DESCRIPTION:
Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry Department
About the Department
Pharmacognosy is the discipline covering all areas of medicinal plant research, a field of study which relies on diverse methods, but is unified by an interest in securing human’s supply of safe and efficacious medicines derived of plants. Such medicines may be used as a pure compound or as a complex extract.
Our research is focused on the following themes:
Medical Ethnobotany
The uses of plants in indigenous cultures are multiple and very diverse. For many people plants still form the economic basis, and are used as medicine, food, construction material, fire wood, dyes, ornamentals and/or ritual paraphernalia. The goal of this research is to create a better understanding of the indigenous uses, to contribute to an improved use of resources, to find new ways for passing this knowledge to future generations and, in some instances, to search for new pharmaceuticals to be used in biomedicine.
Anti-infective agents from plants
Traditional anti-infective drug discovery has focused on bacteria (especially, Actinomycetes) as a sources of antibiotic leads, and surprisingly, plants remain a relatively untapped source of potential antibiotic lead molecules.
Nutraceuticals with anti-oxidant activity
In Mediterranean countries, the consumption of vegetables and fruits is generally considerably higher than in most European countries and the United States; and has been termed 'the Mediterranean diet'. In this project we are interested in locally used foods which may present a potential health benefit. In this case, our research approach combines classical ethnobotanical methods with modern molecular biology and in pharmacology. Importantly, it also contributes to a fuller evaluation and development of the Mediterranean diet with a focus on local dietary plants (and fungi) and plant derived products.
People:
The Department of Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry has 04 academic staff who teach on the B. Pharm degree programme.
Dr. Shaival K. Rao has four students working under his supervision for their doctoral programmes.
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HOMEPAGE:
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Click here to view
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DEPARTMENT ID:
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10-15102
(Last edited
on 2008/02/22 23:46:12 US/Mountain
)
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FACULTY/DEPARTMENT MEMBERS:
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NAME
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POSITION
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EXPERTISE
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PUBS
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CTNS
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Rao, Shaival Kamalaksha
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Assistant Professor |
RADIATION BIOLOGY, CANCER BIOLOGY, PHARMACOGNOSY, PHYTOCHEMISTRY, ENZYMOLOGY |
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Please note that the total of members' statistics may not equal the department/faculty
statistics due to joint authorship.
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