Interview of Dr Deepak Acharya

Dr Deepak Acharya

Title: Microbiologist, Botanist and Ambassador of Tribal's Traditional Herbal Knowledge

Dr Deepak Acharya is a microbiologist turned ethnobotanist. He is the Director of Abhumka Herbal Pvt Ltd (www.abhumka.com) in Ahmedabad, India. He has been documenting ethnobotanical knowledge of tribals of Central and Western India for past many years. He has written more than 35 research papers in National and International journals of repute. He writes popular articles for web and magazines too. His company validates herbal practices of healers from two remote pockets in India. He has done extensive documentation of Bhumkas of Patalkot valley (www.patalkot.com) and Bhagats of Dang district, South Gujarat and prepared a digital traditional herbal knowledge library.

His latest book “Indigenous Herbal Medicines: Tribal Formulations and Traditional Herbal Practices” has received great applause world over. He has been associated with many National and International Universities and colleges as a Member, Board of Studies. He also serves as Member, Mirror Committee, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for Food Microbiology. His work and dedication for the tribal welfare has been well appreciated by several print media. He is a Feature Writer/ Member- Editorial Board and Reviewer for many scientific journals and magazines.

We interviewed him recently, here is the interview for our readers:

Website or Blog www.patalkot.com

Below are some of the questions we asked Dr. Deepak Acharya and his answers.

1. What are your five most important accomplishments in life?

Interesting question, there are many important accomplishments in my life which can not be mentioned here but as you asked, here are five most important ones-

1. I made Patalkot (Madhya Pradesh) and Dangs (Gujarat) my prime destination to scout and document herbal practices of aging herbal healers.
   
   
2. Winning the faith of tribesmen who later shared their most valuable information about herbal healing to me.
   
   
3. Made my dream come true by forming a company (Abhumka Herbal Private Limited) where we validate and add value to the herbal knowledge of Indian tribesmen. In short, translation of traditional herbal knowledge in to finished products.
   
   
4. Documented 20000 herbal practices pertaining to human, veterinary and agri-health from the last generation of aging tribal healers which otherwise would have been lost.
   
   
5. Online herbal database to which I aim to add detailed profiles of more than 5000 herbs and trees. This database would be a boon for the upcoming generations.

2. When did you get interested in botany and tribal’s traditional herbal knowledge?

I was just 8 years old when I suffered a critical and unique health disorder. I was advised for an expensive surgery. Financial constraints and other issues forced my dad to seek help from a herbal healer. The healer gave his medicines for 2 months and I was all well. Time kept moving and after 12 years, when I completed Masters in Plant Sciences, I thought to meet the healer. I went to his village but sadly he was no more. He passed away 10 years back and today hardly anyone knows him. A bank of knowledge was no more; it was simply closing of a chapter. That unknown healer from Changotola village in Balaghat District became my very first inspiration to work on tribal’s traditional knowledge.

I started working for scouting and documentation in the year 1997 and the same is still in the progress resulting a huge database of more than 20000 herbal formulation and detailed profiles of the herbs found in various remote tribal pockets in India.

3. Tell us a little bit about The Patalkot?

Patalkot is a lovely landscape located at a depth of 3200 feet in Chhindwara District of Madhya Pradesh in India. Patalkot is a land of tribal culture and their immense knowledge about herbs and their healing properties. The sacred Patalkot forest is so well hidden that people on the outside didn't even know it existed. It is a very special place, rich with plants and animals.

The natives who live there know how to collect and grow the plants they need for food, clothing and building their homes. They also have a special skill that has been passed down every generation. They know the secrets of the medicine plants. The valley is now facing threats of deforestation and also there are many more issues which need to be addressed immediately. I would request the readers to visit www.patalkot.com for more information about this gorgeous valley and its people.

4. Any products or services you would like to share? Please talk about them.

My company Abhumka Herbal Private Limited (www.abhumka.com) is deeply engrossed in formulizing tribal’s traditional herbal practices into finished products. Incorporated in the year 2007, company extended its work on scouting and documentation in other remote pockets in India. AHPL has a databank of more than 20000 herbal practices performed by the tribesmen in three remote pockets of India i.e. Patalkot, Dangs and Aravallis.

Abhumka has recently launched a herbal cattle feed supplement “DudhNahar” that enhances milk productivity among the cattle up to 25% in a month. DudhNahar is a herbal cattle feed purely based on indigenous knowledge. This product has got immense potential and can change the current scenario of dairy and cattle farming sector.

Abhumka has developed different types of therapeutic candies for children to support their immunity; candies for male and female vitality and vigor and also candies for controlling high blood pressure.
Our aim is to provide benefit to farmers by bringing products for veterinary and agri health purposes also we wish to serve humankind by providing targeted medicines based on indigenous knowledge.

5. Please share, some of your knowledge of the different types of plants which can improve our health and help with natural weight loss.

Uncultivated plants have contributed to the diet of both humans and animals since their first emergence on planet Earth. Human beings ate a range of wild plants, whereas today the diet of developed societies is limited to only some cultivated vegetables. However, there are few tribal pockets in India like Patalkot where diet is rich in edible wild plants. This diet may be a reference standard for modern human nutrition and a model for defense against certain diseases of affluence.

Tribals form a distinct group compared to other populations. Their food intake is influenced by nature, with large seasonal variations, depending upon availability of agricultural and forest produce. Several studies have documented a close relationship between the tribal ecosystems and their nutritional status. In the last two decades a number of scientists have studied the composition of wild plants as good sources of natural nutrient suppliers, because of a trend towards natural ingredients in food.

Wild plants are storehouses of essential fatty acids – especially linolenic acid and micronutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper and iron. In developing countries, micronutrient deficiencies are a significant health problem, particularly for maternal, infant and child health. The use of indigenous delicacies has been is use to correct these deficiencies with great success.

Excessive weight gain is a big problem in America and nearly two thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. In US alone, $33 billion/ year has been spent on weight loss products and services that are fad diets, unsafe or ineffective nutritional supplements. Primary evidences collected by us show that the tribal diet represents one of the primary ways to shed those unwanted pounds and keep them off. We are currently under the process of validating those herbal practices.

Tribals concentrate on eating foods that are high in fiber to reduce appetite and help reduce the risk of cancer. They look for good sources of protein throughout the day such as meats, fish, eggs, beans and nuts. It is interesting to know that Bharias in Patalkot love to have tomatoes in their daily servings. Yes, Tomatoes are great source of fiber, carbohydrate, potassium and iron. Tomatoes are also low in fat and sodium. Tomatoes also contain an antioxidant called lycopene.

Because uncultivated plants supply a significant portion of micronutrients to the diet and exhibit higher mineral values than more accessible, cultivated alternatives, substantial economic and nutritional gains could be achieved by increasing dietary utilization of edible wild plants. However, lack of compositional data continues to be a limiting factor when attempting to evaluate the role of wild food plants in contemporary diets. The nutritional quality of diet may decline with agricultural development unless edible wild species that provide essential micronutrients to the diet are considered part of the total food system.

It is true that major emphasis and awareness generation activities should focus on edible wild plant species for combating nutrient deficiencies. Life style & food habits of the tribals of Patalkot should be studied furthermore for a thorough outcome. A collective contribution from botanists, experimental biologists, agronomists, food technologists, nutritionists, pharmacologists, physicians, economists, policy-makers and anthropologists will discover a new way to fight micro nutrient deficiency in country like India.

6. Please talk a little bit about www.abhumka.com and your mission there.

Abhumka Herbal Private Limited is deeply engrossed in formulizing the indigenous knowledge after validation and value addition of potential herbal practices of tribals of Patalkot, Dangs and Aravallis in India. Traditional medicine (TM) occupies a central place among rural communities of developing countries for the provision of health care in the absence of an efficient primary health care system. India is one of the oldest civilizations and it has encyclopedia of tried, tested and trusted history of medicinal plants and also a vast bunch of traditional medicinal practices and Traditional Knowledge (TK) which, still is unwritten and passed through the words of mouth from generation to generation.

The indigenous people are expert in herbal knowledge and the modern world knows it as Indigenous Knowledge (IK). Tribals and indigenous people in India are real power house of traditional herbal knowledge. It is awful that traditional medicinal practices are not being documented along with the protocol of the diseases but it is always better late than never.

Documentation of traditional knowledge of tribals will serve as a raw material for R & D and eventually for product formulation. In the later stages, Indigenous tribals should be held responsible for the supply of this particular herb when it comes to commercial production of the finished products. We should give them a sense of belonging for the forest and their knowledge of herbal medicines and safeguard their IPR.

In this way, we could bring forward this community in the main stream where their economic status could be remarkably improved and protected. Our integrated efforts to make the tribals self reliable and self sustaining, economically independent, politically integrated, will also solve their other socio-political problems. We are working towards the execution of Translation of Indigenous Knowledge in totality, and towards the establishment of fully integrated 3P System.

7. Why did you chose the name www.abhumka.com and www.patalkot.com?

Abhumka is derived from a word Bhumka (a herbal healer in Patalkot valley in Madhya Pradesh, India).

8. Any other achievement you would like to discuss?

I think, I am still a learner; miles to go ahead, this is not a right time to count achievements.

9. How long has your website been online?

Both www.patalkot.com and www.abhumka.com are online from the year 2007.

10. To whom you want to give credit for your success?

It’s not any one person who deserves it. To achieve any milestone in your life, you got to have support from people of all walks who believe in your vision. I have miles to go. Tribal folks deserve special credits for my success.

11. Would you like to acknowledge anyone for what you are today?

To all, those who believed in me .

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