Wed, Sep 09, 2026 page2

• Government patents Saisiyat orange research to protect indigenous knowledge in global first

  • By Yang Yuan-ting and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency has patented traditional methods of utilizing the medicinal properties of Citrus taiwanica and plans to license it to the Saisiyat people, marking the world’s first government-led effort to patent indigenous knowledge to return the benefits to its traditional holders.

  The agency signed a letter of intent with the Saisiyat Forestry and Labor Cooperative today on licensing cooperation.

  The Citrus taiwanica, also known as kata’iyok or the Nanjhuang orange (南庄橙), is known for its sour flavor.

  

  Representatives of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency and the Saisiyat community pose at a news conference in Taipei today.

  Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency

  It was named by a Japanese botanist in 1926 after they discovered it in the Penglai (蓬萊) area of Miaoli County.

  Once numbering fewer than five trees, the plant has been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

  It was also listed as one of Taiwan’s 107 valuable tree species as part of the agency’s 2019 project to catalog Taiwan’s native forest species, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said.

  

  Products made from Citrus taiwanica, also known as kata’iyok or Nanjhuang orange, are pictured at an event in Taipei today.

  Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times

  The agency began managing forests with the Saisiyat community in Penglai in 2018, and after consulting with native peoples, brought 5,000 seedlings to their native habitat, Lin said.

  The orange is known by the Saisiyat people as “kata’iyok,” meaning “food prepared by mother,” Saisiyat community elder Ken Chih-yu (根誌優) said.

  Saisiyat people would grind the dried oranges into powder and drink it with water when they fell ill, Ken said.

  The agency commissioned National Taiwan University horticulture professor Lin Shu-yen (林書妍) to study the fruit’s uses, finding that that an extract derived from the orange reduced indicators of pneumonia in mouse trials.

  As Taiwan does not have a law dedicated to protecting traditional indigenous intellectual property, the agency decided — with the Saisiyat community’s consent — to first patent the research findings to ensure that any benefits could be shared fairly with the community from which they came, Lin said.

  This is the first time globally that a government has patented research related to a traditional indigenous resource with the intent to license it to the community with the goal of sharing the resulting commercial benefits, Lin said.

  Prosperity Plaza (萬家福, formerly Carrefour hypermarket) would make long-term purchases to establish a stable supply of raw materials and steady benefits for the Saisiyat, while Keya Jam (柯亞果醬) would return 5 percent of its revenue from Citrus taiwanica products to indigenous peoples, he said.

  The company used the oranges to make jam for the Dalemain World Marmalade Awards in the UK, winning gold and other top prizes.

  The fruit’s tartness and thick peel make it less suitable for eating fresh, but excellent for processing into other products, Keya said, describing the jam as distinctive and refreshing.

  Dan Lepard, then-chair of the competition, praised the orange as a quiet, but powerful voice from Taiwan and a warm gift to the world, saying the agency was preserving not only an endangered species, but also traditional culture.
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