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பிப். 9
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T. Nandakumar
Based on traditional knowledge of Cholanaickan tribe
A medicinal plant endemic to the southern parts of Western Ghats and
Sri Lanka could offer scientists the key to new herbal formulations
and modern drugs for the treatment of cancer and wounds and burns.
Scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and
Research Institute (JNTBGRI) here have confirmed the multiple
therapeutic properties of
Neurocalyx calycinus used by the Cholanaickan tribe, one of the
particularly vulnerable groups in Kerala, to treat inflammations and
wounds.
The researchers have filed for a patent on a novel herbal drug
formulation possessing wound-healing, burn-healing, anti-cancer,
analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immuno- enhancing, platelet-augmentation
and anti-oxidant effects.
The scientists came to know of the miracle plant in 1988 during a
biological survey deep inside the Nilambur forests. The team led by S.
Rajasekharan, former Head, Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology
division, JNTBRI, came across Kuppamala Kaniyan, a tribal elder, with
hideous scars right across his chest. On inquiry, it was revealed that
he had been terribly mauled by a bear a few years ago.
“We were told that the animal had pinned him down and was trying to
rip open his chest. The bleeding tribesman somehow fought back and
managed to hack the bear to death,” says Dr. Rajasekharan. “It took
three days of persuasion before Kuppamala Kaniyan revealed how he had
made a paste from the fresh leaves of
N.calycinus , known in local parlance as ‘pacha chedi,’ to arrest the
bleeding and heal the fresh wounds on his chest.”
Systematic documentation of traditional knowledge helped scientists
take up the research work later.
Animal trials have proved that the leaves of N.calycinus possess
wound-healing properties comparable to the standard drug Povidone/
Iodine in the early phase of inflammation. The anti-inflammatory
activity of the leaves was found comparable to the drug diclofenac
sodium.
The pre-clinical trials confirmed the therapeutic effects of
N.calycinus against burn wounds and pain, besides its
immuno-enhancing, platelet augmentation, and anti-oxidant potential.
The presence of high Vitamin E content and potent cytoprotective
activity in cell lines in the plant species have also enhanced the
prospects of developing an anti-cancer drug.
In a presentation that won the best paper award at the Kerala Science
Congress last month, Aneeshkumar A.L., a member of the research group,
said the work had thrown up promising leads for the development of
novel herbal formulations and modern medicines.
“It will now need multi-institutional studies to take the work
forward,” says Dr. Rajasekharan.
The paper said the JNTBGRI would share the commercial benefits of its
work with the dwindling Cholanaickan tribe.
Based on traditional knowledge of Cholanaickan tribe
A medicinal plant endemic to the southern parts of Western Ghats and
Sri Lanka could offer scientists the key to new herbal formulations
and modern drugs for the treatment of cancer and wounds and burns.
Scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and
Research Institute (JNTBGRI) here have confirmed the multiple
therapeutic properties of
Neurocalyx calycinus used by the Cholanaickan tribe, one of the
particularly vulnerable groups in Kerala, to treat inflammations and
wounds.
The researchers have filed for a patent on a novel herbal drug
formulation possessing wound-healing, burn-healing, anti-cancer,
analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immuno- enhancing, platelet-augmentation
and anti-oxidant effects.
The scientists came to know of the miracle plant in 1988 during a
biological survey deep inside the Nilambur forests. The team led by S.
Rajasekharan, former Head, Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology
division, JNTBRI, came across Kuppamala Kaniyan, a tribal elder, with
hideous scars right across his chest. On inquiry, it was revealed that
he had been terribly mauled by a bear a few years ago.
“We were told that the animal had pinned him down and was trying to
rip open his chest. The bleeding tribesman somehow fought back and
managed to hack the bear to death,” says Dr. Rajasekharan. “It took
three days of persuasion before Kuppamala Kaniyan revealed how he had
made a paste from the fresh leaves of
N.calycinus , known in local parlance as ‘pacha chedi,’ to arrest the
bleeding and heal the fresh wounds on his chest.”
Systematic documentation of traditional knowledge helped scientists
take up the research work later.
Animal trials have proved that the leaves of N.calycinus possess
wound-healing properties comparable to the standard drug Povidone/
Iodine in the early phase of inflammation. The anti-inflammatory
activity of the leaves was found comparable to the drug diclofenac
sodium.
The pre-clinical trials confirmed the therapeutic effects of
N.calycinus against burn wounds and pain, besides its
immuno-enhancing, platelet augmentation, and anti-oxidant potential.
The presence of high Vitamin E content and potent cytoprotective
activity in cell lines in the plant species have also enhanced the
prospects of developing an anti-cancer drug.
In a presentation that won the best paper award at the Kerala Science
Congress last month, Aneeshkumar A.L., a member of the research group,
said the work had thrown up promising leads for the development of
novel herbal formulations and modern medicines.
“It will now need multi-institutional studies to take the work
forward,” says Dr. Rajasekharan.
The paper said the JNTBGRI would share the commercial benefits of its
work with the dwindling Cholanaickan tribe.
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