TK on Herbal Drugs

TK refers to the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities around the world, developed from the experience gained over the centuries and adopted as per the local culture and environment.

TK, especially in well-established civilizations such as India, is the collective result of careful observation, understanding and experimentation of culturally and socially stable societies over long periods of time. Such information faithfully transmitted through generations orally and later textually is a cultural heritage and a veritable storehouse of enormous knowledge related to various fields of human endeavor. Practical management and sustainable utilization of natural resources has been the stronghold of ancient Indian way of life. Our agriculture is a treasure house of information on the development and adaptation of plants and crops to different ecological conditions such as soil, rainfall, temperature, altitude, etc.

Several reasons are attributed to the loss/lack of comprehension of the nature of knowledge that ancient Indians possessed. Accepting other forms of knowledge as an understanding of life and its ways from a totally different perspective is needed to appreciate the depth of human knowing that was then available.

Today, however, there is growing appreciation of the value of TK and it is finding increasing applicability and utility to agriculture as well as modern industry. The practical applicability of TK in fields such as agriculture, fisheries, health, horticulture and forestry is now being recognized. It is found to be an immensely valuable knowledge reserve to develop newer drugs, herbal cosmetics, agri-chemicals, non-wood forest products, handicrafts, etc.

Our vast knowledge reserve on herbal drugs in the form of Indian traditional medicine is finding increasing acceptance the world over. It is an invaluable resource as it provides valuable leads for the development of drugs, other useful products and processes.

Thus, TK saves investment in terms of time, money and effort needed for the otherwise large-scale “needle in a haystack” type of screening methodologies (like the National Institute of Health (NIH) screening for marine anticancer drugs) needed to identify potentially useful drugs from plant sources. Thus, it has the potential of being translated into commercial benefits by providing leads for the development of useful products and processes. However, ironically and maybe conveniently (for modern Western science), the very knowledge that forms the basis of modern scientific plant drug screening programs is not regarded as a science. It is unfortunate that the so-called “modern medicine” is regarded as the only authentic body of knowledge against which standard all other forms of knowledge are measured and judged.

Even when seen through the only accepted perspective of modern science, TK from this subcontinent and elsewhere has been the largest contributor of newer drugs to modern medicine. It is for this reason and because of the disillusionment with the approach and attitude of modern medicine that TK systems related to health and drugs are being consciously revived. What has been denigrated by modern science as “superstitious,” “mythical” belief systems is being encouraged by world bodies like the WHO as an “alternative” health care option.

The world over, there is a frantic quest for newer drugs from traditionally used herbs. Multinational drug companies (proponents of modern scientific methods) too are vying with each other to squeeze out maximum economic benefit from TK audaciously, without even the need to recognize TK as scientific knowledge. Cases of biopiracy against TK are a standing testimony to this blatant plagiarism.

With the IP system imposed on the global economy by the powerful developed nations, individual rights have been enshrined at the cost of the collective rights of TK holders, just because it serves the interests of these nations and goes against the unwritten dictum that “anything that comes from the West is science and anything that comes form the East is superstition.”