The Department of Sanskrit studies, School of Humanities, in collaboration with the School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad (UoH), organized a one day Symposium on “Contributions of Interdisciplinary Research in the Development of Molecular Basis for Ayurveda” on December 19, 2016 at Seminar Hall, School of Life Sciences, UoH.
Prof. Appa Rao Podille, Vice-Chancellor, UoH while welcoming the participants and delegates observed that this kind of symposium organized by the department and the school was a perfect example of the kind of interdisciplinary research the university is famed for. Earlier, the convener of the symposium Dr.JSR Anjaneya Prasad, Head, Dept. of Sanskrit Studies, welcomed the delegates and guests comprising of scientists, faculty members of the university and faculty members and students from Dr. B.R.K.R. Govt. Ayurvedic College, Hyderabad. He has briefly explained about the Ayurveda research that is being conducted in the Department.
The key note address by Prof. P. Reddanna, Dean, School of Life Sciences set the tone for the day. He spoke about the need for development of natural products by conducting scientific researches on them in his address, “Eicosanoids, inflammation and cancer: Development of natural products as anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer drug candidates.” He cited the example of research on anti-inflammatory action of ‘Dasamula’ which proved that the anti-inflammatory action of roots of young plants was comparable with that of the bark, stem, and root of mature plant.
The first technical session was chaired by Prof. Nishteshwar, Visiting Professor, Department of Sanskrit Studies and co-chaired by Prof. Irfan A. Ghazi. The second was chaired by Prof. K. Anand Kumar Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics School of Life Sciences and Prof. Ch. Ravi Kumar, Dr. BRKR Govt. Ayurvedic College. The sessions provided the researchers and students attending the symposium an opportunity to understand the interdisciplinary works taking place in the field.
Prof. A. Pratap Kumar, Professor of Urology, University of Texas Health Science Center, discussed the anti-tumorigenic activity of herb Nexrutine in prostate cancer in his presentation, ‘Exploiting nature’s bounty for cancer management’. Prof. K. Anand Kumar, who worked extensively on turmeric spoke on bio-availability and activities of Nano-Curcumin. Prof. Ch. Ravi Kumar spoke on proper standardization of drugs in keeping with the documented texts of Ayurveda. Prof. G.V. Ganeshwar Reddy discussed the utility of preventive aspects of Ayurveda through his presentation,’ Rasayana therapy in Ayurveda’. Prof. R. Vidyanath from Dr. B.R.K.R. Govt. Ayurvedic College elaborated on Panchakarma Instrumentation and Research updates. Dr. Irfan A. Ghazi presented his work on anticancer properties of Ayurvedic plants. Dr. G.B.K. Rao from Pragati green meadows and resorts, spoke on the need to cultivate medicinal plants on a large scale.
The valedictory session consisted of plenary lecture by Prof. Geeta K Vemuganti, Dean, School of Medical Sciences, UoH. She discussed about the concepts of regeneration in Ayurveda and Allopathy. She spoke on the dire need for more researches from Ayurveda to build an evidence based knowledge resource for the science for better collaboration between researchers in different fields. A fruitful panel discussion on the direction ahead was chaired by Prof. I. Suryanarayana Scientist G (Retd.), IICT, the other participants being Prof. Panchanan Mohanty, Dean, School of Humanities, Prof. K. Nishteshwar and Prof. P. Reddanna, while Dr. Sarada D Tetali, Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, UoH proposed the vote of thanks.
Prof. Nishteswar has aptly summarized the content of all presentations. Dr. Prasad and Dr. Sarada acted as the conveners of symposium.