The Department of Pharmacy, under the theme of “Natural Products and Drug Discovery”, is actively engaged in research on anti-diabetic, analgesic, and anti-cancer medicinal plants of the country. Already more than 70 medicinal plants with anti-diabetic, analgesic, and anti-cancer activities have been identified, and the Department is now engaged through a “reverse pharmacology” approach to test the efficacy of various drugs available in the two ancient traditional medicinal systems of Bangladesh, namely Ayurveda and Unani. A research project is also underway to develop poly-herbal formulations for treatment of diabetes, which formulations would have increased efficacy and lessen the dependency on allopathic drugs and insulin injections. It is expected that several patent applications will be submitted in the very near future.

At the same time, the Department is conducting surveys on the various functional food plants of the country towards the objective of preventing diseases and maintaining a healthy life style.