Anemia is a pathology of not having adequate healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the body's tissues. Anemia can cause tiredness, weakness and shortness of breath. Anemia can be short term or long term and it can range from mild to severe. Anemia can sometimes be a warning sign of serious illness too. Treatments for anemia might involve taking supplements or having medical procedures. Eating a healthy diet might prevent some forms of anemia.

Each individual responds differently to treatment of anemia. Adolescence is a time when the young girls especially undergo various drastic body changes. Menarche, the initiation of menstruation, in a young girl is one of the significant changes that she faces.

Among the worrisome rising cases of anemia in adolescent girls a public health initiative was undertaken to mainstream the use of Siddha drugs to combat anemia among the adolescent girls. The recent study published in the reputed Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge (IJTK) by researchers conducting the PHI-Public Health Initiative claims the drug reduces anemia among adolescent girls.

The group of researchers from eminent Siddha institutions of the country, including the National Institute of Siddha (NIS), Ministry of Ayush; Xavier Research Foundation, Tamilnadu; and Velumailu Siddha Medical College & Hospital, Tamilnadu. The researchers found that ABMN (Aṉṉapēticentūram, Bāvaṉa kaṭukkāy, Mātuḷai maṇappāku and Nellikkāy lēkiyam), a combination of Siddha drug treatment can improve the level of Haemoglobin as well as PCV-Packed cell volume, MCV-Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin and MCH-Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin in the anemic adolescent girls.

The study observed 2,648 girls, of which 2,300 completed the standard 45-day program. Reportedly, before the start of the program, researchers dewormed the participants with Cuṇṭaivaṟṟal cūraṇam, and then a 45-day treatment of Aṉṉapēti centūram, Bāvaṉa kaṭukkāy, Mātuḷai maṇappāku and Nellikkāy lēkiyam (ABMN) was given to all participants under observation.

The study noted that the presence of clinical features like breathlessness, fatigue, giddiness, headache, anorexia, and pallor was evaluated by the investigators before and after completion of the program, along with Hemoglobin evaluation and biochemical estimations. Following the WHO guidelines, the cut-off point for anemia was set as 11.9 mg/dl, hemoglobin level below 8.0 mg/dl considered as severe, between 8.0 to 10.9 mg/dl as moderate and mild between 11.0 to 11.9 mg/dl.

Further, the study reports that a laboratory investigation was done for hemoglobin, packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), red blood corpuscles (RBC), platelets, total WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils in a randomly selected subset of 283 girls.

The researchers found that ABMN significantly lowered the clinical features of anemia like fatigue, hair loss, headache, loss of interest and menstrual irregularities and significantly improved the level of hemoglobin and PCV, MCV and MCH in all anemic girls. Despite the results of this study, long-term and multi-centric investigations are needed to conclude the efficacy and safety of ABMN for treating iron deficiency anemia. Kindly consult your physician for your treatment purposes.

Reference:

1. “A combination Siddha drug reduces anemia among adolescent girls in Virudhunagar District of Tamil Nadu, India.” Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, June 20, 2024. https://doi.org/10.56042/ijtk.v23i6.11826.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Dr. Shreya Dave/MSM)