Research to ascertain herbs’ role in tackling Covid

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 13

With anti-Covid vaccines far from sight and modern drug delivery taking time, India has turned to plant extracts to assess whether they would work against the lethal virus.

The Ministry of AYUSH has teamed up with the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to work on four sets of medicinal plants for potential traditional treatments.

The plant extracts zeroed in for crucial herbs-based research are Withania somnifera, commonly known as Ashwagandha; Tinospora cordifolia, also called Guduchi and Glycyrrhiza glabra (Mulethi).

Ayush-64, an anti-malarial drug developed by The Central Council of Ayurveda and Siddha, is also being assessed for possible therapies.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today said the Indian traditional medicine system presented several potentialities that were worth testing.

Ashwagandha (winter cherry) has been used in the Ayurvedic medicine system for over 3,000 years.

CSIR Director General Shekhar Mande said CSIR labs were working with AYUSH Ministry to see if traditional knowledge sources could be tapped and married with modern science to achieve a plant extract-based drug breakthrough against Covid-19.

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