Desperate times, desperate measures! The search for alternative magic cure to Coronavirus, has led us to try from mouth wash and weird concoctions to what not. Did the answer lie in red ants and green chillies all along?
The Orissa High Court has issued orders to directors general of Ayush Ministry and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to take a decision on the proposal that red ant chutney can be used as a remedy for the treatment of Covid-19. The High Court has given a time of three months to CSIR for the said decision.
So what is red ant chutney?
Made primarily from red ants and green chillies, red ant chutney is traditionally used as a remedy for flu, cough, cold, breathing difficulties and other flu related ailments. Used as a medicine in the tribal belts of the country, including states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, red ant chutney is also a local delicacy in Chhattigarh's Bastar where it goes by the name of Chapda chutney.
"Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this court disposes of the writ petition and directs the director-general of the ministry of Ayush and the director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to take a decision on the representation filed by the petitioner and pass appropriate order within three months," said the division bench comprising justice BR Sarangi and Justice Pramath Patnaik, in the order dated December 24.
The high court issued the directive on a public interest litigation filed by Baripada-based engineer Nayadhar Padhial. The PIL sought the high court's intervention to ensure there is some action on the proposal for research on the efficacy of red ant chutney in the treatment of Covid-19.
Nayadhar Padhial sent his proposal on efficacy of red ant chutney to the CSIR on June 23 and to the Ayush Ministry on July 7.
It is believed that the villagers in the tribal belt wander around the forest lands looking for a sizeable number of red ants to make a chutney of these ants and their eggs. Red ant chutney has a strong pungent flavour (courtesy the formic acid contained in the ants) and several medicinal properties, including nutritional value.
Formic acid has many anti-bacterial properties and the red ants are rich in proteins, zinc, copper, potassium, calcium and Cobalamine. It is pertinent to note, that red ants have the ability to sting and cause painful bites.
