The Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Ayurveda Research Institute (CARI), an institute working under Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) in Bhubaneswar, to undertake a collaborative research project for evaluating anti-inflamatory and wound-healing properties of two plants.

CCRAS is an autonomous institution functioning under the Ministry of Ayush and is the nodal apex body in the country for formulation and coordination of research in Ayurvedic Sciences.

The objective of the MoU, signed here recently, is to jointly conduct the research over a period of two years on the project entitled ‘Aqueous and ethanolic extraction of two promising extra-pharmacopoeial (Anukta Dravya) plants and evaluation of their anti-inflamatory and wound-healing activities.’

The entire funding of the proposed project will be extended by CCRAS through CCRAS-CARI, Bhubaneswar, while execution of the project in part will be done at SOA's Centre for Biotechnology.

The MoU was signed by Prof. Bibhuti Bhushan Pradhan, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Registrar of SOA and Dr. Sarada Ota, Director In-charge of Central Ayurvedic Research Institute (CCRAS-CARI) in Bhubaneswar, who has been deputed by CCRAS as Coordinator of the project. Dr, Pratap Chandra Panda, Professor, Centre for Biotechnology, SOA and Dr. Purnendu Panda, Research Officer (Ayurveda), CCRAS-CARI, Bhubaneswar will be the Principal Investigators of the project.

As per the MoU, CCRAS-CARI, Bhubaneswar and SOA will organize joint fieldwork for collection of plant samples and ethnomedicinal data from different habitats of Odisha and other places. Laboratory work and animal experiments will be conducted by Centre for Biotechnology.