Clinical Evaluation of Shilajatu in Madhumeha

The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing rapidly because of changes in dietetic habits and life style. Continuous research is being done by scientists of various fields in order to achieve an effective cure of the disease. A great deal of work has also been done by Ayurvedic research scholars on various herbal and mineral drugs to find an effective treatment for Prameha. Shilajatu is one such drug which has been described for the management of Prameha in Ayurveda texts. The present study was conducted to clinically assess the efficacy of Shilajatu in the management of Prameha. Twenty two diabetic patients were selected for the study. The results were assessed in terms of symptomatic relief on the basis of scoring system, laboratory investigations including fasting blood glucose, post prandial blood glucose, glycosylated Hb, urine sugar, and a Questionnaire on Quality of Life. Statistically highly significant improvement (p <0.001) was observed on FBS and PPBS.  Statistically significant improvement was observed on urine sugar and glycosylated haemoglobin with p <0.05 and p<0.01 respectively. In terms of subjective parameters also, highly significant improvement, with p <0.001 was observed in Shaithilya, Mukha Sosha, Sandhi Shoola, Prabhuta Mutrata, Pipasa and Kshudha. Highly significant improvement was observed in quality of life statistically with p <0.001. The study revealed that Shilajatu can be used as a drug in the management of Prameha.