<it>Prakriti</it> (Ayurvedic concept of constitution) and variations in platelet aggregation

• Main Authors: Bhalerao Supriya (Author), Deshpande Tejashree (Author), Thatte Urmila (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: BMC, 2012-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-248; 1472-6882
• Keywords: Adenosine diphosphate; Aspirin; <it>Pitta</it>; <it>Kapha</it>; <it>Vata</it>; Other systems of medicine; RZ201-999
• Source: BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol 12, Iss 1, p 248 (2012)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ayurveda, the Indian traditional system of medicine describes a unique concept "<it>prakriti</it>", genetically determined, categorising the population into several subgroups based on phenotypic characters like appearance, temperament and habits. The concept is claimed to be useful in predicting an individual's susceptibility to a particular disease, prognosis of that illness and selection of therapy. The present study was carried out to study if the platelet aggregatory response and its inhibition by aspirin varied in the different <it>prakriti</it> subtypes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After obtaining Institutional Ethics Committee permission, normal healthy individuals of either sex between the age group 18 to 30 years were recruited in the study. Their p<it>rakriti</it> evaluation was done using a standardized validated questionnaire (TNMC <it>Prakriti</it> 2004). Their Platelet Rich Plasma was incubated with either aspirin [2.5micro-mole (μM) and 5μM] or distilled water as control for three minutes after which the aggregatory response to 5μM Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) was measured over a period of 7 minutes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that in the study population of normal healthy participants (n= 137), ADP-induced maximal platelet aggregation (MPA) was highest among the <it>Vata-pitta prakriti</it> individuals [Median (range), 83.33% (52.33-96)] as compared to the other <it>prakriti</it> types and these individuals responded better to lower dose of aspirin compared to other <it>prakriti</it> types.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that identifying the <it>prakriti</it> may help in individualising therapy or predicting proneness to a disease.</p>