The US patent office has granted patent [August, 2013] to an innovative industry-academia research project that has led to a new vaccine ADJUVANT extracted from ‘ASHWAGANDHA’ [Withania somnifera], also known as INDIAN GINSENG, a medicinal plant used in Ayurveda as an immunity enhancer. This Project was sponsored by the Union government’s department of science and technology (DST) and was jointly executed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) and University of Pune’s Inter-disciplinary School of Health Sciences (ISHS). The grant of patent will further the cause of development of far more effective vaccines meant for improvement of human immune system to counter various ailments.
The application of this new ADJUVANT can be envisaged vaccines against meningitis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis and also holds promise against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
The Newer vaccines include synthetic, recombinant or highly purified subunit antigens that are weakly immunogenic. Therefore vaccine formulations often require adjuvants for better immunological efficiency. Immuno-modulators obtained from different sources like synthetic, bacterial, viral have been used for enhancement of immune response to vaccines. Plant based products are being considered as one option for immune adjuvants.
