Giloy And Liver Disease: The Herb Can Never Create A Hyperactive Immune Response, says Ayurveda expert

If there is an intake of 120 gm of Giloy per day, it cannot damage anyone's liver or any other organs, said Dr. Smita Naram, Co-Founder of Ayushakti.

A study recently published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology revealed that consuming too much Giloy or Tinospora cordifolia can lead to liver damage in people. Later, the Ministry of Ayush published a report stating that these claims are misleading. Suggesting that the study authors might have not accurately examine the composition of the herb eaten by the patients, experts at the Ministry said that such incomplete information can mislead people and defame age-old Ayurveda practices. Giloy, also known as 'guduchi', is an Indian herb that has been used to prepare Ayurvedic medicines for centuries.

Commenting on this ongoing controversy over the link between Giloy and liver disease, Dr. Smita Naram, Co-Founder of Ayushakti, said that the herb can never create a hyperactive immune response.

She said, "Giloy is a very common herb used in regular Ayurveda products and has multiple benefits. It helps in immunity-boosting and is proven to be an immunomodulator - which means it balances the immune system naturally. So, if your immunity is low, Giloy enhances it and if you have hyper immunity, it can calm it down. Thus, it can never create a hyperactive immune response. This has also been observed in a few patient case studies by our team."

120 gm of Giloy per day cannot damage anyone's liver

Dr. Smita stated, "As per the 3000 plus year-old research, published by the scientific community worldwide, including trials on humans, in vivo (on mice) and scholarly articles - it is proven that Guduchi has protected the liver, reversed liver damage even in a dose of 2 gm per kg body weight, which means if there is an intake of 120 gm of Giloy per day, it cannot damage anyone's liver or any other organs.

"My observations over the years have highlighted that thousands of people suffering from auto-immune diseases have consumed herbal formulations containing Guduchi and have recovered," she added.

However, she cautioned that Guduchi should not be picked from any nearby or unknown place. "There are various types of Giloy herbs, which need to be formulated and consumed in different manners. It's important to intake medicines with alkaloids and active constituents making them of the right quality and should not be taken without expert guidance as one may not know if it's the real herb," she noted.

Giloy kadhafor prevention of COVID-19

To mitigate the risk of contracting Covid-19, people in India are trying all sorts of desi remedies. Giloy kadha has also gained fame during the pandemic for its immunity boost properties. Often referred to as the herb of immortality, it is also known to have anti-toxic, antipyretic and antioxidant effects. Giloy is used for dealing with health issues such as cold, cough, joint pains, acidity, skin allergies, and diabetes.

Soon after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in India, the Ayush Ministry had released an advisory, National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for management of COVID-19, and prescribed giloy as one of the prophylactic care measures against the viral disease.

It recommended that people who are at high risk of the infection or are regularly exposed to the virus should take 500 mg extract or 1-3 g powder twice every day with warm water for 15 days or one month. The ministry had also advised taking giloy in combination with amla (Indian gooseberry, Emblica officinalis) and gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) in prescribed doses to manage symptoms like fever, sore throat, headache and tiredness.