Amity University signs MoU with NISR, Ministry of AYUSH

Amity University has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Institute of Sowa Rigpa (NISR), Ministry of AYUSH, to move ahead with a proposed project titled, 'Elicitation for Enhancement of Secondary Metabolite Production in Cold Desert Plants of Ladakh Region' by Swati Madan and Maryam Sarwat of Amity University.

Addressing the gathering, Padma Gurmet, director, NISR, said, "Sowa-Rigpa, commonly known as 'amchi' system of medicine, is one of the oldest, living and well-documented medical tradition of the world. It is popularly practiced in Tibet, Magnolia, Bhutan, some parts of China, Nepal, the Himalayan regions of India and few parts of former Soviet Union etc. NISR is happy to collaborate with Amity University and we are certain that the proposed project will prove to be a revolutionary and remarkable project, in the area of traditional medicinal research. NISR will extend full support for the commercialisation of this project and together, we will contribute towards nation-building."

Speaking about the project, Madan, said, "The project entails the study of biologically active organic compounds produced by plants, through various metabolic pathways. These compounds have been reported to possess varied pharmacological activities making them significant for the pharmaceutical industry. These, however, are produced in very small quantities by the plants, limiting their use for commercial purpose. Therefore, various techniques are employed to increase the production of these secondary metabolites in plants to extract them for commercial use."

Welcoming the guests on this occasion, BC Das, vice president, Amity Science Technology & Innovation Foundation, stated, "In the last decade traditional medicine has become very popular as today, people are more inclined towards adopting a healthy lifestyle and want to use traditional medicine instead of relying on chemical-based compounds. Amity has always collaborated with reputed organisations and institutions for conducting research in various fields and we are certain that this collaboration with NISR will also be highly productive and both the institutions will benefit immensely out of this collaboration."

The MoU signing ceremony was attended by the senior researchers of Amity and concluded with an insightful discussion regarding the outcome of the research collaboration and its feasibility for the pharmaceutical industry.