Amity University signed an MoU with National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR), Ministry of AYUSH, to move ahead with the proposed Project titled, “Elicitation for Enhancement of Secondary Metabolite Production in Cold Desert Plants of Ladakh Region” by Dr. Swati Madan and Dr. Maryam Sarwat of Amity University.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Padma Gurmet, Director, National Institute of Sowa-Rigpa, averred, “Sowa-Rigpa” commonly known as Amchi system of medicine is one of the oldest, Living and well documented medical tradition of the world. It has been popularly practiced in Tibet, Magnolia, Bhutan, some parts of China, Nepal, Himalayan regions of India and few parts of former Soviet Union etc. We are happy to collaborate with Amity University and I am certain that the proposed project by the Dr. Swati Madan and Dr. Maryam Sarwat, will prove to be a revolutionary and remarkable project, in the area of traditional medicinal research and NISR will extend its complete support for the commercialization of this project and together, we will contribute towards nation building.”
Speaking about the project, Dr. Swati Madan, Researcher at Amity University, said, “The project entails the study of biologically active organic compounds produced by plants, through various metabolic pathways. These compounds have been reported to possess varied pharmacological activities making them significant for the pharmaceutical industry. These, however, are produced in very small quantities by the plants, limiting their use for commercial purpose. Therefore, various techniques are employed to increase the production of these secondary metabolites in plants to extract them for commercial use.”
Welcoming the guests on this occasion, Dr. B.C. Das, Vice President, Amity Science Technology & Innovation Foundation, stated, “In the last decade traditional medicine has become very popular as today, people are more inclined towards adopting a healthy lifestyle and want to use traditional medicine instead of relying on heavy chemical-based compounds. Amity has always collaborated with reputed organizations and institutions for conducting research in various fields and we are certain that this collaboration with National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR) will also be highly productive and both the institutions will benefit immensely out of this.”
The MoU Signing Ceremony was attended by the senior researchers of Amity and concluded with an insightful and informative discussion regarding the outcome of the research collaboration and its feasibility for the pharmaceutical industry.