Hangover? Here's a herbal solution

Promoters of the Himalaya Drug Company have floated a new entity, HerbalScience, to market and distribute herbal remedies for lifestyle disorders.

The new entity will outsource its research and development services from The Himalaya Drug Company, a player in the phyto-pharmaceutical space. It will concentrate only on marketing, said Humayun Farid, vice-president operations and marketing, HerbalScience.

HerbalScience plans to market its products on its own in India and through a distributor model for accessing global markets, he added.

Launched in 2004, HerbalScience will be based out of Bangalore and have offices in Houston, Texas, Singapore and Dubai.

HerbalScience made its foray into the Indian market with the launch of PartySmart. PartySmart is being positioned as a herbal solution to prevent morning-after symptoms of social alcohol consumption.

PartySmart developed by Himalaya Drug Company and the research team responsible for Liv.52 which enabled the company to achieve the status of the world leader in hepatic (pertaining to the liver) disorders, said Dr S K Mitra, executive director, research and technical services, the Himalaya Drug Company.

"For PartySmart, expertise was harnessed by Himalaya and clinicians conducted over 250 clinical trials to release the product into the market in a short period," he added.

The drug is marketed in strips of five capsules and a strip is priced at Rs 50. The company plans to position the product as an OTC at chemists and supermarkets in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta, Pune, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Goa and Chandigarh.

Explaining as to how the drug works, Mitra said when alcohol is consumed, it is mainly converted into acetaldehyde by the liver. This build up of acetaldehyde causes headaches, nausea and other unpleasant symptoms.

"For the best results, the suggested dosage is one capsule taken 30 minutes before the alcohol consumption. Here acetaldehyde is broken down to give pleasant 'morning after,'" said Mitra.

Mitra also added that the build up of acetaldehyde also sets the stage for long-term liver, brain and heart damage.

For PartySmart, herbal extracts of Kasni, Yavatikta, Bhumyamalaki, Draksha, Amalaki and Kharjura has gone into it and The Himalaya Drug Company has filed a global patent for the drug.

According to Humayun Farid, "Lifestyle in India is constantly evolving. Today responsible alcohol consumption is fast becoming an acceptable social activity. Research indicates that the cost of absenteeism and decreased occupational productivity caused by alcohol hangover is staggering."

"Research in the United Kingdom conducted by Reed, 10 million working days are lost annually in Britain as a result of people staying home from a hangover, costing British business an estimated £960 million," he added.