Department started in 2010 with an aim to validate traditional medicinal plants. In India out of 17,500 flowering plants, 8,000 species are reported as medicinal plants in folklore where, Ayurvedic medicines alone need 2200 species.Considering these great diversity, we focused on selecting and validating the most effective plant for inflammation which is the common condition in a large number of human conditions and typically involves a response to burns, chemical irritants, frostbite, toxins, and infection by pathogens, necrosis, and physical injury. However, chronic and uncontrolled inflammation gives rise to several non-communicable diseases and known to initiate and accelerate the degenerative processes. Thus, current work at Department of Herbal Medicine focuses on-

• Correct botanical identification and authentication of selected medicinal plants, besides their popular/common names
• Pharmacological and clinical validation of these plants using in-vitro biochemical assays and in-vivo animal models to ascertain their efficacy and safety with special reference to inflammation
• Standardization by metabolomic approach using modern analytical techniques such as HPTLC, FTIR, HPLC, GC-MS etc. to ensure uniformity
• Suggesting superior harvesting method and sites for raw materials, based on the quality and quantity of the desirable phytochemicals.