AYURVEDIC TREATMENT VERSUS ALLOPATHY TREATMENT: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Author: Ms.Pooja S, Dr B. Aarthi Rashmi and Dr C. Nilavamuthan

Published On: 2026-09-20

Today's healthcare is increasingly becoming a pluralistic system where Ayurveda and allopathy both have their own place as different therapeutic systems. While allopathy is based on reductionist intervention and is pathology-based, the same is not the case with Ayurveda, which uses a holistic approach and treats the cause behind the disease through polyherbal medicines, diet management and Panchakarma. This paper reviews the efficacy of the two different therapeutic systems in the treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. According to the findings of some randomised control trials, standardised Ayurvedic therapies may be able to produce comparable results to modern medications in certain chronic diseases. According to an investigator-blinded multicenter study, the efficacy of the Ayurvedic herbal formulation containing Tinospora and ginger, standardized for active rheumatoid arthritis, was roughly comparable to hydroxychloroquine sulphate treatment with only mild side effects. Equivalence has been demonstrated in studies for Ayurvedic herbal formulations in comparison to celecoxib and glucosamine in WOMAC pain and function scores in symptomatic knee osteoarthritis, whereas adjunctive glycaemic benefits have been shown for Ayurvedic formulations in type 2 diabetes by meta-analysis studies. In contrast, allopathic drugs have been found to be effective due to their rapid action and superior efficacy in acute disease states, but when taken over a long-term duration, allopathic drugs have been observed to cause more adverse effects, which include osteoporosis due to corticosteroids, liver damage due to methotrexate, and gastrointestinal and renal complications with NSAIDs.

Key Words: Ayurveda, Allopathy, chronic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, osteoarthritis, integration, efficacy, safety, side effects, RCTs, meta-analysis, Rasayana, DMARDs, Panchakarma, herb-drug interactions, quality-of-life, adverse events, standardization, AYUSH, holistic, evidence-based.