Trichopus zeylanicus (family Dioscoraceae, a monocot family which includes yams) is a small, rare herbaceous plant native to wet, sandy river banks tropical forests of Malaysia, Sri Lanka and southern India. The leaves, though usually heart-shaped (cordate), can vary between heart, oval, triangular, and lanceolate forms even within one location. It produces a deep purple flower year round, and large grey-brown seedpods thought to be water-dispersed in floods and heavy currents (Sivarajan 1990).Previously classified into its own family, Trichopodaceae, T. zeylanicus is one of two species in its genus (the other, T. sempervirens is native to Madagascar) and its distinctive and variable morphology has long confounded its taxonomic placement (Caddick et al. 2002).
In the late 1980s, researchers from the Indian Tropical Botanical Garden & Research Institute (TBGRI) learned of and developed T. zeylanicus as a medicinal herb, based on ethnomedicinal information retrieved from Kani people, a nomadic population indiginous to the Agasthymalai hills in southern India.The Kani traditionally use the seeds of T. zeylanicus as an energy enhancer; their term for the herb, Arogyapacha, translates to “healthy green.”The effects of the herb are compared to those of Ginseng (Martin et al. 2011).Studies have found that T. zeylanicus seeds and leaf extracts are rich in Saponins (Martin et al. 2011) and contain antioxidant properties.Rats fed the seeds show decreased fatigue (Tharakan et al. 2005, 2006) although no studies or trials confirm these results in humans (Web MD 2009).The medicinal herb, patented under the name Jeevani is used to combat stress, improve stamina, boost immunity, and increase libido and other conditions (Web MD 2009, Evans et al. 2002). The intellectual rights and of this drug were shared between and the Kani tribe and TBGRI (Jayaraman 1996), however this arrangement has stirred up controversy over profit sharing with indigenous tribes and justifications of piracy of tribal knowledge (Bijoy 2007).
Trichopus zeylanicus is a small herbaceous plant, which is one of only two species of its genus, Trichopus. Formerly it was placed in its own family, Trichopodaceae, but is now included in the family Dioscoreaceae. The leaves are about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long and grow from a rhizome. The shape of the leaves can be highly variable even within one location, but the most common shape is cordate. The herb grows on sandy soil near rivers and streams in shady places in lowland and intermediate altitude forests. It flowers year long and the fruits are thought to be dispersed by water. The unusual flowers are purplish black.[1]
T. zeylanicus grows in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Southwestern Ghats mountains of South India.[1]
It has been in use for centuries by the Kaani tribal community of the Agastya Koodam ranges in Kerala, India, for its medicinal properties.
Modern Indian scientists learned the medical properties of Trichopus zeylanicus in December 1987 while on a scientific expedition to the Agasthia Hills in the Western Ghats. They noticed that their guides, belonging to the Kaani tribe, were very energetic in sharp contrast to themselves. They had walked for several hours with the scientists, but the difference was that they ate the fruits of a wild plant T. zeylanicus as they walked. It was found from the Kaani men that it was indeed the fruits they were eating that made them energetic, a fact about the plant well known to the tribe for ages. Historically, the members of the tribes called the plant 'chathan kalanji' literally meaning 'satan destroyer'. The more popular name of the plant, "Arogya pacha" (literally meaning "the green that gives strength") was given to it by the scientists.
Detailed chemical and pharmacological investigations showed that the leaf of the plant contained flavonoid glycosides, glycolipids and some other non-steroidal compounds. In the article published in www.ijpcbs.com showed the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the leaf extract against 8 bacterial and 8 fungal strains (Manza and Saj, 2013)
The Indian commercial and scientific interest in the herb caused misguided suspicions of bio-piracy in Sri Lanka, where it is called Bimpol, and exports of the herb were forbidden in 1998.[2]
Lanceolate leaf type, Nilagala, Sri Lanka
Cordate leaf type, Nilagala, Sri Lanka
With flower, from side, Nilagala, Sri Lanka
With flower, Nilagala, Sri Lanka
Flower from above, Nilagala, Sri Lanka
Fruit, Nilagala, Sri Lanka
12. CYTOTOXIC AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES ON AROGYAPACHA OR KERALA GINSENG LEAF EXTRACTS MM. Manza and Oommen P Saj Department of Botany, University College, Trivandrum-695003, Kerala, India (www.ijpcbs.com).
Trichopus zeylanicus is a small herbaceous plant, which is one of only two species of its genus, Trichopus. Formerly it was placed in its own family, Trichopodaceae, but is now included in the family Dioscoreaceae. The leaves are about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long and grow from a rhizome. The shape of the leaves can be highly variable even within one location, but the most common shape is cordate. The herb grows on sandy soil near rivers and streams in shady places in lowland and intermediate altitude forests. It flowers year long and the fruits are thought to be dispersed by water. The unusual flowers are purplish black.
