Discourse for sustainable tapping of medicinal plants in NE
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, May 24 2022:
Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) Imphal on Tuesday organised 'Brainstorming on Medicinal Plants for Rural Livelihood and Drug Development in North East Region of India' as a part of the programme on 'Bioeconomy from Bioresources'.
The brainstorming session held in connection with the observance of International Biodiversity Day was organised under the guidance of IBSD director Prof Pulok K Mukherjee and in association with CSIR - North East Institute of Science & Technology, Jorhat and Society for Ethno-pharmacoloy, Kolkata.
Union minister of state for External Affairs Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh joined the event virtually as the chief guest and addressed the gathering about various research initiatives and outreach activities of IBSD for societal uplift and livelihood generation in NER under the IBSD director.
He appreciated the efforts of IBSD to establish Science Museum in Chandel Aspirational District of Manipur to inculcate scientific temperament among students.
In his address, DBT New Delhi scientist Dr Sanjay Kumar Mishra highlighted about the unique biodiversity available in NER and opined that they can be harnessed scientifically for boosting the bio-econ omy of this region.
He also mentioned about the various initiatives of Ministry of Science & Technology under DBT, CSIR, DST and ICMR for documentation of traditional knowledge and medicinal plants of the region.
Dr Sanjay Kumar also emphasised on focusing on translating knowledge to practice in the form of tangible products, processes and technology from bioeconomy perspectives.
During the programme, CSIR-NEIST Jorhat director Dr G Narahari Sastry, NERPBMC-DBT New Delhi consultant Dr Mohd Aslam, Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Guwahati director Prof Ashis K Mukherjee, DBT scientist E Dr Vaishali Panjabi, Society for Ethno-pharmacology Kolkata vice president Indraneel Das, Society for Ethno-pharmacology India secretary Dr Subhash C Mondal, School of Natural Products Jadavpur University Kolkata director Dr Pallab Kanti Halder, CSIR-NEIST Jorhat scientists Dr HB Singh, Dr Jatin Kalita and BRDC Shillong scientist Dr Junie P Lyngdoh shared their ideas on the use of medicinal plants for livelihood generation and drug development.
Many experts from industries, Emami Limited, Kolkata CEO (Technical) Dr CK Katiyar, Ayu Swasth Pvt Ltd director Dr Arun Gupta and Declibac Technologies Pvt Ltd representative Inderneel Das stressed on the need to establish value chain for products development.
During the programme, more than 30 traditional healers of Manipur interacted with experts about their traditional medicines/formulations.
The programme was attended by scientists, scholars, staff of IBSD, CSIR-NEIST and other institutions.
According to a participant, the brainstorming session was effective, for all stakeholders and successful with the involvement of industrialists, scientists, students, traditional healers to promote Himalayan resources for the development, of bioeconomy from bioresources through Himalayan Bioresources Mission.