The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Bid to link traditional knowledge with technology

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 11, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Bid to link traditional knowledge with technology

T.Nandakumar

KSCSTE to establish centre for traditional knowledge in food and medicine

State’s move to benefit from the booming international trade in plant-based products
Plan is to promote development and manufacture of herbal drugs, food supplements

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has finalised a project to establish a centre for traditional knowledge in food and medicine, under plans to promote the development and manufacture of herbal drugs and food supplements for the global market.

The initiative represents the State’s move to benefit from the booming international trade in plant-based products estimated to touch $5 trillion by the year 2050. It is expected to evolve scientific validation procedures that will ensure global acceptance of herbal drugs, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and functional foods manufactured in the State.

The project will generate a State-level electronic database on plants traditionally used by local communities as food and medicine.

It will also come up with a framework for protection of biodiversity and traditional knowledge. The project report has been submitted to the government for clearance.

The proposed centre will collaborate with local self-government institutions and biodiversity management authorities for an intensive drive to document traditional knowledge on plants and create a national network. It will work in tandem with biodiversity authorities, research organisations and industries for the sustainable utilisation of biodiversity and development of technology for production of herbal products.

Quality control

One of the key elements of the project is the establishment of a quality control laboratory for certification and standardisation of herbal products and ISM (Indian Systems of Medicine) drugs.

The facility will use modern scientific tools and technology to evolve methods and protocols for testing. Pharmaceutical companies and food industries are expected to benefit from the state-of-the art testing facilities at the laboratory.

E.P.Yesodharan, executive vice-president of the KSCSTE, said the laboratory would help check the production and sale of substandard herbal products flooding the market, while the database would be a powerful weapon against biopiracy.

Local communities

R.Prakashkumar, Principal Scientific Officer, KSCSTE, said the project would give a boost to research and development and encourage patenting, technology transfer, commercialisation and benefit-sharing.

“It has the potential to generate additional income for local communities as well as to improve their health status and ensure food security. Integration of traditional knowledge into the developmental activities at the grassroots level is a major objective.”

The benefit-sharing model to be developed by the proposed centre will ensure that traditional communities, tribal healers and farmers are compensated for imparting knowledge on the use of plants for food and medicine.

The project estimated to cost Rs.11.35 crore is to be implemented in two phases. While the State government will foot 50 per cent of the project cost, the balance amount is to be raised from national and international agencies. The project report has proposed venture capital funding to ensure sustainability of the project in future.

The centre is proposed to be set up as a satellite unit of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute at Palode. Some of the existing infrastructure facilities and scientific manpower resources at the institute will be used for the project.

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