The National Network of Research and Technology in Medicinal Plants is holding educational and technical workshops as in previous years, in the second half of 1394. This is done with the aim of increasing the skills of the country’s researchers.

In a ceremony attended by the Research Deputy of Iranian Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), the new director of Medicinal Plants Research Institute was inaugurated and the former director of the institute, Dr. Hassanali Naghdi Badi, was honored for his efforts during his management.

Dr. Amir Mahdi Taleb, the faculty member of Deputy for Education of Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said, “The compilation of 40 out of 100 entries of the second volume has been completed so far.”

Deputy Head of implementation of Iran’s Comprehensive Scientific Plan Strategic Headquarters said, “The implementation of the roadmap of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine National Document will be presented to the Comprehensive Scientific Plan Strategic Headquarters in two months.”

The head of agriculture department of Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute of Shahid Beheshti University highlighted the need for the development of Seeds and Saplings Bank of this institute and said that this bank will help prevent the extinction of medicinal plants.

In July 2015 in Milad Tower in Tehran, a conference will be held for the investment on tissue cultured Rosa damascena and National Council for Science and Technology Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine, Vice-presidency for Science and Technology, will offer its intellectual support in this regard.

The administrator of ‘Essential Oils and Extracts Bank’ of MPDRI, referring to the efforts of this research institute to isolate extracts from 2000 native medicinal plants in the three years to come, said, “So far, 500 extracts from the native medicinal plants species have been included in the Essential Oils and Extracts Bank of this institute.”

Dr. Molanejad, the Director of the Indian Ocean Rim Countries Association of Regional Center for Science and Technology Transfer (IORA RCSTT), “A Regional Center for Research and Education of Medicinal Plants will be established at the location of Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology, supported by the private sector, in order to uniform and coordinate the medicinal plants standard for the IOR region.

Below, there are some images from the 4th National Congress in Medicinal Plants.

By using Taxus baccata , a plant native to the north of Iran, the researchers of Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute of Shahid Beheshti University have produced the anti-cancer drug “docetaxel” with the trade name of “Taxotere”.