In order to aid the pharmaceutical industry, Lucknow's eminent CSIR-CIMAP is all set to install a unit to develop high-value phytomolecules. The unit will help set up a synthetic biology platform, where organisms are redesigned to gain new abilities and made more useful through genetic engineering.

CIMAP director Prabodh Kumar Trivedi explained that phytomolecules are secondary metabolites "produced by plants to protect themselves from moulds, yeasts, bacteria and other harmful organisms."

"The use of plants and their extracts in human and veterinary medicine has been a well-established fact for ages hence this unit holds great relevance for the pharma industry and others,” he added.

The Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) has been working on various projects including a synthetic biology platform, plant genome editing, fleet of herbal products, among others.

(With inputs from IANS)