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plaining any propensity for heart disease. Undeterred, Mukerji’s group followed up with a 2010 report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that a gene variant linked to an acute form of altitude sickness occurs more frequently in the kapha prakriti. Another variant that helps people tolerate high altitudes was more prevalent in a different prakriti, the group found. But skeptics argue that the concept By Priyanka Pulla, in Bangalore, India any studies that rely on them. “You can do of prakriti is at best too broad for genegenomics on samples collected in studies of association studies. Analabha Basu, a popuor centuries, practitioners of Indian pseudoscience,” he says, “but that doesn’t lation geneticist at the National Institute of traditional medicine, or Ayurveda, make it science.” Biomedical Genomics in West Bengal state, have followed a standard protocol for India’s central government, on the other says that although Mukerji’s team does solid sizing up patients. They don’t start hand, has shown ample enthusiasm. It prowork, their findings could be more insightwith symptoms, family history, or vital vided seed funding for ayurgenomics in 2007, ful if they were to hunt for associations besigns. Instead they identify a person’s and then in 2012 earmarked $16 million to tween gene variants and individual traits. prakriti, or body type, which “If you could directly characreflects a combination of three terize the gene with one of the mystical humors: windy, bilious, traits of kapha, you might find a and phlegmatic. To assign a stronger association with better prakriti, an Ayurvedic physician predictive power,” Basu argues. uses a questionnaire to assess The latest report from the more than 100 attributes, from ayurgenomics frontier raises joint strength and cold sensitivanother concern: whether studity to temperament and stress ies are receiving adequate peer tolerance. Depending on the review. Last month, a team inprakriti, treatment for the same cluding one of the field’s most illness can differ markedly. visible backers, cardiac surThe approach is alien to Westgeon M. S. Valiathan of Maniern medicine, but the Indian pal University, published the government is pushing hard to first attempt to yoke prakriti show that Ayurveda, which reclassification to scientific meamains popular throughout Insures such as body mass index. dia, is based on sound science. But the report appeared in the With hefty government support, Journal of Ayurveda and InteAyurvedic medicines like these herbs to treat the eye remain popular in India. the nascent field of “ayurgegrative Medicine, and some of nomics” has roped in dozens of researchers the field for the 5-year plan ending in 2017. the authors are also editors of the journal. from leading institutions such as the Indian That support is unlikely to abate: In a cam“Couldn’t they find another journal to pubInstitute of Science here and the Centre for paign manifesto, the current ruling party lish it in?” asks K. Somasundaram, a cancer Cellular & Molecular Biology in Hyderabad. cited ayurgenomics as a priority. “There is biologist at the Indian Institute of Science. And it has published papers on the genetic no shortage of funding,” says ayurgenomics That criticism is unfair, responds Bhushan bases of Ayurvedic traits, some of them in adherent Samir Brahmachari, former direcPatwardhan, a biochemist at the University leading journals. “We are trying to contemtor-general of the Council of Scientific and of Pune. “My being a co-author is incidenporize Ayurveda,” explains Mitali Mukerji, a Industrial Research. tal,” he says. “The submission to the journal molecular biologist who leads ayurgenomics Ayurgenomics drew attention in 2008, was done by the lead author of the paper, research at the Institute of Genomics & Intewhen Mukerji’s team reported that peowhich has been processed through the rougrative Biology in New Delhi. ple categorized into the three “extreme” tine peer-review process.” The effort has also stirred a rising chorus prakritis—body types dominated by a single Proponents of ayurgenomics are used to of criticism. Skeptics point to failed attempts humor—showed differences in expression facing skepticism. But Mukerji insists that to derive drugs from the herbal concoctions of several genes implicated in metabolic, “striking” parallels between predictions in used in Ayurveda and other schools of tradicardiovascular, immune, and psychiatric ancient Ayurvedic texts and genetic propentional medicine. Ayurveda itself got a black diseases. Biochemical markers such as sities of prakritis will prove important. In eye several years ago after heavy metals were lipid profiles were also strikingly different modern medicine, she says, “you aren’t able detected in some over-the-counter preparaacross the three body types. People with a to look at a healthy person and say he may tions. Another issue, says Satyajit Rath, an kapha prakriti, in particular, had higher be prone to a particular disease, because immunologist at the National Institute of levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, and there is no way of stratifying healthy people.” Immunology in New Delhi, is that the bioother known markers for cardiovascular Brahmachari, a well-respected genome biolomedical industry has a tough time unraveldisease, which jibes with Ayurvedic texts gist, says the accumulation of findings leaves ing complex herbal preparations. To David linking kapha prakriti with a higher sushim optimistic that ayurgenomics will win Gorski, a cancer biologist at Wayne State Uniceptibility to heart disease. Skeptics, howover critics. “We hope more people will start versity in Detroit, Michigan, the premise of ever, were quick to point out that people working in this field and it will become a prakritis is unscientific, which undermines with that prakriti tend to be obese, thus exmovement,” he says. ■ BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Searching for science in India’s traditional medicine Critics say ayurgenomics is at best a quixotic quest
410
sciencemag.org SCIENCE
24 OCTOBER 2014 • VOL 346 ISSUE 6208
Published by AAAS
PHOTO: M. A. PUSHPA KUMARA/EPA/CORBIS
Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on November 11, 2014
F
plaining any propensity for heart disease. Undeterred, Mukerji’s group followed up with a 2010 report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that a gene variant linked to an acute form of altitude sickness occurs more frequently in the kapha prakriti. Another variant that helps people tolerate high altitudes was more prevalent in a different prakriti, the group found. But skeptics argue that the concept By Priyanka Pulla, in Bangalore, India any studies that rely on them. “You can do of prakriti is at best too broad for genegenomics on samples collected in studies of association studies. Analabha Basu, a popuor centuries, practitioners of Indian pseudoscience,” he says, “but that doesn’t lation geneticist at the National Institute of traditional medicine, or Ayurveda, make it science.” Biomedical Genomics in West Bengal state, have followed a standard protocol for India’s central government, on the other says that although Mukerji’s team does solid sizing up patients. They don’t start hand, has shown ample enthusiasm. It prowork, their findings could be more insightwith symptoms, family history, or vital vided seed funding for ayurgenomics in 2007, ful if they were to hunt for associations besigns. Instead they identify a person’s and then in 2012 earmarked $16 million to tween gene variants and individual traits. prakriti, or body type, which “If you could directly characreflects a combination of three terize the gene with one of the mystical humors: windy, bilious, traits of kapha, you might find a and phlegmatic. To assign a stronger association with better prakriti, an Ayurvedic physician predictive power,” Basu argues. uses a questionnaire to assess The latest report from the more than 100 attributes, from ayurgenomics frontier raises joint strength and cold sensitivanother concern: whether studity to temperament and stress ies are receiving adequate peer tolerance. Depending on the review. Last month, a team inprakriti, treatment for the same cluding one of the field’s most illness can differ markedly. visible backers, cardiac surThe approach is alien to Westgeon M. S. Valiathan of Maniern medicine, but the Indian pal University, published the government is pushing hard to first attempt to yoke prakriti show that Ayurveda, which reclassification to scientific meamains popular throughout Insures such as body mass index. dia, is based on sound science. But the report appeared in the With hefty government support, Journal of Ayurveda and InteAyurvedic medicines like these herbs to treat the eye remain popular in India. the nascent field of “ayurgegrative Medicine, and some of nomics” has roped in dozens of researchers the field for the 5-year plan ending in 2017. the authors are also editors of the journal. from leading institutions such as the Indian That support is unlikely to abate: In a cam“Couldn’t they find another journal to pubInstitute of Science here and the Centre for paign manifesto, the current ruling party lish it in?” asks K. Somasundaram, a cancer Cellular & Molecular Biology in Hyderabad. cited ayurgenomics as a priority. “There is biologist at the Indian Institute of Science. And it has published papers on the genetic no shortage of funding,” says ayurgenomics That criticism is unfair, responds Bhushan bases of Ayurvedic traits, some of them in adherent Samir Brahmachari, former direcPatwardhan, a biochemist at the University leading journals. “We are trying to contemtor-general of the Council of Scientific and of Pune. “My being a co-author is incidenporize Ayurveda,” explains Mitali Mukerji, a Industrial Research. tal,” he says. “The submission to the journal molecular biologist who leads ayurgenomics Ayurgenomics drew attention in 2008, was done by the lead author of the paper, research at the Institute of Genomics & Intewhen Mukerji’s team reported that peowhich has been processed through the rougrative Biology in New Delhi. ple categorized into the three “extreme” tine peer-review process.” The effort has also stirred a rising chorus prakritis—body types dominated by a single Proponents of ayurgenomics are used to of criticism. Skeptics point to failed attempts humor—showed differences in expression facing skepticism. But Mukerji insists that to derive drugs from the herbal concoctions of several genes implicated in metabolic, “striking” parallels between predictions in used in Ayurveda and other schools of tradicardiovascular, immune, and psychiatric ancient Ayurvedic texts and genetic propentional medicine. Ayurveda itself got a black diseases. Biochemical markers such as sities of prakritis will prove important. In eye several years ago after heavy metals were lipid profiles were also strikingly different modern medicine, she says, “you aren’t able detected in some over-the-counter preparaacross the three body types. People with a to look at a healthy person and say he may tions. Another issue, says Satyajit Rath, an kapha prakriti, in particular, had higher be prone to a particular disease, because immunologist at the National Institute of levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, and there is no way of stratifying healthy people.” Immunology in New Delhi, is that the bioother known markers for cardiovascular Brahmachari, a well-respected genome biolomedical industry has a tough time unraveldisease, which jibes with Ayurvedic texts gist, says the accumulation of findings leaves ing complex herbal preparations. To David linking kapha prakriti with a higher sushim optimistic that ayurgenomics will win Gorski, a cancer biologist at Wayne State Uniceptibility to heart disease. Skeptics, howover critics. “We hope more people will start versity in Detroit, Michigan, the premise of ever, were quick to point out that people working in this field and it will become a prakritis is unscientific, which undermines with that prakriti tend to be obese, thus exmovement,” he says. ■ BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Searching for science in India’s traditional medicine Critics say ayurgenomics is at best a quixotic quest
410
sciencemag.org SCIENCE
24 OCTOBER 2014 • VOL 346 ISSUE 6208
Published by AAAS
PHOTO: M. A. PUSHPA KUMARA/EPA/CORBIS
Downloaded from www.sciencemag.org on November 11, 2014
F
