Ahmedabad, Aug 9 - Ravaged by chronic renal failure, Radha Gulale looked more like a bloated 60 kg woman than the 10-year-old she was. Doctors had given her only a few months to live when her distressed parents approached a tribal healer in Gujarat, who gave her the proverbial new lease of life in what experts say is an affirmation of the healing tradition.

Sharebroker R.K. Patel, 47, has a similar tale. He spent hundreds of thousands of rupees for treatment of his 18-year problem of piles but it was not until he went to a tribal healer in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, that he was cured. It took six doses of a herbal concoction for the cure he terms 'miraculous'.

The two examples are some of the many documented by Ahmedabad-based microbiologist and ethno-botanist Deepak Acharya to highlight the efficacy of India's amazing healing traditions perfected by tribal healers for practically every known illness and infection through centuries of observation and experimentation and rooted in a thorough grasp of plant lore.

What they have nurtured and preserved through oral tradition, making India a global repository of such trusted remedies, is in very real danger of perishing with the present generation shying away from the calling.

Acharya, 34, who has also been featured on the covers of The Wall Street Journal, hopes to make a difference with his company, Abhumka Herbals, founded here in 2007 with a modest capital of Rs.40 lakh (Rs.4 million). It is based on an entrepreneurial model of tribal cooperation and empowerment, besides profit sharing.

He is launching a limited number of formulations this year with his business partner, Manish Singh. One of them is DudhNahar, a cattle-feed synthesised from 16 natural herbs, that is already in the market. After critical evaluation by ISO 9001: 2000 certified labs, it has been found to boost milk output by 20 to 25 percent in a month.

'The formulation has also been certified to be free of steroids, side-effects, toxicity and hormones and completely safe for cattle, as compared to synthetic products to force more milk out of cattle artificially,' Acharya told IANS.

Next in line are four kinds of candies. One of them, for kids and lactating women, acts as a preventive medication for digestive problems, mouth infections, teeth and gum related problems.