Traditional And Modern Scientific Approaches For The Uses Of 'Takra' In Different Diseases: A Review

Dadhi and Takra are very common food items of Indians and are used as liquid food items from Vedic period. In Ayurveda; their types, qualities, uses, contraindications are mentioned. It is very important 'Anupana' of many Ayurvedic formulations. Also, it is used both as food and medicine. Takra is fundamentally a milk product prepared by fermentation processes. Fermentation increases the shelf-life along with enhancing their taste. This process also improves nutritive value in the milk. Furthermore, by adding some herbs and minerals their properties are fortified. Due to advancement of biotechnology, microbiology and pharmaceutical sciences; numbers of pharmaceutical products are prepared from fermented milk to combat diarrhea, inflammatory bowel syndrome, obesity and various digestive disorders. Takra and Dadhi are natural probiotics and prebiotics diet because the friendly bacteria for the intestines and the body are found in abundance in these remedies. The present review focuses on compositions and roles of synbiotics for human health. Furthermore; additional health benefits like immune-modulation, cancer prevention, inflammatory bowel disease etc. have also been discussed.