UDGHARSHANA KARMA (AYURVEDIC HERBAL POWDER FRICTION MASSAGE) IN THE REDUCTION OF STHAULYA (OBESITY): AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF CLASSICAL AYURVEDIC CONCEPTS, CUTANEOUS PHYSIOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY BIOCHEMICAL EVIDENCE

Background: Sthaulya (obesity) is described in Ayurvedic classics as a Santarpanajanya Vyadhi arising from vitiation of Kapha Dosha and abnormal accumulation of Meda Dhatu consequent upon Agnimandya (impaired metabolic fire) and Srotorodha (channel obstruction). Udgharshana – the vigorous rubbing of dry or semi-dry herbal powders (Churna) over the skin in a direction opposite to hair growth – is among the Bahiparimarjana (external palliative) procedures prescribed for Sthaulya, alongside its allied procedures Udvartana and Utsadana. Objective: To collate and critically integrate classical Ayurvedic textual references on Udgharshana Karma with the physiology of the cutaneous appendages (eccrine sweat glands and sebaceous glands) and with contemporary biochemical/pharmacological evidence on the herbs most frequently used in anti-obesity Udgharshana Churna formulations. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted using classical Brihatrayee texts (Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Ashtanga Hridaya) and their commentaries, supplemented by a search of PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and the AYUSH Research Portal for terms including “Udvartana”, “Udgharshana”, “sebaceous gland”, “eccrine sweat gland”, “Cyperus rotundus”, “Acorus calamus”, “Macrotyloma uniflorum” and “adipocyte lipolysis”. Findings: Classical texts uniformly attribute Kapha-hara, Medo-hara (fat-reducing), Shoshana (absorbent/desiccant) and Twak-prasadana (skin-brightening) properties to Udgharshana. Contemporary evidence corroborates several of these actions: mechanical friction over the skin activates cutaneous mechanoreceptors and local sympathetic outflow, promoting catecholamine-mediated, β-adrenoceptor-driven hydrolysis of adipocyte triglycerides (lipolysis), while herbs conventionally incorporated into Udgharshana Churna – notably Musta (Cyperus rotundus), Vacha (Acorus calamus), Kulattha (Macrotyloma uniflorum), Yava (Hordeum vulgare) and Triphala – possess documented anti-adipogenic, PPARγ-modulating, lipid-lowering and antioxidant bioactivities. Conclusion: Udgharshana represents a physiologically plausible, low-cost and evidence-congruent adjunct in the multimodal Ayurvedic management of obesity, though robust randomised clinical trials with standardised Churna composition and objective anthropometric/biochemical endpoints remain scarce and are needed to validate its independent contribution.

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