Survey & Cultivation of Medicinal Plants Unit (SMPU)

     The Survey and Cultivation of Medicinal Plants Unit of the institute is engaged in exploring the medicinal plant wealth of forest areas in various districts of Tamil Nadu and its neighbouring states. During the survey, the researchers of the institute not only collected medicinal plants but also collecting folklore claims from various tribal communities inhabited in the forest areas and village people. The unit is also engaged in supplying a sizable quantity of raw drugs to various institutes and units of the Council to meet the requirements of the pharmacies functioning under CCRUM. In addition, authentic samples of Unani raw drugs collected from the field are preserved as museum specimens at SMPU. The Institute has been working on the conservation, propagation of endangered, vulnerable, rare, and threatened medicinal plants, particularly those used in Unani medicine. The unit is also engaged in digitalization of herbarium sheets and organizing awareness meetings and trainings for farmers on cultivation and marketing of medicinal plants.

Regional Raw Drug Repository (RRDR-Southern Plateau)

     The institute is also a joint collaborator in a NMPB-sponsored project entitled “Establishment of Regional Raw Drug Repository (RRDR) – Southern plateau region with National Institute of Siddha (NIS), Chennai the lead institute and Siddha Central Research Institute, Chennai. The project is aimed at sustainable utilisation and conservation of medicinal plants. The role of RRIUM, Chennai, is to collect raw drugs used in ASU & H systems from the territorial and wild forests of the southern plateau regions for the establishment of a repository at NIS, Chennai.

Herbal Garden

      The institute has a very beautiful herbal garden on its premises, where more than 100 Unani medicinal plants are grown. Four important medicinal plants, such as Babchi (Psorelea corylifolia L), Gulnar Farsi (Punica granatum L.), Khulanjan (Alpinia galangal L. Willd.), and Gurmar Booti (Gymnema sylvestre R. Br.), are cultivated for experimental purposes.

Drug Museum

      The specimens of many important and endangered drugs of plant, mineral, and animal origin used in the Unani system of medicine are kept in the drug museum of the institute.