Director's Message:

During the year 2008-09, we at Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) have continued to work Revitalising India's Medical Heritage.

Our mission is "To demonstrate the contemporary relevance of Indian Medical Heritage by designing and implementing innovative programmes, on a size and scale, that will have societal impact."

Our major achievements are focused on the following thrust areas;

Conservation efforts and community outreach
UNDP-MOEF national program on promoting conservation of medicinal plants and traditional knowledge has taken up 1). Establishment of a system for rapid threat Assessment and Trade Regulation, 2).Establishment of a network of medicinal plants conservation areas (MPCAs, 3).Establishment of State Level Medicinal Plant Seed Center, 4).Establishment of methodology for sustainable harvest and augmentation of resources, 5).Establishment of Home Herbal Gardens and preparation of Community Knowledge Registers , 6).Mainstreaming traditional medicine into official Primary Health Care programs: 7). Capacity building for development of Community owned medicinal plants enterprises.

Herbarium
Bio-geo cultural repository of natural resources used by Indian Systems of Medicine Suported by MoEF-Centre of excellence programmes has added 150 more medicinal plants into the Herbarium collection from Andman nicobar islands and Northern parts of India. This division has also taken up herbarium exchange programmes, preparation of educational posters and conducted training programs in herbarium techniques. The rawdrug repository was enriched with more samples from wild and markets.

Informatics outputs
This division has achieved 1). A CD on geographical distribution database, and maps, for more than 200 wild medicinal plant species of India, 2). Review and updation of the comprehensive inventory of plants in Ayurveda 3). A prototype of CD on plants in Sustruta samhita 4). Updating the master database with around 10,000 vernacular names of plants 5). Added 1700 plants images to the image library 7). Completion of re-designing the ENVIS website-easy navigation, wider reach, search engine optimization 8). Preparation of State wise checklist of medicinal plants was prepared for six states viz., Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan and Tamilnadu. 9). New version of the CD on neighbourhood Medicinal plants of bangalore city for students. 10). A CD on database of medicinal plants of Orissa 11). A CD on database of medicinal plants of Rajasthan. As a part of its outreach activities informatics division has carried out a).release of educational materials, b).celebration of world environment day, c) A 6 days Reorientation training programme of Teachers of Ayuveda Colleges from all over India, d).A workshop on teachers of Kendriya vidyalaya and Participation in the International Ayurveda conference are main achievements.

Centre for Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutics (CPP)
1).Inter-cultural studies on the Botanical identity of Vidari, Goksura and Vidanga (MoEF-COE), 2). DNA Based marker development for Goksura, 3).Pharmacognostic and Pharmacological studies on the four species used as Vidari, 4).Isolation and characterization of maturity- related compounds in tubers of Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq. (Convolvulacea), 5).Purification of water, 6).Development and Standardization of Products for Pregnancy Anaemia and General Anaemia based on Traditional Formulations.7). Development of sensory standards for Nisha Amalaki Churna and Ashwagandha Shatawari Kalpa 8) Study of Abhava and Abhava Pratinidhi Dravyas 9).Training programs and workshops.

Clinical services, Education and research
The Clinical and literary research group took up the task of Curriculum development for the dissemination of the theories of the Indian Philosophical systems and their application to the field of Ayurveda 2). Literary Research on Medical Manuscripts, 3). Re-orientation Training programmes (RoTP), a National Seminar on 4)."The Contribution of Indian Philosophical Systems to Ayurveda", 5).publication of a classical work of Indian dietetics and well-being, known as Kshemakutuhalam. 6). Work on Encyclopeadia Ayurindia 7). National workshop on Translation of commentaries 8). Clinical Services 9). Certificate Course In Panchakarma Therapy and Basics of Yoga 10).

CHEO
1).Ethnomedicinal garden activities supported by MoEF has achieved development of thematics gardens in the FRLHT campus. It has also developed and implemented 2).Promotion of Home and Institution herbal gardens,3). Established a medicinal plant Community Nursery, 4).Germination trials of Medicinal Plants, 5) Conducted seven medicinal plants exhibitions 6). Taken up Documentation and assessment of local health traditions for management of malaria, 7). Capacity Building of Traditional Bone Setters. 8) Promotion and Mainstreaming Ethno-Veterinary Practices (EVP) in Veterinary Education and Research 9). Established 162 folk healers associations. 10. Training programme on oushadhikarn 11). Primary Health Centre Model through Promotion of Local Health Practices 12). Training on Documentation & Rapid Assessment of Ethnoveterinary Medical Traditions in 22 locations across 10 states 13). PhD programmes of Capacity and Theory Building for Universities and Research Centers in Endogenous Development.

D.K.Ved
Director
FRLHT