Experts pin hopes on medicinal plant garden

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 14

To promote medicinal plants as well as Ayurveda, a medicinal plant garden has been established at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University by the Ministry of AYUSH. It has 56 varieties of medicinal plants and it will be developed for research purposes.

Dr AS Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of GADVASU, said the medicinal plant garden developed at the university would be helpful in conducting research on Ayurveda. “Both medicines and plants will be researched and their use in treating various types of diseases related to humans and animals will also be studied,” he said.

Dr Nanda said they also planned to make it a viable profession for farmers. “Once all the research is undertaken, we will be inviting farmers to undertake medicinal plant farming so that these can be used for making medicines. After complete research, plants will be given to people,” said Dr Nanda.

The herbal pharmaceutical industry has a great potential for growth in human and veterinary health control. Medicinal plants are potential sources of new drugs. Global trade in herbs is over $100 billion per annum and India has a vast potential to emerge as a global leader in this area. Herbal products have lesser adverse effects. Ethnoveterinary medicine may prove to be an economically viable resource for treating livestock diseases and help to improve the standard of living of dairy farmers by reducing cost of treatment of animals and minimising production and reproduction losses, said Dr JPS Gill, Director of Research of GADVASU.

“The herbal garden of GADVASU will include 78 important plant species having medicinal values in veterinary practice. Among these, 30 are trees, 24 herbs, 16 shrubs, seven climbers and one is grass. Till now, 56 species of medicinal plants have been planted in the garden,” said Dr VK Dumka, HoD of Veterinary Pharmacology.

He said the garden would help to exploit the vast potential of indigenous plants not only for their therapeutic or preventive medicinal values but the farmers, in general, will also economically gain from cultivating these medicinal plants. The effort would go a long way in advancing the field of veterinary Ayurveda for the benefit of animal owners and farmers of Punjab. The use of herbal preparations in organic livestock production would further ensure safety and health of consumers, and protection of environment.

“This initiative of GADVASU will be highly beneficial in reviving the traditional healing practices of India and expanding the horizon of Ayurveda and its application in the veterinary field,” he said.

Too benefit farmers also

Dr VK Dumka, HoD of Veterinary Pharmacology, GADVASU, said the garden would help to exploit the vast potential of indigenous plants not only for their therapeutic or preventive medicinal values but the farmers, in general, will also economically gain from cultivating these medicinal plants.