Did it ever occur to you that eating red ant chutney could save you from the deadly virus in the air? But don’t get you hopes high as it is not confirmed yet.
Last year in June 2020 an engineer, Nayadhar Padhial hailing from Baripada submitted a proposal of using red ant chutney as a cure for Covid-19 to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). When Padhial didn’t get any response regarding the proposal, he filed the PIL at Odisha High Court.
Recently, the Odisha High Court directed the Union Ministry of AYUSH and the Director-General of CSIR to take a decision within 3 months for the use of the tribal recipe to treat Covid-19.
The chutney is prepared by mixing red ants and green chili which is often used by some tribes in Odisha and Chhattisgarh to treat cough, flu, cold, breathing issues etc. It is believed to contain anti-bacterial properties helpful to combat digestion related problems. The petition also mentioned presence of protein, calcium, and zinc content in the chutney.
If the claims hold true, this development can save millions of Indians. Since the ingredients are cheaply locally available, it could be easily produced, distributed and administered.
(Feature image source: Unexplored Chattisgarh)
