It has been used for centuries by the
Kaani tribal community of the
Agastya Koodam ranges in
Tamil Nadu and
Kerala, India, for its medicinal properties. Modern Indian scientists learned the medical properties of
Trichopus zeylanicus in December 1987 while on a scientific expedition to the Agasthia Hills in the
Western Ghats. They noticed that their guides, belonging to the Kaani tribe, were very energetic in sharp contrast to themselves. They had walked for several hours with the scientists, but the difference was that they ate the fruits of a wild plant
T. zeylanicus as they walked. It was found from the Kaani 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. Historically, the members of the tribes called the plant 'chathan kalanji' literally meaning 'satan destroyer'. The more popular name of the plant, "Arogya pacha" (literally meaning "the green that gives strength") was given to it by the scientists. Detailed chemical and pharmacological investigations showed that the leaf of the plant contained
flavonoid glycosides,
glycolipids and some other non-steroidal compounds. In the article published in www.ijpcbs.com showed the antibacterial and antifungal activities of the leaf extract against 8 bacterial and 8 fungal strains. ==Legal issues==