Classification of human population based on HLA gene polymorphism and the concept of Prakriti in Ayurveda.

TLDR: It is hypothesized that there could be a genetic basis for the three major constitutions (Prakriti) described in Ayurveda and this may provide an appropriate means of classifying phenotypes to be considered collectively for genotyping.

Abstract: Background: Correlating phenotypes with genotypes remains the major postgenomic challenge. Attempts to correlate phenotype characteristics associated with ethnicity, geographical divisions, or diseases to genotypes have had limited success. This means that current approaches for identifying phenotypes associated with haplotypes may be inadequate. Objectives: We hypothesize that a human phenome based on Ayurveda could provide an appropriate approach. Specifically, there could be a genetic basis for the three major constitutions (Prakriti) described in Ayurveda. The Prakriti classification is based on differences in physical, physiological, and psychologics characteristics and is independent of racial, ethnic, or geographical considerations. It may provide an appropriate means of classifying phenotypes to be considered collectively for genotyping. Design: As a pilot study to test the hypothesis, we evaluated 76 subjects both for their Prakriti and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1 types. The genomic DNA wa...