Pharmacogenetics: Ayurveda (Part 2)

Ayurveda is the name of the traditional medicine of India. It is considered one of the oldest healing therapies (5000 years) and aims to maintain and preserve health (both physical and mental) through natural products and healthy lifestyles.

Ayurveda classifies individuals into three large groups according to the dosha majority that each one possesses: Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

People with a rating Prakriti (body-mind) Vata (space and air) are constantly changing. They have an energetic and creative mind. Whenever your dosha is in balance with your body and mind, they are enthusiastic people with a lot of desire to live. Otherwise, they will feel out of control (trouble sleeping, poor appetite…) and will need to take time to relax and regain balance.

Individuals Pitta (fire and water) are assertive and have great determination. In case of imbalance between the mind and the body, they can trigger pathologies, present anger and irritability due to an excess accumulation of their fire element.

People whose dosha predominant is Kapha (land and water) are stable and calm. Imbalances between the body and the mind are responsible for resistance to changes, weight gains, fluid retention and allergies.

There are various studies that relate the classification Prakriti with various specific genes for each dosha. Likewise, a novel genetic study associates genetic variants (SNPs) with doshas predominant of each person. This study included those people whose typology coincided with the classification made by Ayurvedic medical experts and with that provided by software developed from classical Ayurvedic literature (greater rigor) (262 men). Subsequently, a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed using these SNPs as variables to classify said individuals in their respective groups (Vata, Pitta, Kapha). These findings were then validated with 297 additional samples (study replication) noting that the gene PGM1 correlates with Pitta phenotype as described in the ancient text of Caraka samhita, suggesting that the phenotypic classification of traditional Indian medicine has a genetic basis and that traditional Indian medicine resonates with personalized medicine.