Manipur scientist blends special tea, claims it as preventive for COVID-19

Imphal: Ginger is claimed to be a key ingredient in the battle against COVID-19 as a Manipur scientist formulates a special ginger tea and a non-alcoholic beer, named 3Ginger, to prevent the infection from influenza viruses such as corona.

“As a patient of Leukemia, I formulated this formula for my own use initially. Later on, I thought this may help people to keep good health and prevent diseases like corona and common flu. I have been consuming it for the last one year or so,” says Dr Rajkumar Kishor, managing director and chief Sscientist, Kwaklei, and Khongunmelei Orchids Pvt. Ltd., an orchid breeding company based in Imphal, Manipur.

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The beverages would be a combination of three different types of ginger, one which is the commonly found zingiber officinale. Upon being subjected to patients suffering from Corona, Dr Kishor has claimed that the tea has brought about relief and has especially helped in dry cough.

With 0.1 or 0.2 percent alcohol in the beer would make it more effective as it enhances the medicinal properties of the ginger plants but how far will the society accept it, wonders the scientist from Manipur.

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On ginger, Dr Kishor says, “Gingers of various types have bio-active molecules and antioxidant properties, furthermore these plants have no toxicity which means that there is no health hazard in taking it.”

The difficulty has been in mass production as the availability of the other two types of ginger is quite limited and can only be acquired from the wild as mentioned by Dr Kishor.

Back in 2006, Dr Kishore produced which he claims to be “India’s hottest chili hybrid” of which one of the parents is Bhut Jolokia or U-morok in Manipur and another is capsicum frutescens. Later, it has been genetically stabilised for human consumption.

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