Ayurvedic medicine, the traditional Indian method of treating diseased humans, hasn’t enjoyed the rush of popularity that Chinese herbal medicine has seen. But perhaps it should. At least if you’re a fruit fly.

Researchers took an uncommonly holistic approach to studying the efficacy of two “drugs.” Instead of isolating the “active ingredients” in the traditional preparations, they used the whole enchilada, the complete stew, the full monte.

These are some full montes, indeed. Amla, a traditional fertility treatment and general invigorator, is made from Indian gooseberries. But the process of grinding the berries, extracting the juice, then repeatedly drying the pulp as you add back doses of the juice, takes THREE MONTHS!

Rasa-Sindoor begins life as mercury — that famous nerve toxin and carcinogen. But it’s mixed with sulphur, which itself is purified in butter and milk. With aloe juice, these ingredients are ground for approximately 240 hours. The paste is dried on a wooden board in the shade for four days. The dry gunk is pulverized and sealed inside two bowls; this sphere is wrapped in clay-coated cloth; which is dried and baked in a furnace. The flakes that remain are scraped off the inside of the bowl and pulverized.

Got it? You can see why simply isolating the “active ingredient” might miss some of the subtle transformations of the chemistry. The meds are typically mixed with more clarified butter and/or honey to make them taste better.

The flies got it with their regular food. And, as predicted by ancient Ayurvedic texts…

• Amla gave flies a lifespan bonus of about ten percent.

• It also made females produce more hatched eggs if they ate it during larval stage. (The equivalent in mammals might be giving the Amla to a pregnant mother, and seeing a healthier reproductive system in her grown child.)

• It also made them more hardy under starvation — a measure of how efficiently an animal handles stress.

• It also had a salubrious effect on a detail of cellular genetics. I won’t endeavor to elucidate.

• Rasa-Sindoor made females produce more hatched eggs but only if they ate it as adults. Say the authors: “…it is interesting to note that in Ayurvedic practice, RS is not recommended for growing children but is indicated, among other things, for genital disorders and rejuvenation in adult subjects.”

• It also had that salubrious effect on a detail of cellular genetics which I won’t endeavor to elucidate. It had even more of that effect than Amla did.