Editorial

About 200 CSIR scientists and the department Ayush of the union health ministry have achieved the compilation of the world's first Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, They have documented over two lakh medical formulations of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani translating Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Urdu, Arabic and Persian into English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish, This has 30 million pages of information.

To prevent pilferage of patents, India has signed an agreement with European Patent Office which had given patents for the use of 285 Indian medicinal plants including pepper, ginger and tulsi. Under the agreement, the data base is given for consultation but not for disclosing the contents. It appears that In the past we have lost 15000 patents for Indian medicines. Have the patents been lost or hijacked by some country to give away somebody else's property?

We should not recognise any patent for Indian traditional medicines or any other traditional material. For the recognition of even other patent rights. Government of India should also be a party to the decision. To decide on a patent, there has to be stringent criteria such as a) is it discovered by

the person for the first time? b) How much research has been done by the person? c) Has it been tested by him in the laboratory? d) Is it his original Idea? e) In what way is it different or more effective

when compared to existing medicines?

Having performed a tremendous job of compilation, this work can bear Its fruits if the information edited for various systems in local languages is made available to the traditional users of medicine. The government can also help them to set up plants which are modern but taking the spirit of the traditional way of preparation so that manufacture on a large scale and distribution to various parts of India can also reduce the price to affordable levels.

This will also be a step in integrating the different systems of medicine. The merging of the experience of the traditional systems and the ever-growing methods of research and diagnosis of the modern allopathy could be an asset for humanity.