Ayurvedic Management of Ulcerative Colitis: A Case Study

Ulcerative colitis is an idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease causing inflammation and ulcers in the rectum and colon. Ulcerative colitis affects approximately 5,00,000 individuals in US with an incidence of 8-12 per 1,00,000 population per year. It is manifested as ano-rectal bleeding with increased frequency of bowel evacuation, general debility. In the contemporary science treatment is Corticosteroids, 5-Aminosalicylates, Anti-TNF therapy which results in other complications and the disease may even relapse after a period of time. In UC there is an abnormal activation followed by lack of suppression of immune response to luminal contents, leading to chronic inflammation. In Ayurveda, Ama considered as toxin, resulting from improper digestion of food is considered as the root cause of all the diseases. Bad habits of eating along with other factors leads to Impaired digestive fire i.e. Agni leading to formation of Ama. This Ama being toxin, activates immune reaction initiating pathogenesis of Ulcerative colitis. Getting rid of Ama by treating and preventing its further formation breaks the pathogenesis of the ulcerative colitis and further progression of inflammatory process.