The international seminar on Herbal Drug Researches held in the JSS College of Pharmacy, Ootty has highlighted the grave problems being faced by the manufacturers of herbal drugs in the country.

The seminar titled "international seminar on herbal drug research, present and future prospects', was held on December 4 and 5 in the college and was attended by more than 1000 participants from different parts of the country and abroad.

The aim of the seminar was to provide a platform for students, eminent academicians, researchers, traditional medical practitioners, manufacturers and exporters of herbal products, marketing consultants and farmers with an interesting mix of highly focused and streamed scientific sessions, debates and poster presentations. Several experts both from abroad and within India delivered quality lectures.

The attendees represented a broad range of institutions from public and private sectors, who have expressed happiness over getting the herbal drugs popularized in developed and developing countries owing to their natural origin and lesser side effects. But the main concern they raised was about the lack of good quality raw material, authentication of raw materials, proper standardization methodology of single drugs and formulations and quality control parameters. They urged the authorities concerned to pay immediate attention to tackle these issues.

Apart from this, the seminar highlighted some more intricate problems and challenges faced by the industry such as shortage of adequate research labs, solution for patenting rights, evidence of safety, efficacy, and a range of other ethical issues coupled with the need for integration and maximization of their potential as a source of healthcare. These pressing challenges must be tackled for acceptable use of traditional and alternative medicines in modern therapeutics, the doctors and the manufacturers presented in the seminar opined.

The two days international seminar was supported by All India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi and JSS University, Mysore.

The seminar was inaugurated by V K Subburaj, Principal Secretary, Health & family welfare, Tamil Nadu. In his speech he introduced the theme of the seminar and said that the country which accounted for eight percent of the global biodiversity was very wealthy in terms of herbal plants. He added that, the number of persons practising traditional medicine was about 1.5 million and the availability of many plants with medicinal value made the conditions in the country ideal for research.