BHUBANESWAR: The chutney of red ants and their dried eggs which had celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay wowed has been suggested by an engineer as a formulation to fight coronavirus.A delicacy by the indigenous population, the red ant chutney as a remedy to Covid-19 has been proposed by Baripada-based engineer and researcher Nayadhar Padhial. Tribals in many States, including Odisha and Chhattisgarh, consume red ant chutney or a soup made of it to get rid of flu, cough, common cold, breathing difficulties, fatigue and other diseases as an age-old practice.
This prompted Padhial to send a proposal for research on its medicinal properties to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) by an assistant engineer with the Works department. Appreciating his work on red ant, Scientist C of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Cell of ICMR Madhumathi J suggested he move AYUSH and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).Since ICMR does neither have the facility nor mandate to test traditional medicine, herbal formulations and extracts, the scientist informed Pandhial to go to AYUSH which has a pact with CSIR to promote traditional medicines.
“I sent my proposal to both the organisations separately. An officer from AYUSH called me and discussed about my research. He assured to intimate about their next plan of action within a week,” Padhial said.
A mixture of red ant, green chili (Dhanua variety of chilli) and salt, red ant chutney had captured Ramsay’s fancy who had said he would bid chuck mango chutney for this tribal delicacy. Tribals also add garlic, ginger and coriander leaves for taste.
Padhial says the chutney contains formic acid, protein, calcium, Vitamin B12, Zinc and iron that boost the immune system. “Tribals in Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya consume red ant and get cured from various diseases. This could be the reason for less prevalence of Covid-19 in tribal areas. A thorough research to prepare formulations from could prove beneficial,” he added.
A recent study by a group of researchers of North Orissa University on ‘Traditional Value of Red Weaver Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) as Food and Medicine in Mayurbhanj district’ revealed that the tribes use the species as medicine for different disease like common cold, fever, jaundice, enteric problems, whooping cough and to increase the hungriness.