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“Plants used as galactogogue (milk secretion after pregnancy) and plants to be used during pregnancy are also being displayed”, he added. Inaugurating the exhibition, Rajeev Topno, Vadodara District Magistrate, said that although India has about 150 recognized medicinal species, only ten are commercially cultivated.
Faculty member Arun Arya said that the exhibition consists of rare and commonly found species in and around the city. “Very few would know that seedlings of wheat can be used to extract anti-cancer drugs and soya oil.”
Arya added that the awareness levels are yet to reach the common man and the farmer, who can opt for these alternative crops. He said that the department is committed to imparting know-how about various medicinal plants and conducted two workshops last year to generate awareness about the importance of cultivating medicinal plants on a large scale.
The exhibition had a section on the Bonsai plants as well. Comprehensive charts, models and experimental set-ups were also displayed to explain extraction procedures of chemicals and cultivation methods.
Two books on medicinal herbs were also released. Topno released a book titled ‘Herbal Technology, Concepts and Approaches’, written by M. Daniel. Pro-Vice Chancellor S M Joshi released the other book ‘Healing herbs for Eves’, also by Daniel. The second book describes plants in both English and Gujarati, including diagrams. The department had also invited German scientist Reiner Szcypior to deliver a talk on 'Homa [Yagna] Organic farming'. Szcypior, who is a consultant with the Homa Organic Farming and Fivefold Path Mission based in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh, also highlighted some salient features of community farming and purification of atmosphere.
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