Ayurvedic medicine was developed in India over 3000 years ago and is the oldest medical system to have survived until the present time. It sees each individual as having a unique mind-body constitution and set of life circumstances. It is similar to traditional Chinese medicine in believing that matter and energy are the same thing. Treatment in an ayurvedic system is holistic, involving natural medicine, massage, diet and the regulation of lifestyle. Ayurveda has been used for the treatment of schizophrenia, a serious long-term mental health condition, since its formulation (c1000 BCE) although nowadays Western-style medication using antipsychotics and hospital treatment are also used.
This review examines randomised controlled trials which compare aspects of ayurvedic medicine with the use of antipsychotics for people with schizophrenia. All trials took place in India and were for 12 weeks or less. When the ayurvedic herbs brahmyadiyoga and tagara were compared to placebo (2 trials) there was no significant difference between the two groups in acceptability of treatment or overall improvement. The brahmyadiyoga group did, however, show some improvement when assessed ayurvedically (a combination of assessing aspects of the mind, decision, orientation, memory and habit, and looking for the absence of symptoms of illness). When these two herbs were compared to groups of people taking the antipsychotic, chlorpromazine, again there was no difference in acceptability of treatment, but in one of the two trials there was an improvement in mental state in those taking chlorpromazine. There was also a trial comparing an ayurvedic package (of herbs and other treatment) to chlorpromazine, and although both treatments were acceptable, the rest of the data were not able to be used. Brahmyadiyoga and tagara tended to have vomiting and nausea as an adverse effect, while chlorpromazine caused people to be sleepy. It may be possible that ayurvedic treatments could be used as adjuncts to antipsychotic medication. A new larger trial comparing ayurvedic herb(s) alone, chlorpromazine alone and both together would answer this question.
(Plain language summary prepared for this review by Janey Antoniou of RETHINK, UK www.rethink.org).