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| === Agni and [[pitta dosha]] === | | === Agni and [[pitta dosha]] === |
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− | Agni is present in the form of [[pitta dosha]] in the body. [Cha.Sa. [[Sutra Sthana]] 12/11] [Sushuta Samhita Sutra Sthana 21/9] It is a separate entity than [[pitta dosha]] as observed through various references.<ref>Agrawal AK, Yadav CR, Meena MS. Physiological aspects of Agni. Ayu. 2010;31(3):395-398. doi:10.4103/0974-8520.77159</ref> Pitta can be considered as the facilitator for the process of agni. | + | Agni is present in the form of [[pitta dosha]] in the body. [Cha.Sa. [[Sutra Sthana]] 12/11] [Su. Sa. Sutra Sthana 21/9] It is a separate entity than [[pitta dosha]] as observed through various references.<ref>Agrawal AK, Yadav CR, Meena MS. Physiological aspects of Agni. Ayu. 2010;31(3):395-398. doi:10.4103/0974-8520.77159</ref> [[Pitta dosha]] can be considered as the facilitator for the process of agni. |
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| + | == Classification == |
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| + | === I. Three categories of agni === |
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| + | Agni is classified into three main classes like: |
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| + | 1. Jatharagni (present in the gastro-intestinal tract). This includes factors responsible for digestion and metabolism at gastro-intestinal tract level. |
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| + | This agni is responsible for all amylolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes secreted by various exocrine glands in the gut, which actually cause digestion, i.e., breaking down different macromolecules into their constituent units.<ref>Patwardhan K/ Vidhi Vimarsha of Grahani Chikitsa. In Charak Samhita New Edition. Available from https://www.carakasamhitaonline.com/index.php?title=Grahani_Chikitsa#Areas_of_Further_Research</ref> |
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| + | 2. Bhutagni has five fundamental elements, corresponding to respective mahabhuta. Those are: parthiva ([[pruthvi mahabhuta]] dominant), apya ([[apa mahabhuta]] dominant), taijasa (teja or [[agni mahabhuta]] dominant), vayavya ( [[vayu mahabhuta]] dominant) and nabhasa ( [[akasha mahabhuta]] dominant). They act on the corresponding substrate based on [[mahabhuta]] composition to make them homologous to body constituents. This includes factors responsible for digestion and metabolism at the organic level. Five types of bhutagni act after jatharagni, but before dhatvagni on the food and its metabolites. This represents the basic metabolism of various food components and minerals at hepatic level like carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. |
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| + | This agni carries out the absorption of nutrients in the liver, which plays an essential role in metabolism. Several processes such as trans-amination, de-amination, beta-oxidation of fatty acids, glycolysis etc. take place in the liver. Therefore, the overall intermediary metabolism (involving fats, carbohydrates and proteins) can be understood as the functioning of the bhutagni. |
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| + | 3. Dhatvagni is present in the seven body tissue components ([[rasa dhatu]], [[rakta dhatu]] , [[mamsa dhatu]], [[meda dhatu]], [[majja dhatu]], [[asthi dhatu]] and [[shukra dhatu]]) and is responsible for transformation of one dhatu into another namely rasagni, raktagni, mamsagni, medo-agni, majjo-agni, asthi agni and shukra agni. This includes factors responsible for digestion and metabolism at [[dhatu]] (various tissues). This includes the endocrine and exocrine secretions, neurotransmitter and other chemical factors. |
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| + | The small portions of agni are present in each [[dhatu]]. The increase or decrease of these agni leads to depletion or overproduction of [[dhatu]] respectively. [A.Hri. Sutra Sthana 11/24] This suggests the negative feedback and autoregulatory mechanism of agni. |
| + | All hormones (such as insulin, growth hormone, thyroid hormones, testosterone etc.) that promote the transportation of various nutrients into the cells, along with the enzymes participating in the Kreb’s cycle, are to be included under the term dhatvagni. 4 |
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| ==Classes== | | ==Classes== |