The laboratory at FRLHT is perhaps the most unique among the laboratories/institutes involved in natural product research.

The uniqueness of the laboratory lies in the fact that all the activities are oriented towards Traditional Knowledge with a modern approach. It is a one-stop shop for all the requirement of people involved in the Herbal Sector.

The laboratory has been established for demonstrating the contemporary relevance of traditional health practices, development of traditional knowledge based medicines and for standardization of medicinal plant and product quality. It has been recognized as a certifying body by the department of ISM & H, Govt. of India.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITY:

The laboratory has the requisite manpower and infrastructure for testing herbal medicines and to carry out research and development activities (R&D). Experienced and well-qualified scientists in the disciplines of Phytochemistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Microbiology and Molecular Biology are available for carrying out analytical work as required under the drug-testing mandate for ISM drugs. They are supported by field botanists and experts within FRLHT in the morphological and macroscopic identification of plants. The Lab works hand in hand with TSM group especially in the areas of Research and Product Development.

OUR MAIN ACTIVITIES:

Testing

The Laboratory at FRLHT undertakes Quality testing & Certification of raw drugs and finished products at a competitive fee. This is primarily for small-scale units manufacturing traditional medicines and who don’t have the facility of their own. The laboratory has the expertise and the facilities to conduct physical, physicochemical test, chemical assays, HPTLC, HPLC and microbiological tests. It has also developed cost effective and simple authentication kits, which the users themselves can test with minimum infrastructure. ::more

Research

Research wing focus to develop quality standards for Traditional Medicines that are based on traditional knowledge that exists in Traditional Medical Systems such as the Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and folk tradition.
Understanding the relevance Traditional Quality Standards
Documentation of Indian Traditional Methods of Collection and Processing of Medicinal Plants
Benefit of Storing Water in Copper Pots

Consultancy

The Laboratory undertakes custom based development of herbal product development. The laboratory takes the support of qualified and experienced traditional medicine practitioners for arriving at a sound formula based on Traditional Medicine. It then develops the product from a concept level to Pilot Scale level. Supporting data on standardisation, consistency, stability of the product and in-built quality control at different phases of production including the quality of the product is worked out as per customer requirement. ::more

Training

The Laboratory can provide training to individuals or organisations in the testing of herbal medicines as per pharmacopoeial standards as well as in thin layer chromatography (TLC) for finger printing of the raw drugs or marker compounds, in assay of the chemical compounds and in HPLC techniques. It also offers training in evaluation of products for microbiological contamination (bacteria and fungi). The user groups can thus build capacity in the area of Quality Control and Standardisation of herbal medicine. Students from the United States and local schools and colleges obtained exposure to techniques used by the Lab for researching Traditional Medicines. Various NGOs, including from Bangladesh, SSUs from Mangalore were trained at our laboratory. A complete tailored and interactive training programme as per the requirement was imparted by the staff of the laboratory for the NGOs and SSUs in QC techniques. ::more

Database

A user-friendly computerized database information on pharmacogonosy and pharmacopoeial standards of over 250 medicinal plants are available. Pharmacological information including clinical reports on 300 plants has been compiled in the database. Database information on Pharmacognosy or Pharmacology can be provided at a cost of Rs. 500/- each. Specific needs for other medicinal plants for which Pharmacognosy/ pharmacological information is required can be made obtained on request on terms and conditions mutually acceptable.