**Abstract**

Ayurveda is an Indian traditional system of medicine. In present era, world is looking towards herbal medicine because of acceptability and safety. Medicinal plants constitute an effective source of Ayurvedic and other traditional system of medicines as well as modern medicine. In India, about 80% of the rural population depends on herbal medicines in primary health care level. A large percentage of plants used in herbal industries are subject of controversy. Non-availability of plants, poor understanding and parallel evolved knowledge systems are some of the reasons attributed to it. The existing practices of polynomial nomenclature system of Sanskrit, different perceptions in various communities, vernacular equivalents, all are cumulative factors for controversy, adulteration and substitution. " Sandigdha Dravaya " is a term used for that type of medicinal plants which are mentioned in Ayurvedic classics but their exact botanical source is not known. Adulterants and substitutes are the common practices in herbal raw material trade. Adulteration is a debasement of an article. The motives for intentional adulteration are normally commercial that which involves deterioration, admixture, sophistication, inferiority, spoilage and other unknown reasons. Substitution is a replacement of equivalent drugs in place of original drugs. The principles to select substitute drugs are based on similar Rasa, Guna, Virya, Vipaka and mainly the Karma. At present the adulteration and Substitution of the herbal drugs is the burning problem in herbal industry and in Ayurvedic practices. So it is necessary to develop reliable methodologies for correct identification, standardization and quality assurance of Ayurvedic drugs.

**Keywords:** Controversy, Substitution, Adulteration, Ayurveda, Pratinidhi dravya

## **1. Introduction**

Ayurveda is an Indian traditional system of medicine. It is a science of life and believed to be prevalent for last 5000 years in Indian Subcontinent. It is one of the most noted systems of medicine in the world [1]. In Ayurvedic system of medicine, treatment is based on *Chikitsa Chatuspad* (Tetra-pod of treatment) and for success of treatment, all these pods most contain special qualities [2]. *Aushadh* (Drugs) is one of the major pod, and for success of treatment potent drugs are the primary requirement. Medicinal plants are the major source of drugs in Ayurveda.

India is one of the world's top 12 mega diversity countries. It has more than one fourth (8000) of the world's known medicinal plant species (30,000), which provides an important source of medicinal raw materials for traditional medicine systems as well as for pharmaceutical industries [3]. Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of new drugs. There are over 1300 medicinal plants used in Europe, of which 90% are harvested from wild resources; similar figure in India also. Furthermore, up to 80% of people in developing countries are totally dependent on herbal drugs for their primary healthcare, and over 25% of prescribed medicines in developed countries are derived from wild plant species [4]. Due to an increasing demand for medicinal plants and a loss and fragmentation of natural habitats, close to 300 species of Indian medicinal plants have been so far assessed as under threat in the wild. Around 1,000 species are estimated to be facing various degrees of threat across different biogeographic regions in the country [5]. Due to such a high demand and less availability of natural sources and unavailability of crude genuine drugs, practices of substitution and adulteration are increasing day by day. Similarly a large percentage of plants used in herbal industries are subject of controversy. Nonavailability of plants, poor understanding and parallel evolved knowledge systems i.e. knowledge of naming of plants by identifying species with partly similar or fully similar properties, inherent qualities of accent and dialects, nonmedical literature describing flora etc. are some of the reasons attributed to it [6].

At present the adulteration and Substitution of the herbal drugs is the burning problem in herbal industry and in Ayurvedic practices. Due to adulteration, faith in herbal drugs has declined and led to one of the greatest drawbacks in promotion of Ayurveda and Herbal products. Adulterants are also creating health hazards or adverse events. Similarly controversy is creating problem for uniformity in standardization and reliability of Ayurvedic products and due to use of substitutions, it is difficult to get the appropriate effects as the genuine drugs could give.
