THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will release a monograph, about a herb which can fight diabetes, at the Chief Minister’s chamber on Wednesday afternoon. The herb will make T M Shahul Hamid the first ‘nattu vaidyar’ to own a patent in the state. His name will be listed as an ‘inventor’ along with the names of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) scientists.
Shah Vaidyar, as he is popularly known, had noticed the anti-Diabetic property of the plant and informed JNTBGRI scientists. Before this, only those who could prove the efficacy of a discovery scientifically were allowed the right to be known as its inventor.
The Division of Ethnomedicine and Ethno-pharmacology at the institute has been conducting studies on the plant. Though clinical studies remain, the studies have led to positive results, according to JNTBGRI Director P G Latha.