Director P.G. Rao said the institute was going in for manufacturing so that people could get medicines at affordable prices, as it was cost-effective to produce medicines that were based on aromatic herbs widely available in the region. The institute, formerly Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), will start its new venture with two herbal medicines an anti-fungal cream and an anti-arthritic ointment. Rao said while most anti-fungal ointments could treat only one or two fungus, clinical trials had proved that this cream could remove at least eight fungi. Likewise, the anti-arthritis ointment can deal with different kinds of arthritis. He said this was the first time the institute was producing something based on a technology researched by it. It is also the only one of the 38 research laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, to venture into production. Till today, NEIST has only sold whatever technology or new process it has researched. It has never gone in for production. But this time we will manufacture the two ointments, as they are herbal products. Blood samples collected before and after the application of the medicines have shown significant reduction of cytokines (indicators of inflammation) in our studies, the director said. The producing unit is almost complete and production will start from March. Permission for production of the medicines has been granted by the Drugs Controller and Licensing Authority, Hengerabari, Assam. Rao said samples of the two medicines had been tested for the past two years (since February 2010) on more than 3,000 people and the feedback had been very encouraging. The process to get patents for the ointments is under way. Clinical trials on animals were conducted by Samir Bhattacharya of Vishwa Bharati University, West Bengal. Subsequently, the study on humans was conducted by NEIST doctor P.K. Baruah, who is part of the team, in collaboration with a few doctors in the state, he added. A source said the doctors were based in Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Howly near Barpeta Road and Jorhat. Rao said a medical ethics committee, formed at the institute and comprising NEIST scientists, a state medical practitioner and an epidemiologist, had cleared both the ointments for application on humans. As these creams are not meant for consumption, no other permission is required from any other agency, he added. The USP of the anti-fungal cream named Fungi Destruct is that it can destroy many kinds of fungi. While other anti-fungus creams are specific to one or two types of fungi, the herbal Fungi Destruct produced by us has multiple action and can deal with candidiasis, ringworm and a number of other dermal infections, the director said. Samir Bhattacharya, a scientist at Viswa Bharati, told The Telegraph over phone from Shantiniketan that when they tested the plant compound on collagen-induced arthritic model of mice it was observed that the inflammatory cytokines were suppressed. The indigenous (Northeast) plant molecule isolated at NEIST has been studied in detail in our laboratory in Shantiniketan. It was found to reduce inflammation in the joints, he said. Bhattacharya said we often talk about the Northeast as a biodiversity hotspot where a variety of medicinal plants were found but wondered how much this potential had been tapped so far. I think NEIST has done a wonderful job based on scientific research. Their objective to give people an affordable alternative is laudable. Medicine has become so costly that half the people cannot buy them. At least this will be a boon for the people, he added. Bhattacharya said though the anti-fungal cream had only been tested on pure strains of fungi it was found to remove a wide range of them. All over the world. there are very few anti-fungal creams available and this is a magic drug. A man who had come to me was so badly affected in the legs that pus was oozing out of the affected area. He could hardly wear his pants. But he was completely cured after 15 days of application, he said. Of the feedback received here, a 65-year-old woman wrote that she had been suffering from severe skin itching in her legs and that the anti-fungal had given her new hope by relieving her of most of the infections. Another girl said the ointment had completely cured her of a fungal infection in the ear. A five-year-old was cured of an infection in her armpits. The institutes scientists, Montu Bhuyan, N.C. Baruah and T.R. Bhattacharyya, who worked on the ointment said people usually used the synthetic medicines available in the market to cure fungal infection caused by the hot and humid climate. The one produced by us is a green medicine made from aromatic herbs. It is safer than synthetic medicines and many of its compounds work synergistically on the fungi. None on whom the cream has been tested has shown any side effect, Bhuyan said. The anti-arthritis drug also boasts of a broad spectrum and relieves joint pain caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis affects weight-bearing large joints of the body like knee, back and hip. It starts because of the daily wear and tear of cartilages, resulting in erosion of bones and stiffness and loss of movement in joints. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects joints on both sides of the body equally. Wrists, fingers, knees, feet, and ankles are the most commonly affected. It is more common among women. It is an autoimmune disease, which means the bodys immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. It leads to inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissues and can cause deformity of joints. The usual medication is anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids and immuno-modulators. These may have to be used for a prolonged period and may prove costly, a researcher said. Many arthritic and osteoarthritic patients who applied it wrote in their feedback that they were either cured or had found great relief after application of the ointment. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120229/jsp/frontpage/story_15192743.jsp#.UGQY_rLiY5s Ravi NEIST promises herbal relief from pain, itching
- Institute to foray into production from March to make medicines available at affordable prices The CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology, which has so far concentrated on research, has decided to foray into production from March with the manufacture of two herbal medicines.
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