- GM technology is moving beyond traditional food crops to create GM herbs and GM trees
- Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha, Jivanti and Brahmi have been genetically engineered
- Scientists say GM herbs have enhanced medicinal properties. Ayurveda however sees a plant in its totality and not for one quality.
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In another instance, scientists at the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) in Thrissur have created GM roots of Ashwagandha and Jivanti by introducing a gene from a bacteria that causes the roots to grow profusely. This enables it to produce more of the medicinally important compounds. "For the moment, these transgenic herbs are aimed at the allopathic pharma industry that uses plant extracts rather than using them as a whole, like in Ayurveda," clarifies M.G. Purushothama, who worked on Brahmi and Kariyat at RGCB. The transgenic varieties are waiting to be picked up by pharma companies for further research and safety tests.
While the GM roots of Ashwagandha and Jivanti are designed to be grown only in labs, KAU scientist R. Keshavachandran says Brahmi and Kariyat will have to be tested further in field conditions. That may have some repercussions for Ayurveda, for any field trial of genetically engineered herbal plants is likely to be controversial as it involves the threat of genetic contamination if precautions are not followed. Civil society groups like Greenpeace and Gene Campaign have argued that field trials haven't respected required safety norms.
Likewise, concerned Basmati exporters in India lobbied last year to have GM rice trial locations moved away from traditional Basmati-growing regions to avoid possible genetic contamination of natural varieties. Exporters argued that such trials would destroy India's market share in places like the European Union, which imposed compulsory testing in 2006 on all shipments of long grain rice from the US after GM contamination. But such 'isolation' may be difficult to achieve in Ayurveda as the plants used are often sourced from natural habitats.
So, can Ayurveda use genetically engineered crops? Responds S.K. Sharma, advisor at the department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy in Delhi, "Scientists may pursue R&D on herbal plants but officially GM is not permitted in Ayurveda. Scientists believe in increasing a single positive attribute but Ayurveda insists on using the holistic character of a plant." He, however, adds, "But whether or not we can ever introduce GM into Ayurveda can only be decided on presentation of reliable data about the safety and efficacy of new transgenic crops." An Ayurveda built around GM herbs, obviously, can only come after a wide acceptance of GM food itself.
