Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A recent study by Sri Aurobindo Hospital has highlighted how traditional herbal knowledge from tribal regions can greatly support modern medicine. In the study conducted on 300 diabetic patients aged between 8 and 80 years, researchers found that Beeja plants played a significant role in controlling sugar levels.
Patients who consumed water stored in vessels made from these plants showed remarkable improvement within a few months. Sugar levels of over 75 patients normalized and their medicines were stopped.
Founder chairman Dr Vinod Bhandari said that for effective diabetes control, an integrated approach combining allopathy with other healing systems was essential. The hospital was collecting evidence-based data on herbal medicines and planned to publish the findings in international research journals, so that patients worldwide could benefit from India’s traditional healing methods, he said.
He emphasized that documenting and authenticating traditional knowledge was crucial since most indigenous medical wisdom had been passed down orally. Sri Aurobindo Medical College was among the first private institutions in India to scientifically evaluate tribal and folk medicine traditions, he said.
To preserve valuable herbs, the hospital has started large-scale herbal gardens and recently planted 100 Beeja saplings on its campus. Medicinal plants such as Tulsi, neem, amla, ashwagandha, and sandalwood are being cultivated to ensure continuous availability for traditional treatments.
Keeping in line with the government’s focus on integrated medicine, Sri Aurobindo Hospital has also established an “Integrative Medicine Research Centre,” inaugurated by deputy chief minister Rajendra Shukla.
Dr Bhandari said this initiative would not only promote human health but also contribute to environmental well-being and help fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Healthy India.’
