Amala Ayurvedic Hospital and Research Centre
Amala Ayurvedic Hospital and Research Centre is a unit of Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, providiong Ayurvedic care, Ayurveda research and the manufacturing of Ayurveda medicines. Amala meets the standards set forth by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) under the Quality Council of India.
The hospital complex was founded by Carmelite Fathers (CMI) as a non-profit, charitable institution. The hospital uses the holistic healing system of Ayurveda and Homoeopathy.
Location
Amala is on the slopes of the Vilangan Hills, located 7 km away from Thrissur town on the Thrissur-Kunnamkulam route.
History
The foundation stone for the hospital was laid down on October 16, 1981 by Sri.B.Sankaranand, Central Minister for Health. The hospital was officially inaugurated on March 19, 1983 by Sri. K. Karunakaran, Chief Minister of Kerala.
Herbal Garden
The Herbal Garden consists of 700 species of medicinal plants. The majority of these plants are collected from the forest areas. The tribal who possess traditional knowledge on medicine, provides information and help in the collection of the plants. The plants are cultivated in the herbal garden and later passed on to the research wing.
Fr. Gabriel Herbarium and Museum
The centre prepares herbarium sheets of medicinal plants and these are identified in the centre. The identified herbal sheets are sent to the Botanical Survey of India at Coimbatore (Madras Herbarium) for authentification.
There is a large collection of crude drug samples identified and bottled in the museum. The centre published a book on medicinal plants titled ‘Keralathile Oushadhasasyagal’. The book gives awareness of medicinal plants, Ayurvedic properties and usages, chemical composition, classical formulation, method of cultivation etc. The Department of Science and Technology gave sanction to the centre for a project called “Involvement of Women in Cultivation of Medicinal Plants and in Indigenous Health Practices” in 2007.
