The Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Paavai Engineering College (Autonomous), Namakkal, successfully organized a Guest Lecture on “Ayurveda: An Ancient Science through a Modern Approach” on 24 October 2026 at Cute Hall. The programme was held from 2.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m. and was attended by students and faculty members of the department.
The programme was held under the patronage of Dr. M. Premkumar, Principal, with Dr. M. Masilamani Selvam, Head of the Department, as Convenor and Ms. J. L. Aarthi, Assistant Professor, as Coordinator. The gathering was warmly welcomed, and the guest speaker was introduced to the audience. The resource person, Dr. Suresh Govindan, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Jaya Maharajar Research Foundation, Madurai, holds a doctorate in Microbiology from Madurai Kamaraj University. He has over 25 years of research experience in India, Taiwan and the USA, including post-doctoral work at China Medical University School of Pharmacy, Taiwan, and at Loyola University Chicago and Oregon Health & Science University, USA, where he received an American Heart Association post-doctoral training award. His research on cardiac biomarkers and on the biological evaluation of Ayurvedic formulations has been published in 21 peer-reviewed journal articles, and he has led Ayurveda biology research at the N. Rama Varier Ayurveda Foundation and AVN Ayurveda Formulations, Madurai. He is also an industry member of the Board of Studies of this department.
In his informative address, Dr. Govindan introduced Ayurveda as an ancient system of medicine built on prevention, rejuvenation and holistic health, and explained how its classical formulations can now be examined with the tools of modern biology. He described how polyherbal formulations are standardised through physico-chemical analysis and HPTLC phyto-fingerprinting, and how their activity is evaluated using in vitro, in vivo and in silico approaches. Examples from his own work on formulations for osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, kidney protection and diabetic cardiomyopathy showed how traditional knowledge can be supported with scientific evidence.
Dr. Govindan further spoke about Ayurvedic formulation and drug delivery from a biotechnological point of view, the importance of quality control and safety of herbal medicines, and the role of phytochemicals such as terpenes in modern therapeutic applications. He emphasised the value of industry–institute collaboration in turning traditional formulations into validated products, and encouraged students to explore research and career opportunities in Ayurvedic and herbal pharma.
The session concluded with an interactive discussion in which students raised questions on the scientific validation of herbal formulations and career prospects in the field, which the speaker answered with examples from his own research. The talk gave the participants a clear understanding of how Ayurveda and modern pharmaceutical science can complement each other.
The guest lecture successfully created awareness about the scientific basis of Ayurveda and its potential in drug development, contributing to PO 1, 2, 3, 4, PSO 1, 2 and SDG 3, 9 and 12. The Department expressed its sincere gratitude to Dr. Suresh Govindan for sharing his expertise and to the Principal, Director Administration, faculty members and student volunteers for their support in conducting the programme.
