Bio-piracy threats

India’s successful thwarting of an American firm’s attempts to patent the well-known Indian medicinal plant ashwagandha (withania somnifera) must be applauded. However, it only underlines how susceptible our natural heritage is to bio-piracy.

This is not the first time that traditional Indian plants have been under threat from foreign companies trying to patent them — basmati rice and turmeric, for instance, for which India had to fight off attempts to hijack them.

Ashwagandha, also known as the Indian ginseng or the winter cherry, is not just famous but is commonly used to treat depression, diabetes and insomnia, among other conditions, in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani forms of Indian medicine, with documentation that goes back to the 12th century.

The American firm, Natreon Inc, had applied for a patent with the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2007. After documentation was received from the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), the EPO decided to withdraw Natreon’s application.

The TDKL was eight years in the making and represents a collaborative effort between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Ayush department of the health ministry and the ministry of science and technology. This is a vital step towards not just protecting our traditional forms of medicine and our natural resources, but also to promote their use in India and across the world.

Ayurveda and other traditional forms of medicine often get bad publicity because of the unscrupulousness of some practitioners and the lack of regulation when it comes to medical formulations sold commercially. But the world over, the wisdom of the ages is being recognised and foreign pharma companies are keen to harness and exploit India’s treasury. The gains from these plants far outweigh the problems caused by the chicanery of a few.

The department of Ayush is trying to promote traditional forms of medicine and successes like this, together with increased awareness as well as scientific rigour, may well lead to India playing a major role in the world market of medicine. Research and development has long been the bane of our scientific reputation in the world. But our past contains substantial research on various “wonder” plants which can be used to our benefit — many of these are known and used in folklore but somehow lack legitimacy. It now behoves us to examine, explore and exploit these intelligently, before the rest of the world beats us to it.