Visit to Ayushraj Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.

The Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology have jointly organized an industrial trip to Ayushraj Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. in Jaipur on 11^th October, 2018. Postgraduate students of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Microbiology were accompanied by Dr Sreemoyee Chatterjee and Dr. Trapti for this visit. Ayushraj Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. is a national level laboratory involved in the development and designing of non-allopathic drugs and products by involving the use of ancient techniques of AYUSH (i.e. Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopath, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy).

The laboratory has various sections which include:

• The Bulk Extraction Division, where the extracts and pulps of various medicinal plants are extracted. This division includes extractors, distillators, driers, concentrators and boilers. The initial extracts for commercial production are prepared in this section.
• The Formulation and Production Division, where the medicinal formulations (in form of capsules, tablets and syrups) and Ayurvedic products (like toothpastes, chyawanprash) are prepared and packed for commercial production. Some of the important instruments used in this section are the semi-automated and fully-automated fillers (for capsules), index sealing machines, end runners (for crushing), roll compactors, pouch fillers, octagonal blender, etc.
• The Analytical Laboratory, where the research and development, and, quality control sections are present. The laboratory is well-equipped with the analytical instruments like FTIR, spectrophotometers (UV-VIS), chromatography units (like HPTLC, HPLC, Gas chromatography with Mass Spectroscopy), calorimeters, pH meters, centrifuges, etc for chemical analysis of the product. The lab also contains a separate extract preparation chamber, weighing chamber where weighing machine is placed on top of anti-vibrating table for accurate weighing, a separate microbiological analysis section with level 4 biosafety cabinets and various necessary instruments. The lab also contains a stability chamber for determining the shelf life of the products. The control sample room is also present where the commercial products are held for 6 to 12 months, in case of any discrepancy occurred after the market release of the products. A well-equipped library is also present where books regarding the protocols and guidelines of the product manufacturing are available.

The visit to Ayushraj Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. proved very fruitful for students as they all came to know about the steps involved before the market release of any natural product. This visit gave an insight regarding the commercial production, R & D and quality control.