Natural herbs – remedy for fixing environmental problems

‘Save Water, Save Life’ has become the catchphrase of the 21^st century as many parts of the world are facing the problem of water shortage and some even severe drought conditions. Therefore the only option available to us is the wise use of the existing resources or more sensibly treating the waste water. Several researchers are developing efficient models for managing waste water due to the high cost of the treatment and use of various chemicals as well as electricity.

One such researcher is Dr. Meenal Joshi who has come up with eco-friendly solution. She has formulated herbal tablets as a means of not only treating the waste water but also increasing the potability of the water. Her research on the naturally available herbs such as zea maize, tamarind and many more have effectively shown to reduce the turbidity of water with good amount of anti-microbial activity for treating the waste water. So far the pilot study has effectively proven to purify five liters of water. “These tablets can be very useful in regions where the quality of drinking water is very poor” says Dr. Joshi. Adding on, she says “We at our lab are always pushing ourselves to develop innovative and eco-friendly methods to tackle environmental problems. There is a need to minimize the use of chemicals which are harmful for us as well as Mother Nature.”

Apart from herbal tablets, her lab has also come up with ‘Bioplastic’ which can degrade itself within fifteen days without harming the nature. This bioplastic has been developed using the raw materials from the plant origin and has bagged first prize at a state level competition. With these bioplastics, her lab is heading towards start-up. Dr. Joshi believes that research should always be product oriented or protocol oriented and should be such that it will always be beneficial for our society and nature. “Technology should be the research outcome”, she says. 

Dr. Joshi has obtained her PhD in Microbiology from the Indian Institute of Science, Mumbai and is presently the honorary Director at Late Prin. B.V. Bhide Foundation, Pune. Talking about her current projects she said “Right now we are working on green synthesis of nanoparticles for growing rare and endangered plants. Also, we are focusing on developing drugs from oil extracts of natural herbs for dental ailments.” She believes that natural herbs do possess power for fixing the environmental problems.