Definitions of Pharmaceutical
Definitions of pharmaceutical on the Web:
Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon (φάρμακον) meaning drug, and logos (λόγος) meaning science) is the study of how chemical substances interact with living systems. If substances have medicinal properties, they are considered pharmaceuticals. The field encompasses drug composition and properties, interactions, toxicology, therapy, and medical applications and antipathogenic capabilities. The science is considered to have been invented by Arabic physicians in Baghdad during the Golden Age of Islam; pharmacopoeias were penned in Arabic as early as the 7th century (Amin A. Khairallah: Outline of Arabic Contributions to Medicine: Chapter X, Chemistry and Pharmacy. 1946, ).
Karl Note: This is probably the most useful reference. "Pharm" refers to drugs. "Nutra" refers to food. "Ayur" refers to health or even life.
"-cology" is a usual suffix for "study" and you could use the word "Nutracology" meaning the study of food.
"-ceuticals" is not a suffix I've found yet, but from the above it relates to "remedy." So, a "Pharmaceutical" would be a drug used as a remedy. A "nutraceutical" would be a food used as a remedy. A "ayurceutical" would be a Ayurvedic substance or practice used as a remedy.
In order for "nutraceuticals" to be accepted well in the US they had to "take on the trappings" of the type of research and study done to get DRUGS approved by the FDA. So, a "nutraceutical" product tends to have a large amount of research behind it, like a drug, even though there is no FDA approval contemplated. It is easier, however, to make claims for a nutraceutical that has extensive research supporting it.
The type of research used for a drug or nutraceutical is normally large. The creation of the concept of Ayurceutical would imply lots of research. Probably in order to "fulfill" this implication there would best be some "Western Style" research that can be used to support the ancient Ayurvedic concepts. I doubt if "research done in India" will have the same impact -- even if that offends researchers in India.
If I were going to supervise and enforce "western style" "medical" research in India, or elsewhere, and my purpose were to support the health claims that could be made for an Ayurceutical product, I would START with the health claims that can be made with confidence based on anecdotal evidence (an anathma in the West) and then work from THOSE to find even trivial Western Scientific studies that support those claims.
Thus some Ayurvedic substance has great popularity in improving digestion? Well, then ...
Find some tiny, even trivial study done in the West, or do it in India, that proves, conclusively:
Research was done on aliviatl fluids in the lower stupor and the mean atomic pH at 2 minutes after ingestion of six fluid jers of protocol was 0.002 ppm.
I used psychobabble terms, but any scientist should know what terms have some scientific validity and usage. Find some studies that show something -- tie that to the Ayurvedic claims.
Or, you may just decide that, philosophicall, you don't want to go down this path!