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Background
There has been a gradual interest in the use of
medicinal plants in developed and developing
countries for the past few years. Indian Medicinal
Plants are used since ages for its medicinal properties
and some of these plants are used as spices as well. In
recent years, the cases of biopiracy have been noted,
where researchers have tried to patent known properties
of Indian medicinal plants and Indian government
has successfully challenged a few of these
patents. Objective: The objective of this article is
to provide information related to a few prominent Indian
medicinal plants and patents granted by the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for known
uses of these plants. Method: USPTO website was accessed
to identify the patents granted on Indian medicinal
plants discussed in this
article. Result/Conclusion: With growing interest in
Indian Medicinal Plants, there are instances where
patents on various uses of traditional medicinal plants
were granted. We tried to analyze patents granted on
various Indian medicinal plants and its uses. Further,
ethical issues attached to patenting of Indian medicinal
plants are discussed. Many Indian medicinal plants and
its properties are described in ancient ayurvedic and
vedic scriptures. Indian government took proactive step
and revoked patent on turmeric granted by USPTO.
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) has been
set up by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR) to prevent granting of patents on Indian
medicinal plants.
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