Significance and Impact of the Facility

Significance and Impact of the Facility
Despite a strong traditional medical culture and growing global presence in modern pharmaceuticals, India has not invested sufficiently in R&D into its own Traditional Medicines (TM). Indian Traditional Medicines such as Ayurveda not only offer names of raw drugs, unique processes and several thousand products for health maintenance and treatment of diseases but provides logic that is new to western bio-medicine, which makes interesting and innovative scientific study. R&D in TM can be invaluable in two ways:
(i) offer cost-effective solutions to diseases that plague India and other developing countries and
(ii) provide new scientific concepts, drugs, treatment methods and regular maintenance regime.
Ayurveda realises the importance of protecting oneself through maintaining homeostasis and by building immunity (innate) towards pathogens. Rasayana therapy is a stronghold of Ayurveda that focuses on Preventive and Pro-motive health care. There is much to be gained by developing this area at the National level through scientific research focused on Ayurvedic Rasayana. Rasayana therapy describes the best ways to channelise nourishment to the tissues using drugs, diet, exercise and life style.

One out of every four children under the age of one, who die in the world, is an Indian and this is due to malnutrition (UNICEF, 2008). Malnutrition has been implicated as one of the prime reasons for acute as well as chronic ailments (including anaemia and diarrhoea) both in modern and traditional medicine. This is because the body lacks the necessary immuno-protective mechanism to deal with the diseases. National Nutritional Programmes based on modern drugs such as those on Iron Folic Acid and Vitamin A have not had the expected success to curb anaemia and vitamin deficiency despite good strategies (NNMB Technical Report No. 22, 2003). Possibly, culture and region-specific diet, products and programmes need to be introduced for easy acceptance by communities, rather than imposing alien products. R&D and subsequent revival of traditional Indian health practices, including Ayurvedic traditions, would have an advantage in this respect to India.

National facility for rasayana is support by DST for 3 years, since April 2010.In this 3 years, the facility aims to establish through into disciplinary research, the proof of concept for at least one product used for treating pandu(Anaemia). This is the first of its kind to be set up in the country for systematic and scientific research both into the theory and practice of Rasayana products. The focus area of the facility would mainly be Mother & Child Health (MCH). Since Rasayanas are also known to slow down degeneration of tissues and aging, the facility would also study these processes.

The uniqueness of the centre would be its focus on understanding the Ayurvedic basis of Rasayana tantra (design) while establishing modern scientific correlations and evidence. Ayurvedic scholars and modern S&T scientists would work side by side to identify, document, formulate, develop and test some of the Rasayana herbs and herbominerals. In 3-4 years the centre hopes to become established as a reputed facility known for research in Rasayana that can serve the TM sector in terms of information, training and consultancy services.

The R&D facility would help standardise and validate classical formulations and/or develop new and contemporary products in areas that are of prime importance to India, which Ayurveda (Rasayanas) can substantially contribute. It will, in the process, create a modern scientific facility to understand Rasayana tantra (design).