Literature searches on Ayurveda: An update

Area of Science:

• Ayurveda
• Medical Informatics
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• Ayurveda literature searches are challenging due to limited indexing in major biomedical databases.
• Previous recommendations for 46 databases are outdated, necessitating an update.
• Many Eastern journals publishing on Ayurveda remain unindexed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update strategies for retrieving maximum Ayurveda publications.
• To identify current and relevant databases for Ayurveda literature searches.

Main Methods:

• Psoriasis was used as a case study to evaluate databases and search strategies.
• Keywords included Ayurvedic terminologies for skin diseases and psoriasis.
• 105 journals publishing Ayurveda research were identified and assessed for indexing and search options.

Main Results:

• Only five databases (AYUSH research portal, Annotated Bibliography of Indian Medicine, DHARA, PubMed, DOAJ) remain relevant.
• PubMed offers the most complex search strategy; other databases have non-uniform options.
• 41.5% of journals are unindexed, and only 10.4% of exclusive Ayurveda journals are in PubMed.

Conclusions:

• AYUSH research portal and DHARA are key post-2010 resources.
• A mandatory search includes PubMed and four other databases for comprehensive retrieval.
• Hand searching and merging grey resources like ARD are vital for complete Ayurveda literature discovery.