The Hindu : National : A herbal stress buster for soldiers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 14, 2004

National

National

A herbal stress buster for soldiers

By T. Lalith Singh

Dr. Selvamurthy

HYDERABAD, APRIL 13. There is good news for the soldiers deployed in hostile environments such as the Siachen glacier.

Scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed a herbal stress buster.

The drug, `Composite Indian Herbal Preparation' or CIHP-I, was prepared with 15 commonly available herbs, including `ashwaghanda,' `brahmi' and `chyawanprash.'

The DRDO has completed extensive drug trails involving over 3,000 soldiers, said W. Selvamurthy, DRDO Chief Controller (R&D).

The trials were conducted by the Defence Institute of Physiological & Allied Sciences (DIPAS) in association with the Army Medical Corps.

The `CIHP-I' was found to be beneficial for soldiers serving at high altitudes, cold areas and also in low intensity conflict situations that expose them to intense stress and high altitude sickness.

It was found to be effective in improving physical and mental efficiency.

The scientists have come up with another preparation, `CIHP-II', which was also useful for forces involved in psychologically demanding conditions, Dr. Selvamurthy said.

Compared to the 15 herbs of its earlier version, `CHIP-II' was prepared from only four herbs and was being tested on the Border Security Force personnel.

The DRDO scientists had also produced the `Leh Berry juice,' an extract of the Sea buckthorn fruit.

"The extract contains Vitamins C, E, beta carotene and flavonoids that fight problems such as lack of appetite, fatigue and memory loss. It's very effective for forces deployed at high altitudes," he said.

The juice has been made part of army supplies and is available in the market now.

Yoga for navy

Following the Army, the Navy too has decided to introduce yoga for its personnel.

The DIPAS, which was given the task of coordinating the training with the Mumbai-based Institute of Naval Medicine, has various schedules for different age groups and for different operational conditions.

The hour-long regimen was split into 40 minutes for 16 different `asanas,' about 10 minutes of meditation and the remaining time for `pranayama.'

In association with the Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, yoga was adopted by the Army six years ago and Dr. Selvamurthy said the move was yielding the desired results.

"More than 2,000 trainers among Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) have already undergone the programme and they in turn are training others."

The DRDO decision to develop yoga manuals was aimed at not only helping soldiers cope not with the tough conditions and stress in a better fashion but also improving their fighting capabilities.

It complements the present physical training (PT) programme.

"At high altitudes and in submarines where regular PT is not possible, yoga is of great help," Dr. Selvamurthy said.

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