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Man has been using medicinal plants to alleviate diseases and discomfort from the very dawn of evolution of human beings. People living in different parts from time immemorial, had selected their food and medicine by a process of trial and error or even by experimentation from the biological resources, particularly from the plants, found around them and this became known as the ethnic food/ traditional food and ethnic medicine/ traditional medicine. India has one of the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions, associated with the use of medicinal plants. The country has a great heritage of medicinal plant use, dating back to the early Vedic period. Like in many other indigenous cultures or civilizations across the world, the Indian indigenous communities have possessed/accumulated vast knowledge on multifarious uses of plants and other natural resources found around them. Living close to nature and by trial, error, empirical reasoning and experimentation, the primitive indigenous societies have developed their own unique wealth of knowledge pertaining to conservation and sustainable use of plants, animals and other natural resources. During the 1980s, Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Govt. of India launched an All India Coordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology (AICRPE). JNTBGRI has developed a benefit sharing model through AICRPE with Kani tribe on the plant Trichopus zeylanicus Gaertn. ssp. travancoricus (Bedd Burkill ex Narayanan). This model is perhaps a unique experiment ever done, wherein the benefits accrued from the development of a product based on an ethnobotanical lead were shared with the holders of that traditional knowledge. Considering the significant outcome of this model in community empowerment, income generation and poverty eradication of a tribal community, Pushpangadan was awarded with the UN-Equator Initiative Prize (under individual category) at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in August 2002. Now with the CBD and WIPO guidelines and our national legislation on biodiversity in position, the JNTBGRI or Kani case study could be taken as an ideal model of equitable benefit sharing involving genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Plants are the basis life on Earth and without their capacity to capture the sun's energy to the process of photosynthesis, there would not have been any life on the planet. The incredible ability of humankind in exploiting the natural resources around him to his advantage has indeed made human species as the most successful/powerful organism on Planet Earth. The history of human culture and civilization is all about the management and utilization of natural resources around him. Living close to nature, the traditional societies in the third world have acquired unique knowledge about the use of wild flora and fauna and most of which are not known to the people who live away from the natural ecosystem (forests). This knowledge is so invaluable for developing new kind of food, cosmetics, drug and pharmaceuticals and other chemicals of industrial importance. The recent advancements in biotechnology and molecular genetics, particularly in the gene transfer technology (transgenic) have opened new vistas and assumed unlimited power to exploit the genetic resources of the biodiversity. As a result, the potential and actual economic values and genetic materials are increasing rapidly and stimulated international trade in genetic resources commonly known as 'biotrade' which soon led to 'bio-piracy' or 'gene piracy'. The Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) which has entered into force from December 1993 is a unique international legal instrument to protect the sovereign rights of the state and people over its/their biological resources. "Traditional knowledge" is one of several terms used to describe broadly the same subject matter. Other terms in usage include "indigenous cultural and intellectual property", "indigenous heritage" and "customary heritage rights". The Amity Institute for Herbal and Biotech Products Development (AIHBPD) team lead by the PI of this project has played important roles in the National and global debates in promoting Traditional Knowledge, IPR and benefit sharing with back up of technology. Traditional Knowledge and modern technology has to be interlinked optimum returns. However, the legal and operational areas are to be strengthened. With this objective in view a National Conference entitled "Dhishana-2008 Streamlining India's Traditional Knowledge towards formulating a Sui generis Regime" was organized from 23-25th May, 2008 at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram. The recommendation of the conference in the form of Thiruvananthapuram Declaration was issued by a group of eminent scientists, traditional knowledge stakeholders, academicians and activists which are incorporated many recommendations.

Food and medicine are indispensable companions of humans since the very beginning of his existence. The early man explored his surroundings to locate materials of natural origin for food and medicine. He continued his search in the plant and animal kingdoms to expand his food basket, to heal his ailments and discomforts. The desire to attain vitality and longevity also prompted the early man to experiment with whatever available in his immediate neighbourhood. By a process of trial and error, observation and empirical reasoning and inference the early man made conscious selections of a variety of biological materials to enhance his health, to alleviate pain or to treat other physical and mental ailments. The knowledge thus gathered was passed on to succeeding generations. Creative members of the succeeding generations incrementally improved and even added new knowledge to this body of traditional knowledge system. This traditional wisdom has come down to us from our ancestors and we now term it as traditional knowledge or ethnic knowledge. We find this knowledge system getting perpetuated through folklore, local health traditions, tribal knowledge system, family and community based knowledge systems etc. All ancient cultures and civilizations of the world had thus evolved their own traditional food, nutrition and medicine from their ambient biological wealth. The Ayurvedic Masters of ancient India had a clear understanding of the delicate cellular mechanism of the body and the deterioration of the functional capacity of human being. To arrest such deterioration of the functional efficiency and to revive and revitalize the body system, the Ayurvedic masters developed an elaborate rejuvenation therapy known as ‘Rasayana’ therapy. ‘Rasa’ in Sanskrit means the essence and ‘ayana’ means to circulate in the body without any obstruction. ‘Rasayana’ is one of the eight clinical specialities of Ayurveda that is aimed for the rejuvenation and geriatric care. Rasayana is not a drug therapy, but a specialized procedure practiced to cleanse the body from the toxic and other microbial substances. In Rasayana Therapy, with the help of special diet and nutritional agents comprising of highly powerful antioxidants, the body is rejuvenated by providing greater immunity, vitality, longevity and by improving all faculties to attain youthfulness of the whole body.