Page 10 - Research Highlights - Small book 2019-20.indd

Centre for Advanced Research in Indian Systems of Medicine

The Centre for Advanced Research in Indian Systems of Medicine (CARISM), an autonomous
research Centre, was established in 2004 for carrying out multi-disciplinary research to

unravel the scientific basis involved in the preparation as well as the molecular mechanism
of Ayurvedic and Siddha formulations. The research at CARISM is centred around the
following objectives:
To standardize and validate the safety and efficacy profiles of classical Ayurveda and
Siddha formulations including herbo-mineral and metallic preparations following WHO
guidelines
To recognize, identify and characterize the raw materials, intermediates and the products
with both therapeutical and nutraceutical values
To isolate and identify biologically active compounds from medicinal plants used in
traditional medicine

To carry out biochemical evaluation studies and understand the mechanism of action of
traditional drugs

To promote and cultivate important medicinal plants by adopting good agricultural
practices

To train Ayurveda and Siddha practitioners and traditional medicine manufacturers on
quality control aspects
The work carried out at CARISM bridges traditional and modern science for redefining
healthcare. The Centre is equipped with state-of-the-art characterization facilities that
includes advanced chromatography, spectroscopy, microscopy units, and elemental
analyzers for accurate separation, identification and quantification of the components in the
traditional medicinal preparations. The Centre has been funded by Department of Science
and Technology, Department of AYUSH, DRDO, ICMR, CSIR, National Institute of Siddha,
apart from industries like M/s Kaleesuwari Refineries Pvt. Ltd., Chennai. The Centre is also
recognized as a Drug Testing Laboratory by the Drug Controller of Tamilnadu wherein the
drug samples from different traditional medicine manufacturers has been analyzed at the
sophisticated instrumentation facility housed in the Centre.

The Centre has also received NABL certification since 2016 for biochemical, pathological and
chemical analysis. The Centre has been recognized as a National Facility for the Scientific
Preparation of herbometallic preparations and also as a Centre of Excellence for the
Scientific Preparation of Rasa Aushadies and Bhasmas. The Centre is currently preparing
a compendium of microscopic features typical for different plant ingredients for easy and

error-free identification of plant ingredients. The Centre has also standardized protocols for
fingerprinting of major plant biomarkers using high performance thin layer chromatography
for identification. Further, analysis of pesticide residues and essential oil content from plants
are also routinely performed in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry facility using the

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