Plant that treats tiger bites should be in govt list, prof

A rare plant used by the people of Sundarbans to treat tiger bites should be included by the government in its list of plants for research and commercial use, an environment science professor has said.
This plant locally known as 'Horkochkata' ('Acanthus ilicifolius') remained mostly unknown in the academic field, said Dr Punarbasu Chaudhuri, HOD, Department of Environment Science, University of Calcutta, while giving a presentation on "Biodiversity of the Sunderbans" here.
It has high morphine content and when antibiotics fail in tiger bite cases, this plant neutralizes the microbes in tiger saliva and lessens the pain drastically, he said.

Chaudhuri also stated that the roots and leaves of the plant could prove very useful for medicine extraction in common cases of septicaemia, when most drugs fail.
The plant has been sighted even at Panihati in North 24-Parganas district, Chaudhuri said at the seminar on "Conservation of Biodiversity and Sustainable use of Biological Resources".
The seminar was organised on September 1 by the Guru Nanak Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology with the help of West Bengal Biodiversity Board.