Genomics has guided the era of preventive, personalized, and predictive medicine where it is hoped that the future would bring a shift from the traditional practice of medicine which is based on symptoms, to an individualized approach which is based on an individual’s genetic makeup. Individual susceptibility to the disease is identified by the genetic variations and also their response to various drugs, however, by doing this there is limited success. Ayurveda which is an ancient Indian system of medicine focuses on a personalized approach to the management of the health and disease of an individual. According to Ayurveda, every individual has their own
constitution of the body which is termed as Prakriti. Prakriti determines individuals’ variability in susceptibility to disease and response to external environment diet and drugs. Where contemporary medicine focuses on the suppression of a disease, Ayurveda focuses on the
prevention and cure of the disease. An integration of Ayurveda and genomics is termed Ayurgenomics. Thus, this study will provide a deep knowledge of individuals’ Prakriti types based on Vata, Pitta, and Kapha dosha which are identified on the basis of Ayurveda and exhibit differences at a biochemical and genome-wide gene expression level.
Today, if we see the worldwide data there has been a rise in diseases like Diabetes, Asthma, Cardiovascular disorders, Epilepsy, Stroke, Bipolar disorders, etc. The reason explained is mainly due to the change in lifestyle and the inability of the individual to adapt to new habits and environments. The diseases like obesity and diabetes are even more on the count and are dangerously on the rise. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify the cause of the disease and predict its progression, and also to produce drugs that may minimize side effects.
It is observed that several diseases are inherited in families. From the time when the double helical structure of DNA was invented, the cause of diseases has been traced due to changes in DNA from one individual to another. Human beings contain 23 pairs of chromosomes and each pair of chromosomes contains 3 billion base pairs of DNA inherited from their parents. Any change in these sequences is called Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP). The diseases like hemophilia, and beta thalassemia extra are caused due to mutation in a single gene. While other diseases like Diabetes, Asthma, Cardiovascular diseases, etc. are multigenic
complex disorders that involve many genes. Thus it can be observed that common diseases are caused due to the cumulative effect of large numbers of variations in the genome which have very small effects individually. Whereas rare diseases exhibit differences in the manifestation of disease in different individuals in spite of carrying the same mutation. Most of these diseases require long-term drug administration which may cause side effects in the body of an individual. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify the root cause of the disease such that the drug doses can be reduced as well as the side effects.
Ayurveda serves as an important form of treatment for the disease. It is a personalized approach to the prevention of the disease and provides a suitable dietary plan, therapeutic, and lifestyle regime which is based on clinical assessment of the individual keeping the Prakriti of that individual in mind. Prakriti of an individual is the consequence of the proportion of tri doshas namely vata, Pitta, and kapha. These tri doshas are determined by genetics and also are influenced by the environment, especially diet, and lifestyle. The Prakriti of an individual is fixed during its birth and remains the same throughout their lifetime. The three doshas are in sync with each other to maintain homeostasis within the body. The type of body of an individual based on these doses determines the structure of the body, skin, eye, hair color, texture, and composition; at an anatomical level and at the physiological level the differences are observed with
respect to bowel habits, disease resistance, heat capacity, tolerance of the weather, metabolism of toxic compounds, the tendency to gain weight, etc. An imbalance in Doshas leads to disease as it disturbs an individual’s hemostatic state. Ayurveda measures these differences in the dosha in order to cure a disease or its prevention.
In Ayurvedic terms, the Prakriti of an individual from its birth does not change and is known as Janma Prakriti. Whereas the psychophysiological constitution of individual changes and is dynamic, and this is known as Deha Prakriti. The Janma Prakriti corresponds to the genotype and Deha Prakriti corresponds to the phenotype of an individual. Any disturbance in Deha
Prakriti correlates with disorders and diseases in the current medical system, which is termed Vikriti in Ayurveda.
During the process of DNA expression, the two strands of DNA are separated and the knowledge present in a strand is replicated which comes out as a messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). This knowledge which is carried by mRNA is utilized by transfer RNA (tRNA), which
lines up the designated amino acid to form an unspecified protein. It was proposed that mRNA, tRNA, and protein have half features and properties that are similar to Vata, Pitta, and Kapha at the cellular level. Thus, messenger RNA corresponds to Vata i.e. for transmission of information; tRNA corresponds to Pitta i.e. to bring in transformation; and protein corresponds to Kapha i.e to give structure to the body.
The combination of Ayurveda and the conventional medical system can lead to better integration of sciences in order to maintain optimal health. The research on the effect of external and internal environments on generic frameworks in Ayurveda increases the correlation and understanding between the conventional medical system and Ayurveda. Thus, an entire understanding of genetics leads to an increase in knowing the process of healing and maintenance of the health of an individual.
