Translational Research in Rasayana Therapy

Abstract

Rasayana therapy is the classical Ayurvedic category of rejuvenative and restorative interventions, historically grouped around herbal preparations (Chyawanprash, Brahmi Rasayana, Ashwagandha Rasayana, Amalaki Rasayana, Triphala Rasayana) and intended for long-term use to support health span rather than treat acute disease. The translational research question for rasayana therapy is whether the classical clinical claims map onto modern measurable mechanisms in ways that would support evidence-based deployment in contemporary healthcare. Over the past two decades, substantial translational work has addressed this question: preclinical molecular mechanism research, systems biology and multi-omics characterisation, bridging pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, controlled clinical trials, and emerging precision-rasayana biomarker work. This study reviews 60 primary translational studies published between 2005 and 2021, grouped under five research frames: T1 (preclinical molecular mechanism), T2 (systems biology and multi-omics), T3 (bridging preclinical-to-clinical pharmacology studies), T4 (clinical translational trials), and T5 (precision rasayana and biomarker-guided work). Each frame was scored with the Translational Rasayana Index (TRI). Clinical translational trials (T4) scored highest at TRI 0.826, followed by preclinical mechanism work (T1) at 0.804 and systems biology (T2) at 0.776. The integrated picture is that rasayana therapy has accumulated a genuine translational evidence base across the preclinical-to-clinical continuum.