Indian scientist challenges Nobel to Chinese counterpart

Citing a book titled Indian Medicinal Plants and published in 1918 by Lieutenant-Colonel K R Kirtikar and Major B D Basu, the scientist said it contained elaborate description of the species of the plant "Artemisia" found in India and the method of extracting "Artemisin" from the plant was also described.

Indian scientist's argument 1. Chinese scientist was given Nobel prize for discovery of Artemisinin, an active compound, extracted from a plant called, Artemisia, used for treating malaria 2. Artemisia species found in India is also called Ajwayan, which is an integral part of Indian home kitchen 3. The knowledge of Artemisia and its usage for malaria treatment is 100 years old. 4. How come Artemisin became a traditional Chinese medicine and not Indian traditional medicine?

Hyderabad: A senior Indian scientist has challenged the ground on which this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine was given to Chinese scientist Tu Youyou for the discovery of Artemisinin, an active compound extracted from a medicinal plant called Artemisia Annua that is used for treating Malaria.
Dr Sunil Kumar Verma, a principal scientist at the Hyderabad-based Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), has claimed that the plant extract was traditionally used in India against Malaria and it was mentioned in scientific literature published over 100 years ago.
Citing a book titled Indian Medicinal Plants and published in 1918 by Lieutenant-Colonel K R Kirtikar and Major B D Basu, the scientist said it contained elaborate description of the species of the plant "Artemisia" found in India and the method of extracting "Artemisin" from the plant was also described.
"Malaria was known in India with its symptoms "intermittent and remittent fever" for which the use of "Artemisin" was described in the published literature," said Dr Verma who holds a PhD from the Oxford University and was formerly a Commonwealth Scholar. "I am not here to criticise the Nobel Prize Committee but simply to put forward some facts that every Indian should know.
"Artemisia species found in India is also called Ajwayan, which is an integral part of our home kitchen.
"If the knowledge about extraction of Artemisin and its usage in treatment of Malaria is documented in Indian literature over 100 years ago, how come Artemisin" became a "traditional Chinese medicine" and not Indian traditional medicine?," Dr Verma said in his facebook post which has since attracted over 500 shares and triggered an online discussion. Dr Verma also posted a link to a dictionary of medicinal plants by a well-known American publisher which lists 'Ajwayan' and its ancient name 'Gadadhar' under the genus Artemisia.
"Even if it was used in China too as traditional medicine for treatment of intermittent fever (Malaria), then the credit for the use of "Artemisin" and its purification should be given to both India and China and not China alone," the scientist argued.
He appealed to the Union Government to create a dedicated team of scientists and doctors to study the published literature about traditional Indian knowledge and prove those concepts using a set of modern and cutting edge scientific tools.
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