Lecture on ‘Chemotaxonomic Profiling of Medicinal Plants’ at Khalsa College

Amritsar, November 27 (Punjab Post Bureau) – Botanical and Environment Science Society, Post Graduate Department of Botany, Khalsa College Amritsar today organized a Guest Lecture by Dr. Srinivas Patnala, Visiting Faculty, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa. He spoke on the topic “Importance of Chemotaxonomic Profiling of Medicinal Plants and Quality Control Methods” and shed a new light on the subject.

            Earlier welcomed by Dr. Mehal Singh, Principal, Khalsa College Amritsar on campus Dr. Patnala focused on understanding the nature of plant species having unique geographical habitats that produce secondary metabolites which may vary in their chemical constituent’s profiles and concentrations, depending on the different populations of the same species.

            He said these environmental variations in medicinal plants leads to the production of specific secondary metabolites, which contributes to the quality of pharmacologically active components. Hence, it is imperative to assess the chemotaxonomic profiles and estimate the concentrations of relevant moieties using qualified reference substances that indeed require thorough phyto-chemical investigations using chromatographic and spectroscopic evaluations to ensure the commercially viable plant varieties to be selected for propagation and marketing.

            He also discussed the aspects of herbal plant regulations around the world and prospective guidelines that shall be implemented as regulations that ensure quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal plants. He stressed on the importance of crucial role of botanists in providing insights into the taxonomic evaluation and emphasizes the inter-disciplinary collaboration in research that is being done at Khalsa College, Amritsar. Department Head Prof. Kirandeep Kaur Hundal thanked the Speaker and encouraged the student to work and make their carrier in respective field.

           Dr. Harjinder Singh, Dr. Madhu, Dr. Rajbir Singh, Dr. Prabhjit Kaur, Dr. Harpreet Kaur, Dr. Sushant Sharma, Dr. Maninder Kaur, Dr. Sandeep Kaur, Dr. Jeevanjot Kaur, Dr. Harsimran Kaur and Dr. Pardeep Kaur, other staff and students were present.