Emergence of Ecopharmacovigilance and its possible implementation in Ayurveda

Abstract

Newer formulations and more compound drugs in AYUSH being manufactured and used in an ever-growing scale with various medical and non-medical conditions. The demand for more pharmaceutical products leads to destroying countless species of animals and plants, placing public at risk and disappearance of rain forests around the globe. The loss of these rainforests contributes to changes in the global climate. With growing research in the field of ecology and environment, many adverse effects of drugs on environment have come to light. Pharmacovigilance activities done to monitor any obnoxious reactions of drugs in Human and Animals. However, a branch of pharmacovigilance focuses on the environmental impact of pharmaceutical products, which originally started as “Pharmaco Environmentologyâ€, involves monitoring, assessing, and mitigating the risks associated with the release of pharmaceuticals and by products into the environment and now known as Ecopharmacovigilance. It also covers the safe disposal of unused or expired drugs, managing waste from pharmaceutical manufacturing and understanding how pharmaceuticals and byproducts may affect ecosystems and human health. So, the environment is polluted not only by heavy metals, pesticides, emissions from gasoline engines, but also through pharmaceutical chemicals, industrial chemicals, therapeutic and non therapeutic medicines. The manufacturing plants producing the active substances might unintentionally release pharmaceuticals into the environment. It is said that drugs lead double lives! once APIs in administered medications have completed their intended purposes, they can take on renewed lives in environment. Few drugs synthesized and persist in environment even after its metabolism and excretion. These pharmaceuticals including TM enter into environment through various routes causing harmful effects.