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Vasakarishtaya is a fermented ayurvedic drug prepared by using the root bark extract or A. vasica as the main ingredient with 10 other secondary (Kalka) plant ingredients.
Vasakarishtaya showed significant activity on three selection in-vitro immunoassays involving human complement and polymorphonuclear leukocytes indicating that this drug may influence both the humoral and the cellular components of the human immune system.
The main ingredient of Vasakarishtaya A. vasica showed moderate activity on the three immune assays. On prolonged boiling, the root bark extract of A. vasica showed decreased inhibition of the classical pathway of complement activation and increased inhibition of the production of chemiluminescence by activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Thus the standardadization of the boiling time is an important factor in the quality control of this drug. Some practitioners use a combination of root bark and leaves as the main ingredient for the preparation of Vasakarishtaya. A mixture of root bark and leaves of A. vasica showed higher inhibitory activity in classical pathway compared to the root bark. Compared to the immune activity of the main ingredient most of the secondary plants showed higher immunomodulatory activity. During fermentation immunomodulatory activity of Vasakarishtaya remarkably increased after addition of secondary plants.
Secondary plants play a major role in the Vasakarishtaya fermentation. W. fruticosa flowers which represent 54% of the secondary plants are responsible for important changes in the fermentation medum. It lowers the pH by releasing gallic acid into the fermentation medum. This pH drop is important to the activity of invertase enzyme. At low pH (3.5-4.5) sucrose was hydrolysed to glucose and fructose by invertas present in the W. fruticosa flowers. This accelerates the initiation of fermentation by yeasts. Irradiation experiments clearly demonstrated that the source of invertase was not microbial, of the secondary plants. W. fruticosa plays the major role in the fermentation.
On the other hand secondary plants increases the immunomodulatory activity of Vasakarishtaya significantly increased after the addition of secondary plants. Secondary plants add some immune active compounds into the preparation such as gallic acid. Vanillie acid and syringic acid. These phenolic acid are inhibitors of chemiluminescence production by polymorphonuclear leukocytes induced by serum treated zymosan.
Alkaloide of A. vasica were found to be immune active. During prolonged extraction, the alialoid contents increased however, 90% of vasicine, 83% of vasicinone and 76% of vasicinolone were extracted at the end of the first day. During fermentation the vasicine content slightly decreased and vasicinone and vasicinolone contents slightly increased. Fermentative organisms were not found in the ingredients. Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast was identified in the commercial and standard Vasakarishtaya. Zyoosaccromyces bisporus was also found in the standard (laboratory prepared) Vasakarishtaya. Bscillus cereus was found in one of the commercial (Bimal) samples as well as in the standard Vasakarishtaya. It would appear that the source of microorganisms for this traditional fermentation is the environment.
Immunomodulatory activities were similar in both commercial Vasakarishtaya samples. The standard preparation showed highest anticomplementary activity. Most of the physicochemical parameters were similar to each other in the commercial products and the standard product.
Maximum immunomodulatory activity and constant values of physic-chemical parameters were obtained at the end of the traditional 30 days fermentation period in the standard preparation of Vasakarishtaya.
