Palpu Pushpangadan, Padma Shri-winning botanist who brought Arogyapacha to the world, dies at 81

Thiruvananthapuram: Dr Palpu Pushpangadan, a Padma Shri award-winning botanist and one of India’s most respected figures in ethnobotany, died on Friday at the age of 81. He had been undergoing treatment for age-related illnesses.

Dr Pushpangadan, internationally acclaimed for his pioneering work linking traditional knowledge with modern science, held senior positions at several leading scientific institutions in India. He is best known for developing the world’s first Equitable Benefit Sharing (EBS) model, a framework that ensures communities who conserve and share traditional biological knowledge receive a fair share of the benefits arising from its commercial use.

‘Arogyapacha’ and the wisdom of the Kani tribe

A landmark example of this model was the development of 'Jeevani', a herbal formulation derived from the traditional knowledge of the Kani tribal community of Kerala. The product is based on ‘Arogyapacha’ (Trichopus zeylanicus), a small medicinal plant found in the forests of the Western Ghats and traditionally used by the Kani tribal people to combat fatigue, enhance stamina and improve immunity and mental alertness.

When the manufacturing licence for Jeevani was granted to Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore, half of the licence fee was channelled to the welfare of the Kani community. This approach, later known globally as the “Pushpangadan Model”, received widespread international recognition and is regarded as a milestone under the Convention on Biological Diversity, a UN treaty implemented in 1993 and ratified by 196 nations. The initiative earned the United Nations Equator Initiative Award, and Dr Pushpangadan was honoured at the Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Johannesburg.

A lifetime of research and innovation

Born on January 23, 1944, at Prakkulam in Kollam district, Kerala, Dr Pushpangadan was a polymath in botanical sciences. His expertise spanned cytogenetics, plant breeding, bioprospecting, biotechnology, conservation biology, ethnobiology, ethnopharmacology and pharmacognosy.

He began his scientific career in 1969 at a CSIR research laboratory in Jammu. After completing his B.Sc at the University of Kerala, he earned his M.Sc and PhD from Aligarh Muslim University. He later served as Director of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, and from 1999 to 2006 was Director of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), Palode, near Thiruvananthapuram. He also held special charge as Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology.

Over the course of his career, Dr Pushpangadan published 317 research papers in national and international journals. Fifteen patented products developed by him have been successfully commercialised. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to science and society, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 2010.

Recalling his legacy, Mohandas Nair, Senior Adviser at the Inter University Centre for Genomics and Gene Technology (IUC-GGT) and a close associate, said Dr Pushpangadan combined professional excellence with exceptional personal warmth. “His passing is a profound loss, both personally and institutionally,” he said.

Many remember Dr Pushpangadan as a scientist who believed that the fruits and shade of a tree should rightfully belong to those who nurtured its roots. By not only bringing the Kani community’s traditional knowledge to global attention but also ensuring they shared in its benefits, he translated that belief into lasting practice.