Arsenic and Ayurveda

Abstract

Manufacture of an Ayurvedic arsenic-containing compound is described, which is currently in use in India to control blood counts of patients with haematological malignancies. The efficacy and side effects of this compound are evaluated in the light of the fact that arsenic was recognised to be of use in the control of blood counts from patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia as long as 100 years ago, in the West.