The Foundation of Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), the DANIDA funded non-governmental organisation (NGO), has joined hands with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) to release three educational compact discs (CDs) on ‘Medicinal Plants of Ayurveda’.

The CDs on ‘Plants of Ayurveda: Dravyaguna Materia Medica’, ‘Plants of Charaka Samhita’ and ‘Indian Medicinal Plants’ have been released along with FRLHT’s Encyclopaedia of Indian Medicinal Plants.

The CDs provide the correct botanical identity of medicinal plants. FRLHT spent about Rs 30 lakh for the development of the CDs. Compilation of data for the CD on Plants of Ayurveda for the Bachelors of Ayurveda Medical Sciences degree syllabus took almost a year. The other two CDs on Plants of Charaka Samhita and CD on medicinal plants took three years, informed Dr. GG Gangadharan, joint director, FRLHT.

The cost of each CD is Rs 800 and is available at FRLHT. The CDs for students of colleges affiliated to RGUHS are available at Rs 300 and for students of colleges outside the purview of RHGUS, it is available for Rs 500.

The CD on Plants of Ayurveda provides the traditional knowledge, conservation status of the plants, their natural distribution, and graphics to identify and locate besides dealing with the phyto-chemistry and the pharmacology of plants. Following the classical method of description of medicinal plants, the CD contains comprehensive information about 370 plants recommended for Bachelors of Ayurveda Medical Sciences degree syllabus and around 2,300 Sanskrit slokas with their translation in English.

The CDs on Plants of Charaka Samhita, the oldest classic on Ayurveda, contains complete information on 620 plants recorded in 12,870references of Charaka, 1,700 formulations, 620 plant images etc.

Dr. PS Prabhakaran, vice chancellor, RGHUS stated that all systems of medicines should be complimentary to each other and not competitive. Hence, the CD would give the information for modern medicine doctors also.

According to Dr. Darshan Shankar, director, FRLHT, there is a need to have a judicious combination of all systems of medicine. Almost 40 per cent of the population is now interested in alternative medicine and the new trend is popular ain all parts of the world.