TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A nearly extinct citrus traditionally used by the Saisiyat for food, medicine, and ritual has been brought back from the brink, while research into its medicinal applications has received patent protection.
Known as “Nanzhuang orange” (南庄橙) and called “kata’iyok” in Saisiyat, meaning “food prepared by mother,” Citrus taiwanica was first recorded by Japanese botanists in 1926 in what is now Penglai Village in Nanzhuang Township.
Habitat loss and low economic value reduced wild trees to fewer than five. This earned it a “critically endangered” rating from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, per Liberty Times on Wednesday.
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, working with the Saisiyat Penglai community since 2019, has helped replant more than 5,000 trees and develop value-added products such as jams and spice blends. Laboratory studies commissioned by the agency found that water extracts of the fruit reduced pneumonia-related indicators in mice.
The research supported a patent covering compositions containing processed Nanzhuang orange and their use in preventing or treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶), FANCA’s director-general, called the case rare internationally for using patents to protect traditional knowledge. IPCF Indigenous News said he hopes it can serve as a model for other Indigenous crops and benefit the community from which the traditional knowledge originated.
Saisiyat elder Ken Chih-you (根誌優) said the fruit has traditionally been eaten by community members, used to treat colds, and offered in rituals.
