Santhigiri has founded the Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru Research Centre for Ayurveda & Siddha at Uzhavoor in Kottayam district of Kerala.
The Centre is located on the ancestral property of the late President of India, Dr. K.R.Narayanan. The land was donated to the Ashram by his family.
The Centre was dedicated to humanity by Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in February, 2005.
The NSKGRCAS includes a herbal garden on 4.5 acres of land acquired by the Ashram.
The main aim of the Centre is experimental and clinical research in Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine through scientific studies involving Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy, Nanotechnology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Histopathology and other related areas.
The NSKGRCAS is approved by the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, for research in Ayurveda and Siddha. Approved research guides are currently engaged in medicinal plant biotechnology research.
The research projects include plant tissue culture on selected medicinal plants; standardisation of micro propagation protocols; a study on the effect of different carbon sources on in vitro regeneration of plants; and Phytochemical and Pharmacognostic studies of medicinal plants used in Ayurveda and Siddha.
A number of students are registered at the Centre for Ph.D. in Biotechnology and M.Sc. dissertations in Botany, Biotechnology and Microbiology.
The Centre also seeks to formulate medicines through rare combination of natural ingredients, hitherto untouched by science, received through spiritual visions with the grace of Guru; promote indigenous systems of medicines, particularly Ayurveda and Siddha; encourage cultivation of endangered species of medicinal plants; conduct clinical trials of herbal medicines for diseases for which there is no effective allopathic remedy.
A 20-bed hospital is operational at the NSKGRCAS. The facilities include two 'panchakarma' treatment rooms, separate male and female pay wards and rooms and food for the patients.
A 20-bed hospital is operational at the NSKGRCAS. The facilities include two 'panchakarma' treatment rooms, separate male and female pay wards and rooms and food for the patients.
