स्नेहोऽनिलंहन्तिमृदुकरोतिदेहंमलानांविनिहन्तिसङ्गम्।

(चक्रपाणि -शोधनाङ्गस्नेह)

स्नेहश्च धातून्संशुष्कान् पुष्णात्याशु प्रयोजितः॥८१॥

बलमग्निबलं पुष्टिं प्राणांश्चाप्यभिवर्धयेत्।      च.चि.  २८/१२

Sneha is having the opposite quality of vāta hence subside the vāta dosas. It alters गति of vāta which brings the शाखागतदोषा  to कोष्ठ. Sneha by virtue of its snigdha or mṛdu qualities brings softness in doṣas, srotas and deha.It is very important to bring the doṣas to koṣṭha in उत्क्लेश stage. This Mrdukarana effect is seen by गात्रमार्दवं.Mala saṅgaoccurs due to रूक्षण. snehana overcomes this रूक्षण quality due its snigdha and viṣyandana properties and by which saṅga is released. Along with the above actions in the body it acts as a solvent. The disease is produced due to the sthānasaṃśraya of vitiated doṣas through srotasas. Snehana administered internally reaches each and every srotas of the body and acts as a solvent to remove the obstruction by dissolving the morbid doṣas in it. This results in the removal of sroto avarodha which is one of the important steps in samprāptivighaṭana.

Snehapānaas a pūrva as well as pradhāna karma is an important treatment procedure that has multiple actions in our body.

While consuming Acchapāna properly leads to Samyak Snigdha lakṣaṇas. which depends upon the Koṣṭha and agni of a Rogi.

Among the Samyak snigdha Lakṣaṇas, Vāta Anulomana -proper downward movement of the abnormal Vāta and enhancing the normal functions of organs of the abdomen is prime important. The Snigdha Guṇa of Snehapāna is the main cause of this.

Diptāgni and Koṣṭha mārdava are due to the stimulation of pācaka Pitta, Kledaka kapha, and samāna vāta. During the process of snehapāna the stomach acids and the digestive enzymes of the stomach are stimulated. It is due to the Prabhāva of ghṛta.

Each and every part of our body is made of various types and compositions of Sneha. Some Unsaturated Fatty acids, a Phospholipid layer Glyco-protien layer, Cholesterol, Carbohydrates and Proteins together constitute the structure of a Cell.

Cholesterol is considered as the precursor of Steroid hormones and Bile acids. They are even necessary for the development of Myelin sheath. Forms the main component of adipose tissue, essential for repairing damaged cells, for Vitamin D synthesis and so on.

Here Ghee or Grita contain 100% Sneha substances or substances that provide unctuousness to the body. So, if we administer Grita, it will be easy to get absorbed into the cells due to their similarities. Before absorption, it should be broken down into simple substances with the help of enzymes. Whenever a fatty rich food enters the body, Salivary Amylase, Gastric Lipase, Lingual lipase, Bile, Pancreatic lipases will act on it and break down into Fattyacids and Glycerol.

Bile salts have detergent action which promote Emulsification. It also has detoxicative functions. Majority of Cholesterol breaks down in the body due to the action of Bile acids.

Nearly 500mg of Cholesterol are utilised for further synthesis of bile acids and excess get eliminated through bile into the Intestine every day, particularly in situations of excess Cholesterol ingestion.

About 95% of Bile acids are absorbed back into blood within the Ileum. Only a small quantity gets lost from the body. In the case of Snehapāna, the same process might be happening. Along with Bile, Pancreatic lipase also converts most of the Triacylglycerol into Monoacylglycerol and Free Fatty acids.

The fatty acids are transported by Plasma albumin and diffuse across the cell membrane, using a protein transporter and form Acyl-CoA in the cytosol. Acyl-CoA molecules cross the inner membrane of Mitochondria. Within the Mitochondrial matrix, β- oxidation takes place. Acetyl-CoA, Water, 5 ATP molecules are the products of each event of Oxidation. Two important enzymes involved in Fatty Acid metabolism are delta-6 denaturise and delta-5 desāturase.

The bile which is normally produced during the period of Snehapāna, has more chance to be excreted out through faeces. This bile carries and eliminates some amount of unwanted Cholesterol along with it.

Bile is one of the major excretory routes for potentially harmful exogenous lipophilic substances, endogenous substrates like Bilirubin, bile salts and for those substances not secreted or filtered properly by the kidney.

Bile also excretes some metals like Copper, Zn, Hg, Pb and so on. The final product Acetyl-CoA molecules involved in many Biochemical reactions in the body such as Cellular respiration and enter the Citric acid Cycle in Mitochondria, react with Oxalic – acetate to form Citrate, which is an excellent Chelating agent.

Two acetyl-CoA molecules condense to form Acetoacetyl-CoA, which give rise to Acetone. Such Ketone bodies released from Liver cells, finally enter the circulations, can cross Blood-Brain barrier, give fuel for CNS, act as a substitute for Glucose. Some Acetyl-CoA molecules act as an important content for the synthesis of a neurotransmitter – Acetylcholine. Acetyl CoA plays a major role in melatonin synthesis – a hormone produced by Pineal gland that regulates sleep and wakefulness. The Acetylation process affects Cell growth and mitosis.

The various functions of Acetyl-CoA show how Samyak snigdha lakashana happen. The word Vātanulomyata not only means making the movement of Vāta in the right directions, but it also emphasizes all biological reactions, transportations and movements of GIT. Gritapānaor Snehapānathus helps to regulate all these functions in a smooth steady way.