In yet another victory for India in its efforts to protect the country’s traditional medicinal treasures, the Government has successfully foiled consumer goods giant Colgate-Palmolive’s bid to patent a mouthwash formula containing nutmeg extract. India contended that the extract of nutmeg has traditionally been used for medicinal purposes in the country since ancient times.
Colgate-Palmolive had registered the patent with the Indian Patent Office in 2011 to protect an oral composition containing extracts of ‘Myristica Fragrans’ or nutmeg. However, opposing the move, the Government regulator said that as the details of nutmeg were already available in ancient Indian texts, it could not be patented.
Traditional Knowledge Digital library of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR-TKDl) under the Science and Technology Ministry had submitted proof in the form of references from ancient books, which said extracts of Myristica Fragrans were used for curing oral diseases as well as in many other Indian systems of medicine.
In addition, other third party observations also made submissions against the claims, said a senior official from the Ministry on Thursday.
“There are several references where Myristica Fragrans and some other herbs were used alone or in combination to eliminate bad breath, teeth strengthening, treatment of gingivitis, fissures of the tongue and palate, diseases of the mouth and excess salivation. These have also been used for dryness of the mouth, diseases of the pharynx, lips, tongue and teeth in Indian medicine for a long time,” said the official.
The TKDl is an Indian digital knowledge repository of traditional knowledge, especially about medicinal plants and formulations used in Indian systems of medicine. The main objective of the library is to protect the ancient and traditional knowledge of the country from exploitation through bio-piracy and unethical patents.
In the past too it has made significant strides towards achieving the goal of preventing misappropriation of Indian Traditional Knowledge. For instance, in 2013, it thwarted claims made by a US multinational company on the usefulness of turmeric, apple and basil for the treatment of several skin diseases.
So far over 1,000 cases of bio-piracy have been identified and over 105 claims withdrawn or cancelled by patent offices. The official also said that the development shows that there is a need to prevent developed countries from exploiting India’s intellectual property.