Personalized Dosha-Based Therapeutics

Abstract

Personalisation is arguably the single feature of Ayurveda that has the clearest parallel in modern medicine's current trajectory. The Prakriti concept - constitutional typing in terms of dominant doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) - is one of the oldest formal personalisation frameworks in any medical tradition, and the modern Ayurgenomics work has established that Prakriti classifications correspond to measurable differences in gene expression, metabolomics, and gut-microbial profiles. What has moved more slowly is the clinical-trial evidence that dosha-matched therapeutics actually outperform non-personalised Ayurvedic protocols in comparable indications. We consolidated 74 peer-reviewed clinical studies published between 2014 and 2024 that evaluated Prakriti-based or dosha-specific therapeutic protocols in adult clinical populations. Studies were grouped into five frames: D1 (Vata-specific), D2 (Pitta-specific), D3 (Kapha-specific), D4 (dual-dosha / tridosha integrative), and D5 (Ayurgenomics-guided personalisation). Each frame was scored on the Personalised Dosha Therapeutics Index (PDTI), a weighted composite across Prakriti validation, clinical effect size, comparative effect over non-personalised protocols, reproducibility, and clinical-deployment feasibility. Ayurgenomics-guided protocols (D5) and dual-dosha integrative protocols (D4) scored highest at PDTI 0.842 and 0.818. Our reading is that personalised dosha-based therapeutics have accumulated sufficient clinical validation to move from conceptual-framework status into integrative-medicine clinical practice, with Ayurgenomics-informed individualisation as the most promising near-term development