Ayurveda translates to “knowledge of life” and is a natural system of medicine that originated in India more than 3000 years ago. It is based on the idea that disease is caused by an imbalance or stress in a person's consciousness.
Associated treatments aim to encourage certain lifestyle interventions and natural therapies to restore the balance between the body, mind, spirit and the environment.1
This emphasis on promoting balance and taking a natural/holistic approach to healthcare and well-being is a key contributor to Ayurveda’s increase in popularity and growth in new markets around the world.
According to research quoted by the CBI Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Ayurvedic market is projected to reach a value of €1.6 billion by 2028 with an average annual growth rate of 12% for 2022–2028.2
New markets, new opportunities
The growth and expansion of herbal medicines outside their native India is opening doors for new opportunities in product design and dosage forms — making the formulations more accessible and stable … as well as reducing manufacturing times and costs.
One example of this is Kadha, a classic Ayurvedic formula described as being a decoction obtained after boiling a mixture of herbs with water under a low flame until the volume is reduced to form a concentrated solution/suspension. Kadha may be used as a medicine by itself or to prepare other dosage forms.3
Traditionally, batches of Kadha would percolate for days on kitchen hobs and take a long time to produce. The result — effective as a home remedy — is generally bitter to taste and lacks standardisation, thereby limiting its marketability on a global scale.
Packed into glass bottles, it also has a short shelf-life and expensive shipping costs. Finding a way to transform these traditional remedies into viable oral solid dosage (OSD) formulations is helping to tackle these challenges, smoothing the way toward growth and the widespread adoption of Ayurveda around the world.
This article highlights a new chapter in Ayurveda’s evolution.
It delves into how we at ACG (an original equipment manufacturer [OEM]) are teaming up with key industry players to help reduce the associated production times and manufacturing costs, while — at the same time — increasing the shelf-life and palatability of this ancient medicine.
Trialling new techniques
Earlier this year saw one of the first trials combining the benefits of traditional Kadha with modern manufacturing methods using single-pot equipment to create viable OSD formulations without compromising on quality and efficacy — resulting in commercially available tablets to treat joint pain diseases such as osteoarthritis.
At the start of the trial, a reputable Ayurveda company prepared a Kadha base from several medicinal extracts and concentrated it to form a dispersion with a solids content of 30–40%.
The resulting viscous suspension was then evenly spread on trays to dry in the open.
Once dry, the base formed a sticky hard cake, which was flaked, milled, sieved, blended, lubricated and — finally — compressed into tablets. This initial formulation process posed several challenges that needed solving, including the following:
- an uneven material that required additional processing time
- hours of manual work owing to multistep, multivessel procedures
- batch-to-batch inconsistencies and variations in colour, taste, appearance, hardness and disintegration
- long cleaning and changeover times
- low yield, efficiency and productivity levels
- a process that was too rigid to meet surges in demand
- high transport and packaging costs
- a short product shelf-life
- high tablet-disintegration times.
Overcoming the obstacles
To address these issues and make the formulation process more technically and commercially viable, we — together with the client — studied the traditional processes involved in producing Kadha.
This involved brainstorming ways to modernise it while still maintaining formulation integrity. A new fluid-bed process was introduced as a result. The Kadha decoction (30–45% solids) was sprayed and adsorbed on to a substrate with top-spray fluid-bed equipment.
To ensure a more controlled agglomeration process, all process parameters were optimised, including air flow, spray rate, product temperature and exhaust temperature.
Speeding up process times
These changes yielded a simplified process with a substantial process time reduction: from several days down to 18 hours. The resulting product also met the requisite quality standards in terms of porosity, viscosity, flow characteristics and efficacy.
This was achieved with ambient air flow conditions (without any dehumidification system) at the client’s facility.
We were also able to further decrease the batch process time from 18 hours down to 10.5 hours (with no dehumidification) and then down to 9.5 hours by introducing a dehumidification system.
Overall, compared with the manufacturer’s traditional method, the process was now 10 times quicker. A top-spray plant achieved another 44% reduction.
Further productivity potential
Although the initial results from the trial have been encouraging, our technical team has developed more ways to enhance productivity, including
- fine tuning the process parameters with a dehumidification system
- partial addition of gum resin powder as a dry mix or extra-granular form
- increasing the solid concentration of Kadha for greater yields.
More specifically, the compression process can be made more efficient by
- eliminating the downstream process step of starch-paste granulation
- optimising the concentration of extra-granular components/excipients such as disintegrants and lubricants (magnesium stearate)
- optimising lubrication with magnesium stearate from 30 to 10 minutes
- segregating the blending and lubrication steps
- incorporating natural superdisintegrants to improve disintegration times
- avoiding overdrying to control hardness and disintegration properties.
Worldwide adoption
With the results of trials such as these already on the shelves, the ever-improving manufacturing processes will continue to fuel the expansion, availability and popularity of Ayurveda products beyond their traditional roots.
Converting Kadha-based formulations using modern technology promises to make Ayurvedic formulations more robust, efficient, reproducible and cost-effective, without compromising their efficacy.
As manufacturers continue to improve and fine-tune these processes, shelf-lives will increase, packing and transportation costs will be reduced and patient compliance will improve — allowing people around the world to access and benefit from this ancient knowledge of life.
References
- www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/ayurveda.
- www.cbi.eu/market-information/natural-ingredients-health-products/trends#growing-interest-in-ayurvedic-and-traditional-medicine.
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7329714/.
