Drugs about to Cross the Borders: The Future of Siddha Medecine

Except in India and in Asian countries with significant Tamil communities, siddha medicine compared to ayurveda, is little known, even ignored. In the last decades, this medical system, originating in the state of Tamil Nadu, has benefited from a revitalisation movement which encourages siddha practitioners to promote their products on the international market. However, the diffusion of siddha medicaments is not without problems as their formulas are considered to include many heavy metals and metallic components whose permitted limits are low because of their high toxicity. Warnings, by Robert B. Saper, of high levels of heavy metal in ayurvedic herbal products in US, and publicised in Canada and England have prompted the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to make the observance of the regulations of the Good Manufacturing Practices compulsory. These draconian regulations have consequences for siddha pharmaceutical production and its export as they increase the cost of manufacturing, and also for the medicinal formulations of siddha practitioners who expect to commercialise their products beyond the frontiers of Tamil Nadu. What are the choices manufacturers and siddha practitioners make to avoid the risk of intoxication and to protect their reputation? How do they justify their choices, and what are the consequences of those choices on the future of this medicine whose specificity and therapeutic efficacy depend upon iatrochemistry developed from alchemy? This article addresses these questions after presenting the debate about heavy metal in ayurvedic herbal products and the Indian regulations that favour the innocuity of traditional medicinal products. It also explores the ways by which siddha medicaments manage to cross frontiers