PUNE, India, 13 September 2006 — After several years of research and clinical tests on more than 400 patients, “Pinak” — an anti-snakebite herbal tablet, which is also available in powder form — was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the Maharashtra government as well as the federal government to be sold in the Indian market.
Pinak, which is composed of four different drugs, is the first snakebite medicine in the world that is taken orally and is dubbed the world leader in oral Ayurvedic antivenin. Compared to the anti-snake venom (ASV), which is drawn from the blood of horses, Pinak is extremely cheap, has no side effects and provides excellent results, its manufacturer said.
Behind the manufacturing of the drug is Dr. Geeta P. Pawar from district Satara in Maharashtra. Pawar’s pharmaceutical company, Shree-Bharadi Ayurvedic Pharmaceuticals, is marketing the new drug. Speaking to Arab News she said that the drug could be used to cure all kinds of snakebites.
She said the drug takes effect in just a few seconds of consumption and has no toxicity and contraindications.
“Polyvalent Injection ASV has been the only definite answer until recently. ASV is manufactured from horse serum and contains protective substances capable of neutralizing venom. The side effects include fever and rash, additionally, it can also cause severe and sometimes fatal allergic reactions in humans,” said Dr. Pawar.
Studies have shown that people who are bitten by deadly snakes such as deadly kraits and cobras fall into shock and may die even after being injected with ASV. Manufacturers of Pinak, however, say that one tablet of Pinak is enough to take immediate effect if a patient is given the medicine within one hour of being bitten. In serious conditions the dosage can be increased in ratio to the volume of snake poison.
Dr. Pawar said that the drug is completely safe and is now being supplied to various government and private hospitals throughout India.
According to Pawar, since 2000 there has been a shortage of antivenin. In Western countries today monovalent antibody injections with less toxicity have been developed. However, the medicine relies on the detection of specific toxic venom in the blood, is not widely available, and is also very costly.
Dr. Sanjay Thorat from Shree Sai Hospital said, “Pinak is effective in the management of snakebite cases — neurotoxic and asculotoxic.
“I have witnessed the results of Pinak in several cases. It works very well in vasculotoxic snakebites and shows great improvement in accelerating healing. The drug makes the patient recover very fast from the snakebite, minimizing hospital stay and economic burden,” he said.
Thorat added: “Pinak can be promoted as ‘adjuvant’ (a substance that enhances the body’s immune response to an antigen) to ASV, as it has the potential to replace ASV in future.”
In her research papers, Dr. Pawar makes interesting reference to a tradition narrated in Sahih Al-Bukhari on the authority of Abu Said Al-Khudhri.
The tradition tells the story of how one of the companions of the Prophet cured an Arab who was bitten by a snake. According to the tradition the companion recited Surat Al-Fatiha and spat at the bite, resulting in the man becoming cured.
“The Hadith had given me some direction and help in the research to produce this wonder drug,” said Pawar.
