A CRITICAL REVIEW ON MADHUMEHA (DIABETES MELLITUS) WITH ITS PATHOGENESIS AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN AYURVEDA

Ayurveda refers to both Prameha and Madhumeha as a disorder of the Mutravaha Srotasa with Kapha predominant pathology. Madhumeha is classified as one of the two types of Vataja Prameha. Symptoms include excreting abundant amounts of sweet, pale and turbid urine, along with systemic signs of chronic hyper-glycaemia. In Mahumeha there is an alteration of the mainly Kapha doshas, which causes a change in the Medas Dhatus while the Ojas becomes Dushya and is expelled through the Mutravaha srotas. The controlling & preventing approaches includes adherence to Dinacharya, Ritucharya, Aharavidhi, lifestyle modification and uses of appropriate herbal formulations. Other viable formulation options for regulating blood sugar include the classical Ayurvedic drugs of Chandraprabha, Asana, Khadir, Vacha, Guduchi and Jambu. There is an equivalent disease in modern medicine known as diabetes mellitus (Type II diabetes mellitus) which is characterized by elevated blood sugar levels, polyuria, weight loss and fatigue.