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Ayurveda physicians seek approval for 30 immunity boosters
View(s):Ayurvedic practitioners are seeking approval for at least 30 ‘immunity boosters’ to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said.
Ayurveda Commissioner K.D.C.S. Kumaratunga told the Sunday Times that among those products, at least ten were now being examined by the Formula Committee before approval was given.
He said the Ayurvedic Department was concerned that some of these immunity boosters were being advertised as a cure for COVID-19 and it was taking steps to regulate them.
Under the Formula Committee, there are three Sub Committees called Technical Committee, Legal/Regulatory Committee and Media Committee. Those who want to advertise these immunity boosters need to get approval from the Media Committee, Mr Kumaratunga said.
“People should be careful of what they consume. They have to be aware of the approved products and other potions for which approval has not been granted. Discipline needs to be maintained in the Ayurveda profession,” Commissioner Kumaratunga said.
Meanwhile, the potion prepared by the self-styled holy man Dhammika Bandara has been put under clinical trial in an Ayurveda hospital in Anuradhapura.
The potion, popularly known as “paniya,’’ is selling at Rs 2,500 for a quarter bottle (175 millilitres) in the black market.