The Medicinal Plant Program is a consortium of faculty and staff at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is a part of the Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences. The program conducts education, research, and outreach related to all aspects of medicinal plants.
Courses
The Medicinal Plant Program has both undergraduate and graduate courses of study. Currently, a variety of courses are offered through the Program, encompassing the identification, production, use, manufacturing, and the marketing of herbal plants and products. These courses provide a well rounded view of the various disciplines related to medicinal plants.
Research
Current research in the Medicinal Plant Program is focused on the basic plant science necessary to establish specific medicinal plants as cultivated crops and to improve current medicinal plant production practices.
MPP facilities include research laboratories with the equipment for essential oil extraction, plant monitoring, biological screening, constituent analysis, and tissue culture production. Gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy services are available for compound identification and quantification. Fields, greenhouses, and environmentally controlled chambers are available for growth of plant materials. The MPP has professional contacts throughout the world and can furnish both local and international service.
