The project of extracting a new vaccine adjuvant from 'Ashwagandha' (Withania somnifera), a medicinal plant used in Ayurveda as an immunity enhancer, was sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology and was jointly executed by the researchers from Pune based Serum Institute of India (SII) and University of Pune's Inter-disciplinary School of Health Sciences (ISHS).
The researchers already received a patent on this in India in 2007, but the US patent was granted on August 6, 2013.
The adjuvant extracted from Ashwagandha is believed to improve vaccine efficacy. Further, the adjuvant showed properties where it could be useful in new vaccine development such as the pentavalent vaccine targeting meningitis, or those against dengue, pneumococcal diseases, polio, diphtheria, tetanus and hepatitis and also holds promise against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
The researchers have clarified that unlike earlier instances where companies tried to patent turmeric, for example, the patent here was in an area not claimed by Ayurveda.
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