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MSSRF WORKING PAPER 14 MSSRF / 2020 / WP / 14 World Environment Day June 2020 Beyond COVID-19: Promoting Local Health Traditions and Health Foods for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity MSSRF M S Swaminathan Research Foundaton M S Swaminathan Research Foundaton Published online by MSSRF, Chennai, June 2020. Working Paper: MSSRF / 2020 / WP / 14 N Anil Kumar, E D Israel Oliver King, V V Sivan, Prashant Kumar Parida, Kartk Charan Lenka, V Shakeela, Jayesh Joseph, R V Bhavani, B Jayashree Design:DILEEP K (MSSRF) Beyond COVID-19: Promoting Local Health Traditions and Health Foods for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity MSSRF / 2020 / WP / 14 World Environment Day June 2020 N Anil Kumar, E D Israel Oliver King, V V Sivan, Prashant Kumar Parida, Kartk Charan Lenka, V Shakeela, Jayesh Joseph, R V Bhavani, B Jayashree M S Swaminathan Research Foundaton 3rd Cross Street, Insttutonal Area, Taramani Chennai 600 113, India Summary The severity of the impact of COVID-19 on human health security is huge and expected to contnue for a few more years in many parts of the world. A major reason for emergence of new viruses and diseases is destructon of forests and loss of biodiversity. This paper examines the critcality of Local Health Traditons (LHTs) and environmental health to boost immunity and conservaton of biodiversity. The need for revitalizaton of the age-old healthcare practces and homestead-level conservaton of biodiversity for a post-COVID India is discussed. As case points, MSSRF interventons and their impact in promotng conservaton, cultvaton, consumpton and community-centric commerce of biodiversity in three bio- cultural diversity hotspots of India are described. A set of ten recommendatons is given to address some of the policy gaps in promotng the LHTs and conservaton of biodiversity in homesteads. The recommendatons can help in efectve implementaton of the objectves of Natonal Nutriton Mission, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Natonal Health Policy (2017), Natonal Health Mission, and the Natonal Biodiversity Act (2002). These recommendatons, we hope, willbeneft translaton of present policies and initatves into efectve practces to protectlocal health and biodiversity heritage of India and strengthen primary healthcare support services. I. INTRODUCTION II. Green-health Programme Human beings are provided with fve principal MSSRF’s Green-health programme started at defensive barriers to protect their body against diferent periods in Wayanad (Kerala), Koraput disease: physical barriers such as skin, body (Odisha) and Kolli hills (Tamil Nadu) during 1998 secretons and mucous membranes and specialized to 2005 and focused on implementaton of eforts immune cells in the blood, granulocytes and such as (i) Rejuvenaton of Local Health Traditons, lymphocytes (Terry L. Levin, 2018). The secret of (ii) inventory, collecton, multplicaton and health is in protectng and enhancing these fve documentaton of medicinal plants; (iii) promoton natural barriers coupled with maintenance of of medicinal rice Navara in Kerala; (iv) survey sound emotonal, social and economic practces. and documentaton of wild food plants; and (v) Nature keeps diverse proteins and genes at the promoton of millet-based health foods. microscopic level in the form of fora, fauna, and ecosystems– and landscapes at the macroscopic Project 01: Rejuvenaton of Local Health level-biodiversity to boost nature-human health Traditons systems. Through evoluton, biodiversity has been used in multtude ways in the form of perfume, The core objectve of the programme was to clothing, cosmetcs, housing, food, beverages, revitalize and promote tme-tested primary medicine and as a source of vital energy to body, healthcare and nutriton practces among local mind and materials for spiritual / religious and social community men and women. The programme was rituals. These practces and rituals among human aimed to promote sustainable use of medicinal groups in diverse locatons resulted in the origin and edible wild and litle-known nutrient-rich plant and existence of cultural diversity. The symphony in diversity in the three hotspots. The actvites were the nature-culture relatonship is called bio-cultural promoted through trained women Self Help Groups diversity. The core regions of bio-cultural diversity (SHG) and farmers’ forums under the supervision in the world are the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, of traditonal healers, ayurvedic physicians, and Indo-Malaysia (Peter Howard and Thymio botanists and nutriton experts and have resulted Papayannis 2007). in the revitalizaton of many primary healthcare traditons, household level herbal collectons and M S Swaminathan Research Foundaton (MSSRF) consumpton of medicinal and wild edible plants, has been working in three ‘Bio-cultural diversity and establishment of herbal gardens in these three hotspots’ of India - the Wayanad region in Kerala, hotspots. The programme started in late 2000 and Koraput region in Odisha and Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu, contnued for about 10 years in Wayanad district of with the objectve of revitalizing non-codifed Local Kerala and was then replicated in Koraput district Food and Health Traditons such as home remedies, of Odisha. use of medicinal and nutritonally rich rice, millets and wild foods. The need for rejuvenaton of Home Remedy and Primary Health Care System: Local Health Traditons (LHT) and the approach case study from Odisha required for drawing on the local environment and biodiversity to boost immunity are discussed The traditonal healers of undivided Koraput District in thispaper. A set of ten recommendatons is also are called Disaris. The wealth and knowledge of made to address policy gaps in promotng the LHTs, the medicinal plants among the Disaris are based and conservaton of biodiversity in homesteads. on hundreds of years of belief and observatons. Studies conducted from 2006 to 2009 found that these Disaris carry practcal knowledge on the use of medicinal plants for the preventon of malaria. There are several groups/associatons of traditonal 5 healers belonging to Paroja, Bhumia and Bonda Home Remedy and Primary Health Care System: communites in Koraput, Rayagada and Malkanagiri case study from Kerala districts of Odisha who claim to possess the knowledge to treat many primary health care issues. Under the Kerala programme, a total of 28 SHGs The informaton on malarial cure was documented were formed –22 in Wayanad and six in Calicut. from the Disaris and other local people who have Out of 180 members belonging to 18 SHGs, 126 traditonal knowledge of medicinal plants (Poonalet were women belonging to the poorest class. The al. 2011, Swain 2014). selected groups, each group comprising 10–12 women from resource-poor families, received Plants parts: The whole plant of Andrographis intensive training for about eight days over a period paniculata along with leaves of Nyctanthes of eight months for the preparaton of a set of 34 arbortrists and stem of Tinospora cordifolia are herbal formulatons. These formulatons were crushed together to make the decocton. in fve categories: Choornam (powder), Lehyam (colloid form), Thailam (oil form), Gulika (tablet Decocton preparaton process: Take about 100g form) and powdered seed mixture (Annexure 1). of Andrographis paniculata, 100g of Nyctanthus One of the Lehyams was Chyavanaprash prepared arbor-tristris leaves and 100g of Tinospora cordifolia by using 47 diferent ingredients (Table 1). The stem. Put them together in a pot. Add 500ml water trainees prepared these formulatons for catering and boil it in mild fre for half an hour to one hour to their healthcare needs and marketed them tll the quantty of decocton is reduced to around locally. Nine products were found to have high local 150ml. Keep it overnight; the decocton is ready to demand. The quality of the new formulatons was use in the next day morning. The practce is that a assessed before marketng with the help of reputed family prepares the decocton based on the need of research organizatons. One of the formulatons all its members. In some villages, the preparaton is ‘Navadhanya mixture’ was found to be nutritonally done at once for all households. richer than many similar products in the market as per the results of analysis by the Central Dosage: An adult person needs 10 to 15ml based Food Technological Research Insttute, Mysore. on the health conditon. Similarly, for a child, the dosage can vary from 5ml to 10ml based on the age group. This decocton should be taken once in a week along with a teaspoon of honey. Every person has to take four tmes a month and for three months contnuously. Evidence from a campaign on the preparaton and usage of this decocton in and around 15 malaria- prone villages of Kundra block of Koraput district and also in the Bonda Hills of Khairput block, Malkangiri district showed that no fresh malaria cases were reported within a period of six to nine months in those villages. It was also observed that cases of skin disease were reduced to a great extent in those villages (Swain 2014). People stll have the practce of usage of this decocton to prevent malarial infecton. 6 Table 1: Ingredients in the Chyavanaprash Lehyam Sl. No. Local Name (Malayalam) Binomial Name 1 Munja root Premna serratfolia L. 2 Koovala root Aegle marmelos (L.) Corrêa 3 Payyani root Oroxylum indicum (L.) Benth. ExKurz 4 Kumizhu root Gmelina arborea Roxb. 5 Paathiri root Stereospermum tetragonum DC. 6 Kurunthot root Sida alnifolia L. 7 Orila root Desmodium gangetcum (L.) DC. 8 Moovila root Pseudarthria viscida (L.) Wight& Arn. 9 Kaatuzhunnu root Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek 10 Thippali root Piper longum L. 11 Cheruthippali root Piper longum L. 12 Vanthippali Piper chaba Trel. & Yunck. 13 Naikkurana root Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. 14 Cheruvazhuthana root Solanum violaceum Ortega 15 Cheruchunda Solanum indicum L. 16 Karakkadakasringi Pistacia chinensis subsp. integerrima (J. L. Stewart ex Brandis) Rech. f. 17 Keezharnelli Phyllanthus niruri L. 18 Munthiringa Vits vinifera L. 19 Adapathiyankizhangu Holostemm aada-kodien Schult. 20 Pushkaramoolam Inula racemosa Hook.f.