Materia Medica Malaysiana

Researcher nominated for Nobel Prize

A Malaysian researcher’s studies on the potency of seeds, beans and cereals as natural preventive medicines has put him in the running for a Nobel Prize.

Professor Ananthan Krishnan, 53, a pharmacist, conducted six years of research into the benefits of alternative medicine, resulting in breakthrough medicinal formulae. This prompted three institutions from Canada and the US to nominate him for the Nobel Prize in Natural Medicine.

The Alternative Medicine Research Institution (AMRI), Weston Reserve University (WRU) in Canada and the American College of Integrated Medicine in the US will jointly nominate Prof Ananthan for the prize, which honours outstanding individuals in different fields for their contributions to the world.

Natural medicine is a new category, introduced only last year, so the nomination is all the more meaningful for Prof Ananthan, whose main aim is to promote a healthier alternative to allopathic ("normal" or "Western") medicine.

"As a pharmacist for 18 years, I saw sick people pumping themselves with medications which were basically chemicals that could create a degeneration of the body's major organs in the long run," he said.

"I have seen the good and bad of allopathic medicines. The drugs might work to cure a patient of his illness but they leave side effects which, over time, can have an adverse effect on the kidney, liver, lungs and heart." Dr Ananthan's search for safer alternatives led him to conduct research on natural substances with medicinal properties, consumed by humans for centuries.

Through studying traditional treatments such as ayurveda and homeopathy, he discovered that the safest and most potent substances for the promotion of good health and healing were edible spices, beans and cereals.

He set up the A. K. Pharmacy and Naturopathy Centre in 1996, and in six years treated nearly 12,000 patients for various ailments.

The results were astounding. Diabetes, hypertension, gastric problems, hormonal imbalances and allergies were some of the many health problems successfully treated.

Prof Ananthan's research was carefully documented in his doctoral dissertation on "The Use of Spices, Beans and Cereals in the Prevention and Management of Human Health Problems".

Impressed with his findings, the renowned institutions for alternative medicine decided to submit his name as a candidate for the Nobel Prize this year.

With the honour and prestige that comes with being nominated, Prof Ananthan remains modest, being interested only in promoting good health for everyone.

"I live by the policy of ‘learn, earn and serve'. What I have learnt so far is to be put to use for the good of the people," he said.

Prof Ananthan was also recently appointed to head the first AMRI in Malaysia, which will serve as a hub for alternative medicine research and studies.