Coimbatore: BU to collaborate with univ in Brazil to research herbal medicine

Coimbatore: Soon researches in herbal medicine by researchers of the Bharathiar University’s botany department would be corroborated by their counterparts at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Researchers from both universities have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for student and faculty exchange and knowledge transfer.

T Parimelazhagan, professor at the botany department of the Bharathiar University, who is also the director of the university’s intellectual property rights cell, who signed the MoU on behalf of the university in Brazil on September 4, said the department had already been conducting research in ‘ethnopharmacology’ and this MoU would help to take the research to the next level. The MoU was signed between Parimelazhagan and Domingos Tabajara de Oliveira Martins, the coordinator of the research team at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Cuiaba, Brazil.

“We have been researching to find herbal medicines for ulcer and other gastrointestinal problems. While the first stage is to test these on animals to study them, the next level is to study the method of action of these herbal drugs. University of Mato Grosso has the facility for this. So, we are collaborating with them. We hope this would be a step towards producing herbal medicines for the end user,” said Parimelazhagan.

He said while they take up studying herbal medicines based on knowledge shared by ethnic communities, they work towards scientifically validating it. “By the virtue of being in Brazil, the university of Mato Grosso has access to the wealth of herbs and medicinal plants of the Amazon. We hope this MoU would pave way for more researches,” he said.

He said the MoU would strengthen academic, scientific and cultural exchanges in the areas of mutual interest. It would also help in design of research programmes and exchange of pedagogical experience and information, he added.