THERAPEUTIC ROLE OF LEKHANIYA GANA BASTI IN STHAULYA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DYSLIPIDEMIA: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Sthaulya is described in Ayurveda as a Santarpanajanya disorder characterized by excessive and functionally disturbed Meda, whereas contemporary obesity is a chronic relapsing disease associated with cardiometabolic morbidity. Dyslipidemia commonly accompanying obesity is characterized by abnormalities in triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, HDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B and LDL particle characteristics rather than by a uniform rise in LDL cholesterol alone. The Ayurvedic literature places Sthaulya among the clinically undesirable constitutional states and describes dietary excess, reduced physical activity, day sleep and other Kapha-Meda-promoting factors in its pathogenesis. Lekhaniya Mahakashaya is a ten-drug group described in Charaka Samhita for Lekhana-oriented therapeutic action and is therefore conceptually relevant to Kapha-Meda dominant disorders. (Cha chi 4/5) Recent analytical profiling of Lekhaniya Mahakashaya documented a chemically diverse matrix with more than two thousand metabolomics features and validated marker estimation for curcumin and berberine. Basti is a major Panchakarma procedure with a strong classical Vata-oriented rationale, and modern rectal-delivery science confirms that ano-rectal administration can provide local or systemic exposure depending on formulation, site, retention and physicochemical properties. A 2025 randomized comparative pilot study in 64 obese participants reported that Lekhan Basti alone and in combination with Navak Guggul improved anthropometric and lipid-related outcomes, although only 50 participants completed the trial and the open-label pilot design limits certainty. A separate 2025 clinical comparison of two Lekhana Basti schedules reported improvement in weight, body measurements and lipid profiles in both groups, while a 2026 protocol demonstrates that more rigorous assessor-blinded controlled evaluation in dyslipidemia is now being pursued. This comprehensive review integrates classical Ayurvedic reasoning, recent clinical evidence, phytochemical and pharmacological literature, rectal-delivery science and contemporary dyslipidemia concepts to evaluate the plausible therapeutic role of Lekhaniya Gana Basti in Sthaulya. The available evidence supports biological and clinical plausibility but remains insufficient for a definitive claim that a specific Lekhaniya Gana Basti protocol provides established lipid-lowering efficacy equivalent to guideline-directed pharmacotherapy.