Trichopus zeylanicus

Taxobox
name = Trichopus zeylanicus
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Dioscoreales
familia = Dioscoreaceae
genus = Trichopus
species = "Trichopus zeylanicus"

"Trichopus zeylanicus" is a plant found in the Agastya Koodam ranges in Kerala, India. While rare, it has been in use for century by natives, ie, The Kanni, A Tribal Community Of Southern Kerala, thanks to its medicinal properties [http://www.medind.nic.in/imvw/imvw106.html] The properties of "Trichopus zeylanicus " was discovered accidentally. On a scientific expedition to the Agasthiar Hills in the Western Ghats in December 1987, scientists noticed that the guides, belonging to the Kani tribe, were very energetic in sharp contrast to themselves. They had walked for several hours with the scientists — the difference was that they ate the fruits of a wild plant (Trichopus zeylanicus) as they walked. It was found from the Kanni men that it was indeed the fruits they were eating that made them energetic, a fact about the plant well known to the tribe for ages.fact|date=November 2007 The malayalam name of the plant is "Arogya pacha" - literally meaning "the green that gives strength" Antimicrobial activities of T.zeylanicus was proved by Saj and Mansa (2007) University college, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, {M.Phil thesis, University of Kerala}It showed high activity against 8 strains of bacteria and 8 strains of fungi studied.fact|date=November 2007