Kani Vaidyam — Tribal Herbal Medicine Tradition of Idukki

The Kani tribal healers of Idukki possess an oral pharmacopoeia of over 200 forest plants used in treating fever, snakebite, fractures, and skin ailments. Their knowledge gained international attention in the 1990s when a compound derived from the Arogyapaacha plant (Trichopus zeylanicus), known to the Kani as an energy tonic, was studied by scientists from the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kani community subsequently signed India's first tribal intellectual property benefit-sharing agreement, receiving a share of royalties from the resulting product Jeevani. This landmark case shaped national and international debates on bio-piracy and traditional knowledge protection.