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The Benefit Sharing Experiment with Kani Tribe
In
December 1987, a team of scientists led by Pushpangadan was conducting
an ethnobotanical survey and exploration in the Agasthya hills,
of the Western Ghats in South India with the help of two young
Kani men as guides. During this visit, the author and his colleagues
noticed that the Kani men were not taking any food and were eating
only some small dry fruits. But they were found quite energetic
and agile. After a strenuous mountain trek, the author (Pushpangadan)
and colleagues got exhausted and were taking rest. Then the Kani
men accompanying them offered those dry fruits telling that if
consumed it would reduce fatigue and would make them energetic.
The author and his colleague Dr. Rajasekharan accepted the dry
fruits and ate them. On consuming 30 to 50 of them, to their surprise
the scientists felt a sudden flush of energy, within 10-15 minutes.
They tried it again during the next two days and experienced the
same magical effect. When asked about the source of the fruits,
the Kani men were very reluctant to reveal, saying that it was
a sacred information, not to be revealed to outsiders. The scientists
assured them that they would not misuse this information, but
would carry out scientific investigation and if any positive results
were obtained the Kanis would be rewarded appropriately. However,
it was after much persuasion they showed the plant from which
they collected the fruits. The plant was growing very much in
that very forest where the scientists were trekking. The author
assured the Kani men that if the scientific investigation of this
plant led to the development of any marketable product, the benefits
derived from the same would be shared equally with them. The Kani
men, however, did not have any idea of product development and
its marketing.
The
Kani's named this plant 'Arogyapacha' (meaning the plant that
can provide ever green health), which was later identified as
Trichopus zeylanicus spp. travancoricus. (Trichopodaceae). Although
this species was documented and described earlier, its traditional
use and special properties were not known to the scientific world.
The
author collected adequate samples of this plant for detailed investigations
at Regional Research Laboratory, (RRL), Jammu. Soon after reaching
back at RRL, Jammu, Pushpangadan conducted the first scientific
test to validate the Kani's claim on the antifatigue property
of Arogyapacha. He conducted the standard 'swimming performance'
on Swiss mice under three different conditions. The mince were
given swimming test in tubs of water under (1) Control (mice fed
with synthetic steroidal drug - Amphetamine - to boost stamina),
and (3) Experiment 2 (mice ingested with macerated Kernels of
the fruits of Arogyapacha). The controlled ones after 3 hrs exhausted
and sink in water, and the mice kept at experiment 1 (fed with
Amphitamine) were found exhausted and sank after 6 hrs. Whereas
the mice under experiment 2 (ingested with Arogypacha Kerrels)
Swam about a period of 18 hrs. The swimming test were repeated
and the results were found exciting. It prompted Pushpangadan
and his colleagues at RRL, Jammu to pursue intensive phytochemical
screening of various parts of the Arogyapacha plant.
Phytochemical
and pharmacological studies on Arogyapacha revealed the presence
of certain glycolipids and non-steroidal compounds (Polysaccharides)
with profound adaptogenic immuno-enhancing antifatigue properties.
Three patents on the same were filed by RRL, Jammu. Subsequently
investigations, however, yielded similar chemical constituents
from leaves of this plant, but in trace around than that present
in the seeds.However, harvesting tender fruits of Arogyapacha
for large scale production of Jeevani was found unsustainable
as each plant could bear only a few fruits (3-6), that too for
a critically short period in its phonological timeframe. Since
Arogyapacha is a perennial rhizomatous herb that produce a rosette
of 10-15 (weighting 100-200 gm) evergreen leaves (with 2 or 3
flush in every year), the leaves were recommended as a sustainable
source of materials required for commercial production of the
herbal, 'Jeevani'.
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