Tata Memorial Centre to test ayurvedic plants for cancer research
17-Jun-23 04:49:25

Tata Memorial Centre is to establish a medicinal garden on 18 acres of forest land at Khalapur in Raigad to cultivate 20-25 varieties of ayurvedic plants to be tested for anti-cancer properties. Dr Rajendra Badwe, TMC director, said the hope was to start randomised control clinical trials for the potential medicines in the next two-and-a-half years. The land in Khalapur is next to Donvat reservoir and is suitable for the plants, which require captive water supply year-round, he said. An in-principle approval for INR300 crore ($40m) has been received from the department of atomic energy for a hybrid hospital to be built nearby.

Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) will set up a medicinal garden on around 18 acres of forest land at Raigad’s Khalapur to cultivate 20-25 varieties of ayurvedic plants which will be tested for anti-cancer properties.

Dr Rajendra Badwe, TMC director, told HT on Friday that they hope to start randomised control clinical trials for these potential medicines in the next two-and-a-half years.

“We have been working with specialists, including those from Ayush ministry, Agharkar Research Institute, Dev Sanskriti University in Haridwar, and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine in Jammu over several years to identify these 25 plants from around 300-400 ayurvedic vanaspatis. We want to conduct rigid, western-style clinical tests to see if these can have any application in oncology, but to source the medicine in these plants, they have to be plucked fresh,” he said.

For example, TMC’s own research has shown that plant products such as resveratrol and copper can destroy genetic fragments from dying cells. “Similar efforts need to be made for other promising plants,” a project note, which was accessed by HT, said.

Originally, Dr Badwe said, the idea was to set up such a plantation closer to TMC’s Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer at Kharghar, but due to lack of available land other options had to be explored.

“The land in Khalapur is next to Donvat reservoir and is very suitable for the plants we want to cultivate, as these require captive water supply through the year. On the other bank of the reservoir, we have been given around 20 acres to build a hybrid hospital that will use both ayurveda and allopathy in cancer treatment. So, this plantation will be of immense value to the hospital and the research centre,” Dr Badwe said.

The hospital is expected to come up in two years and an in principle approval for ₹300 crore has been received from the department of atomic energy, he added.

TMC had previously acquired nearly two acres of land in Donvat village for similar purposes, and cultivation of a few potential medicinal plants began there last month. The upcoming plantation is located just 100 metres from this site.

In April this year, the union environment ministry had turned down TMC’s request to use the forest land for research purposes, stating that this was not a “site-specific” project under the Forest Conservation Act 1980.

However, the state government has since written to the Centre requesting it to reconsider the proposal. “The TMC director has emphasised idealness of the said forest land for their research project (which is of) immense national importance to make cancer care more affordable and effective... The state government had also made extensive efforts to find a suitable land... The state fully agrees with the reasons furnished by TMC to conclude that the project is site-specific,” the note said.

The matter was considered by the regional empowered committee of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change in Nagpur on June 14, and final approval for the land’s use is awaited.

SOURCE & CREIDT: HINDUSTAN TIMES