``The department of science and technology is currently examining the instance of US patents to karela and jamun and a decision will be taken only after that,'' the minister told reporters here.

A patent number 5,900,240 was granted recently to Cromak Research Inc. based in New Jersey to a team comprising two non-resident Indian scientists Onkar S Tomer and Kripanath Borah, and their colleague Peter Glomski.

The patent was granted on edible herbal compositions comprising mixtures of at least two Indian herbs selected from a group consisting of syzygium cumini, popularly known as jamun; momordica charantia (bitter gourd or karela); solanum melongena (brinjal or egg plant) and gymnemasylvestre (gurmar) for their use in reducing sugar levels.

Earlier inaugurating a seminar on research and development (R&D) in business, the minister warned the scientific community against being over-influenced by the domestic corporate sector.

``A situation where the entire R&D is driven by market forces does not augur well for the country," he said.