environment can be absorbed by plants through their roots and leaves and accumulate in their parts.Furthermore, T. cordifolia has been shown to absorb heavy metals from the environment and store them in its parts, particularly warty tubercles (nodules).Hence, if T. cordifolia is collected for medicine preparation from heavy metal contaminated/ industrialized area may lead to toxicity in humans.Therefore, the analysis of toxic metals in the raw material is pivotal before formulation by any pharmaceutical industry to avoid toxicity.Therefore, AYUSH should strictly control and implement quality assurance (QA)/quality control (QC) procedures in raw material handling and processing until converting them into quality finished goods to avoid unnecessary disparagement of the ayurvedic products.Further, before reporting the toxicity of any herbal drug, it is mandatory to conduct a systematic and scientific study to avoid misinterpretation about the outcome of the study.Since Ayurveda lacks systematic and scientific methods to avoid misinterpretation of such reports, the implementation of Pharmacovigilance in Ayurveda is a need of the hour to address this issue and make the system more scientific.