Solan: Blending traditional wisdom with modern science, Shoolini University’s Dr. Radha has secured four patents for health products and extraction methods derived from Himalayan medicinal plants, offering new tools against antimicrobial resistance while protecting indigenous knowledge.
The patents include a nutrient-rich jam made from Bombax ceiba flowers and apple pulp, packed with antioxidants and free from preservatives, and a ready-to-serve drink from the same plant that combines traditional restorative qualities with modern food science. Two other patents involve eco-friendly extraction techniques from Prinsepia utilis and Tinospora cordifolia leaves, both yielding compounds with strong antimicrobial activity, including against drug-resistant bacteria.
Dr. Radha, Assistant Professor at the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, said, “This research builds scientific evidence for traditional knowledge passed down for generations. By transforming tribal remedies into validated functional foods and natural antimicrobial solutions, we can benefit both modern healthcare and local Himalayan communities.”
The patents also address urgent challenges like antimicrobial resistance and open livelihood opportunities for Himalayan communities through the cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants. They draw upon Dr. Radha’s extensive ethnobotanical research, which documented more than 1,600 medicinal and edible species used by the Gaddi, Kinnaura and Jaunsari tribes of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Supported by the Advanced National Research Foundation and international partners including Stanford University, East Carolina University and the University of Vigo, the research also highlights the need to conserve rare and endangered Himalayan species such as Picrorhiza kurroa and Gentiana kurroo.
