The Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) today conducted a one-day Awareness Programme on “Pharmacopoeial Parameters of ASU&H” as part of the Regional Raw Drug Repository (RRDR) – Gangetic Plain Region project, supported by the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of Ayush.
In his welcome remarks, Dr. Raman Mohan Singh, Director, PCIM&H, briefed attendees on the Commission’s ongoing initiatives in the standardization and quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs.
Addressing the gathering, Prof. (Dr.) Mahesh Kumar Dadhich, Chief Executive Officer, NMPB, emphasized the importance of raw drug quality in ensuring the safety and efficacy of ASU&H systems. He highlighted the progress made by PCIM&H in establishing the RRDR and noted that NMPB, in partnership with the National Physical Laboratory, is developing the Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya for ASU&H drugs. He also praised the Commission for creating thematic medicinal plant gardens equipped with QR-code-enabled databases.
Dr. Rajendra Singh, Former Associate Director, DRDR, spoke about the rising global acceptance of ASU&H medicines and acknowledged the key role played by PCIM&H in setting pharmacopoeial and formulary standards.
Providing an overview of the RRDR Gangetic Plain project, Dr. A. Jayanty, Principal Scientific Officer (Pharmacognosy), PCIM&H, shared that the Commission is currently maintaining 523 authenticated raw drug samples and nearly 1,000 herbarium specimens covering 218 species of ASU&H drugs.
The programme saw participation from around 60 representatives from institutions including Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi; Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad; GS Ayurveda College, Ghaziabad; All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi; Sanskar College of Pharmacy, Ghaziabad; Bakson Homoeopathic Medical College, Greater Noida; and IMS Ghaziabad, among others.
Technical sessions featured expert talks on “Taxonomical Identification of Medicinal Plants” by Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Consultant, RRDR Project; “Identification of Raw Drugs by Pharmacognostic Parameters” by Dr. A. Jayanty; “Quality Control and Quality Assessment of Traditional Medicines” by Dr. S.C. Verma, PSO, PCIM&H; and “Microbial Analysis of ASU&H Drugs” by Dr. M. Ramesh, SO (Microbiology).
Participants also received hands-on training in the Pharmacognosy, Chemistry and Microbiology laboratories, where they were introduced to key instruments used in the standardization and quality control of ASU&H drugs. The programme concluded with exposure visits to the Herbal Gardens, Regional Raw Drug Repository and the Seed Bank.
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