INTERNATIONAL CONCLAVE ON MEDICINAL

PLANTS FOR ASEAN AND BIMSTEC COUNTRIES

During 11-13 December, 2008

Organised by :

FOREST DEPARTMENT
GOVERNMENT OF MANIPUR
in collaboration with
NATIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS BOARD
DEPARTMENT OF AYUSH, MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FW,
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

with support from

WHO, INDIA
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIES
AND MINISTRY OF DONER,
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Gram
Phone

: PRINCFOR
: 2220165(O)
: 2229516(R)
Fax
: 2222504
Forest Department
Govt. of Manipur
Sanjenthong, Imphal-795001

S.SINGSIT IFS
Principal Chief Conservator
of Forests

FOREWORD

The global acceptance and accelerated

growth in demand of traditional medicine will go
a long way in boosting medicinal plants sector in
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) countries. They have geographical
contiguity and strong traditional linkages. Further,
they collectively have diverse and almost all kinds
of forest types, which are repository of immensely
valuable and large varieties of medicinal plants.
These medicinal plants need to be used
sustainably for supporting livelihood systems of
their citizens and conserved for posterity and
perpetuity. According to an estimate of WHO in
2002, the global market of traditional therapies
stands at $60 billions and is growing steadily.
Further global market for medicinal herbs and
herbal products is estimated to touch US$ 5 trillion
by 2050. These traditional systems of medicine
are heavily dependent on the medicinal plants for
their drugs and therapies. With the accelerated
acceptance of traditional medicine, the demand
of medicinal plants would also grow substantially.
India has taken a lead by establishing National
Medicinal Plants Board as an agency for
coordinating all aspects of medicinal plants.
However, in most of ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries medicinal plant sector is disorganised.
The Forest Department, Government of
Manipur in collaboration with National Medicinal
Plant Board, Department of AYUSH, Ministry
I

of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India

and with support from WHO, India; Department
of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and
Industries and Ministry of DONER, Government
of India organized an International Conclave
on Medicinal plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries at Imphal to deliberate all important
dimensions of the sector particularly, with
reference to these countries during 11-13
December, 2008. The conclave was attended by
251 delegates including official representatives of
12 ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries viz. Bhutan,
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, India and
International Organisations viz. FAO and
TRAFFIC. The Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and
Uttarkhand, Chief Executive Officer, National
Medicinal Plants Board, Director, CCRAS and
Central Government institutions, State
Government Departments, Officers of Forest
Department, Manipur, manufacturers of
traditional medicines, collectors and farmers of
medicinal plants, research scholars, students etc.
attended the conclave. It provided a platform to
deliberate whole spectrum of opportunities and
issues and come out with a comprehensive
recommendations. The five working groups of
the conclave came out with comprehensive sets
of recommendations on Conservation, Collection
and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants,
Cultivation of Medicinal Plants, Processing &

articles from eminent academician and

professionals across ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries. I congratulate all authors of the articles
and Chairman, Co-chairman and Rapporteurs of
the Working Groups for maintaining very high
standards in quality of deliberations and
recommendations. Hopefully the articles and
recommendations of this conclave would serve
as useful reference material for the policy makers,
planners, professionals, manufacturers, traders,
students etc and guide across the globe in general
and ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries in particular
for deciding their future of action, giving a boost
to the sector and tapping its potentiality.

Marketing, Traditional Knowledge and Trade

among BIMSTEC countries.
The
recommendations include establishment of
network of Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas
(MPCAs), establishment of producers company,
recognition of system of each other country, no
tariff for medicinal plants products,
documentation of traditional knowledge, specie
wise Good Agricultural and Collection Practices,
adoption of standards prescribed by WHO with
respect to contaminants etc. This would also go
a long way in providing a road map for enhancing
cooperation and much needed boosting the sector
and trade among the member countries.
The proceedings contain excellent set of

( S. Singsit )

II

Phone-0385-2449628
Fax-0385-2449628
e-mail: balaprased
1959@hotmail.com

Bala Prasad
Chief Conservator of Forests Territorial &
Protection No.2

Preface

In the international market there is

accelerated growth in demand of natural
products, including traditional medicine
pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics,
which contain medicinal plants products.
According to an estimate of WHO in 2002, the
global market of traditional therapies stood at
$60,000 millions and was growing steadily.
Further global market for medicinal herbs and
herbal products is estimated to touch US$ 5 trillion
by 2050. Almost all market surveys at macro level
have indicated sustained growth of medicinal
plants products, including traditional medicine.
With the epidemiological shift and increase in life
expectancy, treating diabetes, cancer,
cardiovascular, geriatric problems, trauma, mental
cases, nutrient deficiencies particularly, among the
women and children etc. have occupied the central
stage of public health agenda. Traditional systems
of medicine have strength of their drugs and
therapy to manage these diseases. These traditional
systems of medicine are heavily dependent on the
medicinal plants for their drugs and therapies.
With the accelerated growth of acceptance of
traditional medicine and other sister natural
products sectors, the demand of medicinal plants
has registered substantial growth and expected to
grow consistently.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) countries have geographical
contiguity and strong traditional linkages
III

Forest Department
Sanjenthong, Manipur795001

regarding medicinal plants products. The global

acceptance and accelerated domestic growth in
demand in ASEAN and BIMSTEC will go a long
way in boosting medicinal plants sector in these
countries. In this context, an International
Conclave on Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC Countries was organized at Imphal
during 11-13 December, 2008 by Forest
Department, Government of Manipur in
collaboration with National Medicinal Plants
Board, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India and with
support from WHO, India. Department of
Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industries
and Ministry of DONER, Government of India
for understanding emerging national and global
scenario with respect to medicinal plants;
reviewing the status of medicinal plants sector in
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries; deliberating
strategy for conservation, collection, cultivation,
processing and marketing of commercially
important medicinal plants, traditional knowledge
associated with medicinal plants and promoting
trade of medicinal plants products, including
traditional medicine, particularly with reference
to member countries. A comprehensive set of
recommendations evolved during the conclave
after intense deliberations. The recommendations
include establishment of network of Medicinal
Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs),
establishment of producers company, recognition
of system of each other country, no tariff for
medicinal plants products, documentation of

traditional knowledge, specie wise Good

Agricultural and collection practices, adoption of
standards prescribed by WHO w.r.t. contaminants
etc.
The proceedings include Executive Summary,
recommendations, program and all papers
presented during the conclave. The papers cover
all important dimensions of important aspects of
medicinal plants particularly with reference to
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries. They
contained the country paper of twelve member
countries, prepared by their office representatives.
The proceedings also contains the papers of
eminent experts and reflects contemporary
development of science and technology in this
sector.
Hopefully, the papers and
recommendations would be useful for policy
maker, researcher, manufacturer, traders and
students etc.
I acknowledge our indebtedness to Shri Th.
Debendra Singh, Honble Minister, Revenue,
Forests & Envt., Law and Legal Affairs, Govt. of
Manipur; Shri Ph. Parijat Singh, Honble Minister,
Health & Family Welfare, Government of
Manipur; Shri Rakesh, Chief Secretary, Manipur
t; Smt. Anita Das, former Secretary, Department
of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
Govt. of India; Shri A.N. Jha, Principal Secretary
(Forest & Envt.), Manipur; Shri B. S. Sajwan,
CEO, NMPB, Ministry of Health & F.W., Govt.
of India for encouraging us and participating in

the ceremonial functions.

I owe thanks and gratitude to Shri S. Singsit,
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,
Government of Manipur for giving me the
opportunity to coordinate the organization of this
conclave and function as Chairman of the
Technical Committee. I feel immense pleasure in
expressing my heartfelt regards and profound
sense of gratitude to Chairman, Co Chairman,
Rapporteurs of all Technical Sessions and
Working Group Committee, representatives of
twelve ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries, viz.
Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,
India; all resource persons; International
Organisations; and Representatives of FAO and
TRAFFIC; Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Madhya Pradesh; Meghalaya and
Uttarkhand; Director, CCRAS and Central
Government institutions; State Government
Departments, Officers of Forest Department,
Manipur, all delegates. I would like to convey
my special thanks to all Chairman and members
of Coordination Committee, Technical
Committee, Arrangement Sub- Committee,
Accommodation Sub- Committee, Catering SubCommittee, Exhibition Sub- Committee, Field
Visit sub- Committee, Media Sub- Committee for
contributing in organizing the conclave in
professional manner.

( Bala Prasad )

IV

C O N T E N T S
Foreword
Preface
Contents
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CONCLAVE
Inaugural functions
1. Welcome Address - Shri S. Singsit
2. Keynote Address - Shri B.S Sajwan
3. Presidential Address - Smt. Anita Das
4. Address By Chief Guest - Shri Th. Debendra Singh
5. Vote of Thanks - Bala Prasad
Technical Session I - Emerging Global Scenario and Potential
and Prospects of Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries
6. Medicinal Plant for Economic Livelihood
- Anita Das & Bala Prasad
7. Emerging Global Scenario of Medicinal Plants
- A. K. Sinha
8. Opportunities for cultivation of Medicinal and
Aromatic Plants in India - Satyabrata Maiti
9. Quantitative Assessment of an International Standard on
Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
(ISSC MAP) to evolving a step by step process for adoption
and adaptation.
10. Recent Research on Medicinal Plants in ICFRE
ICFRE Organization - Lokho Puni
11. Research in Medicinal Plant - Dr.G.S.Lavekar
Technical session II - Commercially Important Species for ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries and expectations of Traditional Medicine
Industries
12. Management & Marketing of Medicinal Plants
in Madhya pradesh: A success story - P.K. Shukla
13. Appropriate technology for quality control of
Ayurvedic Siddha & Unanu Drugs - Dr. Lohar
14. Quality Assurance and Traceability is the key to successful
marketing of Medicinal, Aromatic and Dye Plants (MADPs)
- Subhash Mehta
15. Unani Medicine in India An Introduction
- Dr. Khalid M. Siddiqui & Dr. M. Khalid Siddiqui
16. Expectations of Traditional Healers in Manipur
- N. Tombi Raj

I
III
V
1
3

9
11
15
17
19

22

32

36

39
50

58

67

75

89
92

98

Technical session III - Access, Benefit Sharing and Policy

Framework on Protection of Traditional Knowledge Associated
with Medicinal Plants
17. Traditional Knowledge of digital library - Dr. V. K. Gupta
18. Biodiversity Conservation through Biological Diversity Act
- K. Venkataraman
Technical session IV - Current Status including regulatory regime
of Medicinal Plants and their products in ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries
19. Country Paper of Bangladesh - A.K.M. Haruner Rashid
Present Status of Cultivation, Collection, Processing, Marketing
of Medicinal Plants and Plant Products including Traditional
Medicine and Regulatory aspects
20. Country Paper of Bhutan - Raling Ngawang Drukdra
Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC COUNTIRES,
submitted to International Conclave
21. Country paper of Brunei - Dr. Chua Kui Hong
The Challenges Ahead of Traditional/Complementary &
Alternative Medicine, Brunei Darussalam
22. Country paper of Cambodia - Mrs. Nouv PHALLA
23. Counrty paper of India - Bikram Singh Sajwan
24. Country paper of Indonesia
MEDICINAL PLANT IN INDONESIA : from plant to patients
25. Country paper of Loas - Mr. Vilaysack Xayasan
Traditional Medicine situation in Lao People's Democratic
Republic (Lao PDR)
26. Country paper of Malaysia - Dr. Sulaikah V.K Moideen
REVIEW OF MEDICINAL PLANTS STATUS IN MALAYSIA
27. Country paper of Nepal - Dharmatma Lal Srivastava
Resources of Nepalese Medicinal and Aromatic Plants:
Status and Development
28. Paper of Sri Lanka - Frank Niranjan
Medicinal Plant Industry in Sri Lanka
29. Country paper of Thialand - Anchalee Chuthaputti &
Passara Chawapradit
Current Situation of Medicinal Plant Cultivation and
Utilization in Thailand
30. Country paper of Vietnam
Status of Medicinal plant in Vietnam
31. Marketing of Medicinal Plants and Creation of
Livelihood Experiences from Uttarakhand
VI

103
106

119

124

133

135
137
149

152

154

158

171

192

199

203

Dr RBS Rawat, IFS& SM Joshi, IFS

32. Suatainable harvesting of Kalmegh - Dr. Tripathi
33. Strategy for development of medicinal plants sector
in ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries
Valedictory Session
34. Welcome Address - Sri Thambou
36. Speech by Guest of Honour - Smt. A.N. Jha
37. Speech by Guest of Honour - Smt. Anita Das
38. Presidential Speech - Shri Rakesh
39. Speech by Chief Guest - Shri Parijat
40. Vote of thanks - Shri Balaprasad
Field Visit
41. Report on visit of delegates of the International conclave on
Medicinal plants of ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries to Institute
of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development,Imphal, Manipur,
India
42. Report on visit of delegates of the International conclave on
Medicinal plants of ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries to
Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur, India
43. Programme
43.LIST of delegates
44.Organising Committee
45. Photograph of Resource persons

VII

209
217

226
228
230
232
234
236

241

243

245
251
262
266

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTERNATIONAL CONCLAVE ON MEDICINAL
PLANTS FOR ASEAN AND BIMSTEC COUNTRIES AT
IMPHAL DURING 11-13 DECEMBER, 2008
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) countries have geographical
contiguity and strong traditional linkages. The
global acceptance and accelerated domestic
growth in demand will go a long way in boosting
medicinal plants sector in ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries. In this context, the International
Conclave on Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries was organized in Jubilee
Hall, Regional Institute of Medical Sciences at
Imphal during 11-13 December, 2008 by Forest
Department, Government of Manipur in
collaboration with National Medicinal Plants
Board, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India and with
support from WHO, India, Department of
Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industries
and Ministry of DONER, Government of India.
The conclave was organized for achieving
following objectives :
To understand emerging national and
global scenario with respect to
medicinal plants
To review the status of medicinal plants
sector in ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries
To deliberate strategy for conservation,
collection, cultivation, processing and
marketing of commercially important
medicinal plants
To discuss strategy and action plan for
the optimal development of the sector
To identify areas and involve strategy
and modalities for the collaboration
among ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries

To examine all aspects of IPR issues,

associated with medicinal plants including
their trans-boundary availability and develop
road map for benefit sharing from commercial
utilization of traditional knowledge
To identify and undertake comparative
analysis of options for market authorization
of medicinal plants products
To promote trade of medicinal plants
products including traditional medicine
The conclave was attended by 251
delegates including representatives of 12
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries, viz. Bhutan,
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, India and
International
Organisations
and
Representatives of FAO and TRAFFIC.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,
Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttarkhand,
Chief Executive Officer, National Medicinal
Plants Board, Director, CCRAS and Central
Government institutions, State Government
Departments, Officers of Forest Department,
Manipur, manufacturers of traditional
medicines, collectors and farmers of medicinal
plants, research scholars, students etc.
participated in the deliberation of the conclave.
The conclave was organized with four
technical sessions on Emerging Global Scenario
and Potential and Prospects of Medicinal Plants
for ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries,
commercially important species for ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries; Access Benefit
Sharing and Policy Framework as Protection
of Traditional Knowledge Associated with
Medicinal Plants and their products in
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.

of system of each other country, no tariff for

medicinal plants products, documentation of
traditional knowledge, specie wise Good
Agricultural and collection practices, adoption of
standards prescribed by WHO w.r.t. contaminants
etc.
On 13th December, 2008, the last day of the
conclave the delegates visited Institute of
Bioresources and Sustainable Development,
and also Keibul Lamjao National Park, which
is the only floating national park, and home of
brow-antlered deer, Sangai in the whole world
and famous for its unique eco-system.
On the sideline of the International
Conclave the exhibition was organized with
its Companies, Research Organization,
National Institution participated and put up
stalls in the exhibition and their activities on
the products. The participants of the exhibition
included Central Council of Research in
Ayurveda and Siddha and Central Council of
Research in Unani medicine and Shri
Badyanath etc. It is felt that the objectives of
organizing the conclave was achieved
successfully.
The delegates were very happy with the
quality of deliberation, recommendations and
arrangements of the conclave.

The conclave was inaugurated on 11.12.2008

by Shri Th. Debendra Singh, Hon'ble Minister,
Revenue, Forests & Envt., Law and Legal Affairs,
Govt. of Manipur and presided by Smt. Anita
Das, former Secretary, AYUSH, Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India.
The technical session of the conclave was
concluded on 12th December, 2008. The
valedictory function was graced by Shri Ph. Parijat
Singh, Hon'ble Minister, Health & Family
Welfare, Government of Manipur as Chief Guest
and Shri Rakesh, Chief Secretary, Manipur as
President. Shri A.N. Jha, Principal Secretary
(Forest & Envt.), Manipur, Smt. Anita Das,
former Secretary, AYUSH, Ministry of Health
& Family Welfare, Govt. of India, Shri B. S.
Sajwan, CEO, NMPB, Ministry of Health &
F.W., Govt. of India also attended the function
as Guest of Honour besides other dignitaries.
On the second day the delegates were
distributed in five working groups to
deliberate and come out with comprehensive
sets of recommendations on Conservation,
Collection and Sustainable Management of
Medicinal Plants, Cultivation of Medicinal
Plants, Process & Marketing, Traditional
Knowledge and Trade among BIMSTEC
countries. The recommendations include
establishment of network of MPCAs,
establishment of producers company, recognition

RECOMMENDATION OF THE CONCLAVE

WORKING GROUP-I
"Conservation, Collection and Sustainable
Management of Medicinal Plants"
Chairperson : Mr. Giridhar Kinhal, Member,
Decision Group of the ISSC- MAP Development
Process, Bangalore, India
Co-Chairperson: Mr. S. P. Tripathi,
Director, Ministry for Development of North
Eastern region, Government of India
Rapporteur: Mr. K. S. Tawmbing,
Divisional Forest Officer, Social Forestry
Division No. IV, Government of Manipur,
India

should take inputs from experts in planning,

implementing and monitoring action plan.
6. Medicinal plants along with associated
traditional knowledge should be documented
in comprehensive manner including their
quantitative assessment.
7. Wild collection of medicinal plants
should be carried out with resource inventory,
assessment and monitoring the impact on
collection.
8. The resource assessment should be
carried out meticulously to ascertain growing
stock and zone of influence, which would
help in prioritization of the species to be
collected.
9. Resource augmentation in the form of
enrichment planting and silvicultural
operation should be carried out wherever the
resource stock of the prioritized species falls
short of viable limit.
10. To have quality produces on
sustainable basis, rationalization of
the
tapping and augmentation of the resources
need to be made.
11. Some portion of the revenue
accruing from sale of the produce should be
ploughed back in augmenting the resources.
12. Sustainable harvesting regime for each
commercially important species in each Forest
Types / Sub-Types/ agro climatic zones should
be worked out with due considerations of
pharmacopoeial standards.
13.Good
Collection
Practices,
recommended by World Health Organisation
should be followed till the time respective
countries develop their own such practices.
For medicinal plants species, particularly for
those, which are destructively harvested,
species specific & good collection practices
should be developed in each Forest Types /
Sub Types / agro-climatic zone.

Recommendations:
1. There is an urgent need to conserve
medicinal plants by establishing chain of
Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas
(MPCAs), taking into account the biological (
taxonomic identity, distribution &
population), social ( awareness, ownership &
alternatives) and legal ( tenure & benefit
sharing) aspects in all Forest Types / SubTypes/ agro climatic zones so that there is
sufficient and viable gene base.
2. Viable populations of prioritized
species and unique habitat / eco-systems should
be conserved for their long term survival with
sustainably compensating the people, who are
going to be deprived from their livelihood
support systems due to the conservation.
3. Cultural and traditional practices need
to be scientifically updated, whenever,
necessary, while setting a sense of ownership
among the local villagers.
4. There should be comprehensive
management plan for MPCAs, including
actions, required for recovery of species or
habitat / eco-systems.
5. The management of MPCAs should be
in the hand of community. However, they
3

5. MAP cultivation should be directed at

nutrition, health and food security, especially
in marginal / vulnerable environments where
the poor live, and guided by concerns of
national food sovereignty, right to nutrition,
health, food and equity.
6. Facilitating farmers' access to markets
and other support services would be critical
for the success of cultivation of MAP. Producer
companies (PCs), by, of and for the farmers,
staffed by professionals should be established
to take over all risks and responsibilities, other
than farming and on farm activities, which are
essential for this purpose.
7. Harmonisation of prices of cultivated
and collected produce can and should be done
through mechanism of the local Producer
Company. Both cultivated and collected
medicinal plants should have the local Producer
Company as their first destination. After
aggregation and value addition they can be sold
by the Producer Company.
8. The cultivation of medicinal plants
should be encouraged in cluster pattern.
9. The priority species for cultivation in
each cluster should be identified with the
participation of farmers and due consideration
of climatic and edaphic factors, their
profitability, marketing etc.
10. Extension services, including good
quality planting material and post harvest
support e.g. Cold storage facility, Ware housing, Organic Certification etc. should be
provided to the farmers through Forest
Department. Capacity building of Forest
Department may be done in this field.
11. For providing credit through
institutional banking / mechanism by
appropriate policy and systems, the farmers
may be organized into Self Help Group (SHG)
/ producer's company and they may also be
brought within a legal frameworks.
12. Agro-forestry models based on
medicinal plants should be developed for

14. Sustainable collection and management

of medicinal plants should be integral
components of Forest Management (Working)
Plan and Micro-plan.
15. Poor collectors should be organized
into Joint Forest Management Committee /
Self Help Group / Producer Company and
micro-finance / group finance be provided to
wean them away from money lenders. JFMCs
/ Self Help Groups should be provided a legal
framework.
16. The capacity building of the resource
managers and collectors including inculcation
of skills to implement management plan of the
area should be carried out.
17. Conservation efforts should be
compensated on sustained basis.
WORKING GROUP-II
Cultivation of Medicinal Plants
Chairperson: Mr. Subhash Mehta,
Trustee, Devarao Shivaram Trust,
Bangalore, India
Co-Chairperson: Mr. D. L. Srivastava,
Scientific Officer, Department of Plant
Resources, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
Rapporteur: Mr. H. Brajamani Sharma,
Divl. Forest Officer, Working Plan Division
No. I, Government of Manipur, India
Recommendations:
1. There is a need to redirect research on
MAP to farmer participatory mode on their
farm with active participation of NGOs,
buyers and Govt. institutions.
2. Paradigm shift in research is needed in
fresh "learning" framework recognizing
farmers as scientists. Working context should
be for small farm holders
3. MAP should follow agro-technologies
that are environmentally benign and part of
local farming systems.
4. Selection of MAP should have
traditional knowledge as the starting point.
4

7. Producer companies with collectors and

cultivators as share holders and staffed by
professionals should be set up with assistance
from the government and banks to facilitate
local value addition and assured returns to the
medicinal plant growers / collectors as well as
farmers in general.
8. Producer Companies, staffed by
professionals should be adopted as the most
appropriate mechanism for establishing
processing zone / centres.
9. Research and Development
Organisations should be involved for providing
testing facilities / quality assurance and
improved technology.
10. Safety standards w.r.t pesticide,
microbial load, contaminants, heavy metal etc.
and good manufacturing practices should be
followed.
11. Training in processing for value
addition for assuring quality to be provided
along with support for equipment adhering to
GMP norms to the Producer Company.
12. The standards of WHO w.r.t
contaminants e.g. heavy metals, pesticides,
microbial loads may be accepted.

different agro-climatic conditions.

13. Demonstration centres for medicinal
plants may be established in different areas,
which may also be used for seed source,
training, conservation centre, etc.
14. Good Agricultural practices (GAP)
should be adopted. For each important species,
specific GAP should be developed.
15. Contract farming or cultivation under
buy - back guarantee should be encouraged.
WORKING GROUP-III
Processing & Marketing
Chairperson - Mr. Tusar Dixit, Director,
RTD International, Mumbai, India
Co-Chairperson - Shri Pham Van Quyen,
Director
of
Business
Development, Vietnam.
Rapporteur - Mr. N. Sonzalian, Dy.
Conservator of Forests, Admn. & P l g .
Government of Manipur, India
Recommendations:
Processing
1.Primary Processing should be done at /
near the place where the raw materials are
growing / collected.
2. Trainings in primary value addition
should be imparted to the farmers for adding
primary value at the time of sale.
3. Processing units should take care of all
kinds of produces (including those for multi
purpose uses) so that they become viable.
4. For ensuring quality assurance, only
organic farming product should be used for
processing.
5. Demonstration unit (s) at one or two
places on pilot basis should be set up in each
district.
6. Storage, drying, curing and testing
facilities should be created on collective basis at
strategic locations.

Marketing
1. Marketing responsibility should be
taken up by Producer Company on behalf of
local cultivators, collectors and those adding
primary value. In the absence of Producer's
company, marketing of medicinal plants may
be organized through Forest Corporation /
Cooperatives / JFMC / Self Help Group etc.
2. Buyers - Seller meets and linkages for
technology transfer and product development
and upgradation in accordance with market
demands should be encouraged.
3. Primacy to local markets / nearby
markets in neighboring states / countries and
catering to local demand should be accorded.
4. Manufacturing / processing for sale to
national and international markets against firm
5

Siddha, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of

Health & Family Welfare, Government of
India
Co- Chairperson: Dr. K. Venkataraman,
Secretary, National Biodiversity
Authority,
Chennai, India
Rapporteur : Mrs. V. L. Roui Kullai, Dy.
Conservator of Forests, Wildlife (Hq.) and
Zoological Garden, Government of Manipur,
India

commitments should be promoted to protect

local producers from undue risks.
5. Marketing support including marketing
intelligence and support price should be
provided to farmers,
collectors and
entrepreneur.
6. Mandis should be established for
medicinal plants at strategic locations.
7. Medicinal Plants Processing Zone
should be established at strategic locations.
8 Industry Clusters of traditional
medicine should be established at advantageous
places.
9. Both Traditional Medicine Industry
Cluster and MPPZ should be coordinated and
dovetailed for efficiency in operations.
10. Brands, which comply WHO safety
standards, as prescribed in GACP, NPOP, ICSs
AND ISO should be promoted.
11. Certification of medicinal plants
should be encouraged. Certification standards
in general and species specific certification
standards for important species in particular
may be developed. The awareness and support
services for certification should be provided.
12. Research support for phyto- chemical
analysis, multi- locational trial of high yielding
varieties, development of clones of
commercially important species, certification
etc. should be provided.
13. Natural system of medicines need to
be brought under one umbrella, so that they
may be developed to better condition than the
conventional system of medicines (Allopathy).
14. There should be consultation among
member countries on certification processes,
which must address forestry certification and
pharmocopeial standards.

Recommendations:
1. The origin of genetic resource country
should be disclosed along with the traditional
knowledge (TK), if it is patented and
commercialized. There should be signed
agreement with the community / country from
which genetic resource / traditional knowledge
originates for benefit sharing process.
2. Traditional healers, Botanist,
Traditional Medicine Doctor should be
involved in documentation or recording the
claims (in appropriate form), which are to be
kept confidential by all concerned by signing
non disclosure agreement.
3. There should be a common format and
methodology for documentation along with
long term monitoring and translating into
practices and commercializing TK.
4. Concrete policy on safeguarding
traditional knowledge by the Govt. on the line
of Traditional Knowledge Digital Library
(TKDL) should be followed. TKDL should be
developed for every indigenous medicinal
system.
5. TK should be documented in local
language and translated in English and other
languages, recognized by United Nations.
6. Capacity building, including training
on documenting TK, awareness and education,
WORKING GROUP-IV
scientific cultivation, collection, preservation
Traditional Knowledge
of products etc, as well as negotiation for
Chairperson: Dr. G.S. Lavekar, Director, benefit sharing should be carried out.
Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and
7. Additional information pertaining to
6

academicians of ASEAN and BIMSTEC

countries.
2. Regulatory regime for the traditional
medicine in each country should promote trade
of medicinal plants including traditional
medicines of the member countries.
3. Exporting countries should ensure that
medicinal plant products being exported by the
manufacturers of their countries are safe. They
should fulfill WHO standards of Microbial
load and contaminants.
4. Batch wise certificate of safety should
be issued / validated (after certificate from
recognized private laboratory) by the
governmental agencies of the exporting
countries. However, the importing country has
the right to recheck the product.
5.Traditional medicines (classical drugs),
which are in use for generations should be
accepted. Those which are used for health
promotion and health maintenance should have
minimum requirement of standards.
6. Traditional medicines which are
claimed to treat certain serious disease
conditions should have some evidence for their
registration.
7. Medicinal plant products including
traditional medicines should not be subjected
to any tariff.
8. Exchange and sharing of information
including export and import items should be
promoted.
9. Along with the promotion of trade,
collaboration in research, education and
management of traditional medicinal system
should be encouraged.
10. Each ASEAN and BIMSTEC country
should recognize traditional medicinal systems
of other countries.

the known uses of plant should also be

documented.
8. TK should be acknowledged and
rewarded in suitable manner. The community
from whom the traditional knowledge is
procured should be a party of benefit sharing.
9. Traditional Knowledge should explore
all the aspect of traditional health care like
traditional pharma, traditional toxicology,
nutrition etc.
10. If value addition is done to the
knowledge, available in public domain and
made patentable, then the researcher should be
benefited.
11. Interconnectivity, collaboration and
multidisciplinary approach should be
promoted for preservation and applicability of
Traditional Knowledge.
12. An institute along with hospital
facilities should be established for traditional
healing practices in each country.
13. Benefit sharing against use of TK
should be encouraged and institutionalized.
WORKING GROUP V
Trade among ASEAN & BIMSTEC
Countries
Chairperson: Ms Dra Sri Indrawati, Apt
MKes, NADFC, Jakarta, Indonesia
Co-Chairperson: Mr. Bala Prasad, Chief
Conservator of Forests, Territorial &
Protection No. 2, Government of Manipur,
India
Rapporteur: Mr. A. Bonbirdhwaja Singh,
Divisional Forest Officer, Working Plan
Division No. II, Government of Manipur,
India
Recommendations:
1. There should be regular interaction of
Government agencies, manufacturers, traders,
traditional healers, researchers and
7

Inaugural Session

WELCOME ADDRESS OF INAUGURAL

FUNCTION BY SHRI. S. SINGSIT PCCF
Hon'ble Minister for Forest & Environment
and Law & Legislative Affairs, Government of
Manipur and Chief Guest of Inaugural Function,
Shri Th. Debendra Singh; Former Secretary
Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare, Govt. of India and President of
this function Smt. Anita Das; Chief Executive
officer, National Medicinal Plants Board, Shri
B.S.Sajwan; representatives of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries, representatives of
International Organizations, FAO and TRAFFIC,
PCCFs of Meghalaya, Kerala, representatives of
AYUSH, Director, CCRAS, Dr. G S Lavekar,
senior officers of Forest Departments of
different states, representatives of Central
Government Institutes, manufacturers of
traditional medicines; collectors and farmers
of medicinal plants; representatives of both
electronic and print media, Ladies and
Gentlemen. - Good Morning to all of you
We would first welcome Hon'ble
Minister for Forest & Environment and Law
& Legislative Affairs, Government of Manipur,
Shri Th. Debendra Singh, whose keen interest
in medicinal plants has been a source of
inspiration to us. The inauguration of this
workshop by you would go a long way in
motivating us not only for finalizing
comprehensive sets of recommendations, but
also ensuring their implementation.
I would also like to extend our warm
welcome to Former Secretary Department of
AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare, Govt. of India and President of this
function Smt. Anita Das; our without whose
support and encouragement
it would
have been very difficult for us to o r g a n i z e
this conclave. Her willing support has helped
us to make a stride in this field. Madam, we
would make all out efforts to tap the potential of

medicinal plants sector in the state for the benefit

of this region.
I also would like to extend our warm
welcome to the Chief Executive officer,
National Medicinal Plants Board Shri B. S.
Sajwan; who has been a motivating force for
development of medicinal plant sector in the
country. He has provided great help and
support to us in organizing this conclave.
I extend a warm welcome to the
representatives of the ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries - Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Vietnam; representatives of
International organizations, FAO and
TRAFFIC.
I extend a hearty welcome to the PCCFs
of Meghalaya and Kerala. I welcome
representatives of Central Council for Research
in Ayurveda and Siddha, CSIR and Indian
Council of Forestry Research and Education,
ICAR, members of State Biodiversity Boards,
manufacturers of traditional medicines. I
welcome all delegates, resource persons and
invitees who have come to attend the function.
Last but not the least, I welcome all our friends
from media, newsprint and request them to
provide their support in our endeavour to
develop this sector in the region.
There is resurgence of use of traditional
medicine across the globe. According to an
estimate of WHO in 2002, the global market
of traditional therapies stands at $60,000
millions and is growing steadily. Further
global market for medicinal herbs and herbal
products is estimated to touch US$ 5 trillion
by 2050. These traditional systems of medicine
are heavily dependent on the medicinal plants
for their drugs and therapies. With the accelerated
9

growth of traditional medicine, the demand of

medicinal plants would also grow substantially.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries have
geographical contiguity and strong traditional
linkages. Further, ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries collectively have diverse and almost
all kinds of forest types, which are repository
of immensely valuable and large varieties of
medicinal plants. These medicinal plants need
to be used sustainably for supporting
livelihood and conserved for posterity and
perpetuity. However, in most of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries medicinal plant sector is
still disorganized.
India has taken a lead by establishing
National Medicinal Plants Board as an agency
for coordinating all aspects of medicinal plants.
Forest Department, Manipur is organizing the
International Conclave on Medicinal plant for
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries at Imphal
to deliberate the all important issues of
medicinal plants particularly, with reference
to the of ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.
The International Conclave on Medicinal

10

Plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries,

is being organized by Forest Department,
Government of Manipur in collaboration with
National Medicinal Plant Board; Department
of AYUSH, Government of India, with
support from WHO India, Ministry of
DONER and Department of Commerce,
Ministry of Commerce & Industry,
Government of India.
The conclave is
expected to come out with a comprehensive
set of recommendations. This would also go
long way in providing a road map for enhancing
cooperation and give much needed boost the
sector and trade among the member countries.
On behalf of Forest Department of
Manipur and on my own I once again welcome
Hon'ble Minister for Forest & Environment
and Law & Legislative Affairs, Government of
Manipur and Chief Guest of Inaugural
Function, Shri Th. Debendra Singh and all
other dignitaries present on the dais and all
invitees and delegates to this 3-Days
International Conclave on Medicinal Plants for
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.
Thank you

KEYNOTE ADDRESS OF B. S. SAJWAN, CHIEF

EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NATIONAL MEDICINAL
PLANTS BOARD
Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute the
basis of primary health care for the majority of
the population in the world and are a critical
source of income for rural populations. It is now
globally recognized that traditional, alternative
complementary systems of medicine provide
health care to almost 80% of the population in
developing and less developed countries.
The Asian continent is endowed with diverse
plant flora concentrated mainly in tropical or
subtropical regions. Six of the world's 18
biodiversity hot-spots, namely the Eastern
Himalayas, North Borneo, Peninsular Malasia, Sri
Lanka, the Philippines and the Western Ghats of
South India lie in Asia. The countries of the region
have large flora, for example China (30,000 species
higher plants), Indonesia (20,000), India (17,000),
Malaysia (12,000) and Thailand (12,000). The
island of Borneo alone has about 20,000 to 25,000
higher plant species.
Countries in the Asian continent also have
age old traditional systems of medicine which
continue to have widespread acceptance despite
advances in western medicine mainly because of
the historical circumstances and cultural beliefs.
Some of the traditional medicine systems
practices in Asia are highly developed and well
documented, based on knowledge gained through
experience, comprehensive methodology and rich
clinical experience. Traditional Chinese and Indian
medicines belong to this category.
Indian Ayurveda along with Jamu, Siddha,
Tibetan, traditional Chinese and Unani systems
of medicine are an important source of health
and livelihood for millions of Asian people.
Ayurvedic medicine is widely practiced especially
in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka. The Chinese traditional medicine
techniques, particularly acupuncture, is the most
11

widely used and is practiced in every region of

the world. Unani medicine draws from the
traditional systems of medicine of China, Egypt,
India, Iraq, Persia and the Syrian Arab Republic
and is also known as Arabic medicine.
International and national trade in
alternative medicines including herbal products
is increasing rapidly. Significant quantities of
herbal products are now imported by countries
in Asia, Europe and North America. The
estimated global trade in medicinal and aromatic
plants was over US $ 120 billion in 2007 and is
expected to reach 5 trillion by 2050. China and
India are the world's leading exporters of
medicinal and aromatic plant materials.
Today, the world over, there is a growing
realization that the modern system of medicine
alone is not able to address all the health problems
related particularly to the life style diseases like
diabetes, hypertension, AIDS, cancer etc. It is in
this context that scientific wisdom contained in
the traditional health care system can be made
use of to find solutions to the present day
problems. We are fortunate to have inherited rich
bio-diversity, both in plants and animals and the
ethno-botanical knowledge which need to be
explored and researched to find solutions to the
health problems of today as well as those that may
emerge in times to come. Not only this, it needs
to be understood that we have to move away
from a single health care system to the pluralist
health care system under which people are
given options to choose the systems of medicine
which they would like to access for health care.
It is this philosophy that the Government of
India is very actively promoting for
development and promotion of the traditional
systems of medicines like Ayurveda, Unani and
Siddha. One of the important initiatives in this
direction has been to mainstream AYUSH

systems of medicine in the health care under the

National Rural Health Mission, 2005.
A major challenge facing the traditional
systems of medicine world over today however
is the question of standardization, quality and
safety. Although traditional systems of medicine
have their own science behind them, in order to
improve the outreach of these systems,
Government of India is paying serious attention
to validate the traditional knowledge and bring
that in conformity with the modern scientific
paradigm. Efforts are being made to strengthen
quality control and standardization by evolving
pharmacopoeial standards and setting up State
Drug Testing Laboratories. Government has also
made compliance of Good Manufacturing
Practices (GMPs) mandatory for Ayurveda,
Siddha and Unani drug manufacturing units. Not
only this, the GMP norms are being made more
and more stringent to ensure compliance with the
evolving world standards on GMP. In order to
ensure quality of such AYUSH products which
use minerals in their preparation, testing for heavy
metals has been made mandatory for export
purposes with effect from 1st January, 2006.
Protection of intellectual property is another
key area in the fields of traditional medicines. The
large body of traditional knowledge that we have
under Ayurveda, Sidha and Unani systems of
medicine needs to be protected against patenting
by others. It is towards this that the Government
of India has under a project called Traditional
Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) initiated
steps to digitize classical formulations and register
these with international patent organizations under
a non disclosure agreement so that wrong
patenting of our traditional knowledge can be
avoided. This step will go a long way in
safeguarding of our traditional knowledge.
One of the key issues relating to
standardization, quality control is the issue relating
to medicinal plants which are the main source of
raw material for the traditional systems of
medicines. Realising that the world market of
medicinal plants which is estimated to $ 120 billion
12

is expected to reach something like $ 7 trillion by

2050 and the fact that efficacy, quality and safety
of our systems of medicines depend upon an
assured supply of standardized, quality raw
material our endeavour in India is to move away
from being an exporter of raw materials of
medicinal plants to exporters of finished products
of quality standards. The aim is to not only
promote export of value added herbal products
but also to ensure supply of raw material for the
domestic market of our ASU and herbal products
within the country.
The huge population supported by the Asian
continent inevitably causes deforestation and loss
of native vegetation as approximately 90% of the
plants are still collected from forests. Only a few
countries, mainly China, India, Indonesia, Nepal,
Thailand and Vietnam produce medicinal and
aromatic plants commercially to some degree. The
widespread and poorly regulated collection of
plants from the wild for use in traditional medicine
threatens many plant species. Some of the major
constraints in medicinal plants development in the
region are inadequate understanding of cultivation
practices, poor harvesting and post-harvest
treatment practices, lack of research on validation
of traditional remedies, insufficient processing
techniques, weak quality control procedures,
difficulties in marketing, lack of equipment
and facilities to fabricate equipment locally and
the lack of access to the latest technologies and
market information. There is thus an urgent
need for coordination among the various
institutes in the Asean region working with
medicinal plants and traditional medicines for
commercially exploitation and to develop their
full potential.
In the Government of India traditional
medicine as a subject is handled by the
Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy,
Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in the
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Similar
Directorates exit at the level of provincial
governments. The AYUSH sector in India is
backed up by more than 600,000 qualified doctors

and more than 9,000 manufacturing units with total

turnover in the range of Rs. 9,000 crores. There
are regulatory councils to regulate the practice by
doctors, education and the educational institutes.
There are also research councils to validate the
classical knowledge and bring modern scientific
paradigm into these systems.
There is a large infrastructure of AYUSH
institutions which award graduate and post
graduate degrees in different systems of
medicines with a total intake capacity in excess
of 30,000 every year both at graduate and post
graduate levels put together. The large network
of industries, educational institutions, R&D
institutes and an equally large consumer base
of AYUSH products both within the country
and abroad requires, among other things a
credible and sustainable source of quality raw
material. It is against this background that the
central government has set up a National
Medicinal Plants Board as the nodal agency in
the central government to coordinate all
matters relating to medicinal plants sector with
stakeholders both in government and outside.
Out of about 17,000 flowering plants in
India it is estimated that about 6,000 plants are
used in documented as well as the folk systems
of medicine. A recent study carried out by the
Board in the year 2007-08 has brought out that
about 960 species are in trade of which 178
species are traded in excess of 100 MT per year.
More than 50% of the species in high
consumption are harvested through destructive
means where the useable plant part is either
root, stem, bark or the whole plant. The
challenge in such cases becomes more daunting
in respect of
plants which are perennial and
trees with long regeneration cycles. The Board
has therefore, launched special projects in states
where such species occur naturally through the
State Forest Department with the involvement
of village level institutions like Joint Forest
Managemant Committees (JFMCs), Van
Panchayats, village forest committees and
establishing tie ups with the manufacturing
13

sector. Special programmes like these for species

which are of high conservation concern and are
otherwise critical to AYUSH systems is one of
the flagship programmes launched by the Board
in the recent past. Equally important is the
programme of setting up Medicinal Plants
Conservation Areas (MPCAs) for selected species
of conservation concern in their natural habitats
with a view to capturing the population with
genetic diversity of the rare, endangered and
threatened species. Species like Commiphora
wightti, Saraca asoca, Cosinium fenestratum,
some of the examples of these species occurring
in the states Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat and
Rajasthan.
Cultivation of medicinal plants is the key to
production of raw material of standardized
chemical ingredients following Good
Agricultural Practices (GAPs) if backed up by
credible certification mechanism. Medicinal
plants also offer a viable crop alternative and
an agri-business opportunity provided proper
linkages with technology and markets are
fostered. The Government of India has
launched a specials programme on National
Mission on Medicinal Plants in the 11th five
year plan commencing from 2008-09 to support
medicinal plants cultivation as a agro-business
enterprise in selected clusters in about 100-150
districts of country in a mission mode. This
programme would be implemented by
fostering linkages between cultivators and
agricultural universities and R&D institutions
for technology transfer and the trade &
industry for marketing. The scheme also
provide for network for testing laboratories
in a PPP mode, creation and upgradation of
marketing infrastructure and capacity building
and training programmes. It is expected that
project will result in medicinal plants getting
integrated in pharmacy system and production
and export of value added medicinal plants
products.
The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and Bay of Bengal Initiative

for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic

Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries have
geographical contiguity and strong traditional
linkages. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are members
of ASEAN where as Baangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand are
members of BIMSTEC. Very large areas of these
countries come under four hotspots of
Biodiversity namely, Western Ghat, Himalayas,
Indo Burma and Sundaland. It is also pertinent to
note that three hotspots of Biodiversity
(Himalaya, Indo-Burma and Sundaland) are
contiguous and cover total geographical area of
many countries. ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries
collectively have diverse and almost all kinds of
Forest Types, which are repository of immensely
valuable and large varieties of medicinal plants.
These medicinal plants need to be used sustainably
for supporting livelihood and conserved for
posterity and perpetuity.
There is strong bondage among the
traditional medicine systems of most of ASEAN

14

and BIMSTEC countries. To take advantage of

global resurgence and to tap the potentiality of
the sector in the larger interest of humanity in
general and people of these countries in
particular, there is need to develop comprehensive
and mutually compatible strategies and enhanced
cooperation for giving a boost to medicinal plants
sector, including export of their products. The
common strategy must duly account for
conservation, sustainable collection, processing,
marketing, research and development, access and
benefit sharing and protection of traditional
knowledge, associated with medicinal plants in the
region and initiating instrumentalities of
cooperation in the field of medicinal plants. This
International Conclave it is hoped will provide a
platform to deliberate whole spectrum of
opportunities and issues and come out with a
comprehensive recommendations. This would
also go a long way in providing a road map for
enhancing cooperation and much needed impetus
for developing the sector in the member countries
and trade of traditional medicine among them.

SPEECH OF FORMER SECRETARY

DEPARTMENT OF AYUSH, MINISTRY OF HEALTH
& FAMILY WELFARE, GOVT. OF INDIA AND
PRESIDENT IN INAUGURAL FUNCTION
Hon'ble Minister for Forest & Environment
and Law & Legislative Affairs, Government of
Manipur and Chief Guest of Inaugural Function,
Shri Th. Debendra Singh; Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests, Manipur, Mr. S. Singsit,
Chief Executive officer, National Medicinal Plants
Board, Shri B. S. Sajwan; all invitees, delegates,
representatives of media, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It gives me immense pride to preside over
the inaugural function of 3-Days International
Conclave on Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries. At the outset I would take
this opportunity to thank our Hon'ble Minister
for Forest & Environment and Law & Legislative
Affairs, Government of Manipur and Chief Guest
of Inaugural Function, Shri Th. Debendra Singh
for sparing his valuable time to grace this occasion
as the Chief Guest. His valuable support would
help us in making required breakthrough in
medicinal plants sector in this region.
I extend a war m welcome to the
representatives of the ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries viz. Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Vietnam, representatives of
International organizations, FAO and TRAFFIC.
The region of ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries is one of the most important regions
with respect to biodiversity as it is included in the
six hotspots of the world. Further, the region is
repository of large number of medicinal plants.
A large number of people living in and around
the forests depend on these medicinal plants for
their subsistence and income. Medicinal plants
sector can provide socially beneficial,
environmentally benign and economically viable
livelihood systems in the region. Moreover, the
15

people of the member countries have vast natural

healing knowledge.
Despite significant contribution of medicinal
plants sector to the local economy, its potentials
are not duly appreciated and reflected in planning
for sustainable livelihood systems and
industrialization of the region. Besides, a number
of valuable species have become threatened due
to over exploitation. Therefore, there is need for
taking appropriate conservation measures. For
effective protection of medicinal plants, in-situ and
ex-situ conservation centers needs to be created
and maintained. These centers may cater
educational and recreational need in addition to
providing conservation of medicinal plant species
for perpetuity and posterity.
Traditional medicines, particularly herbal
medicines, have been increasingly used worldwide
during the last two decades. Unfortunately, the
number of reports of patients experiencing
negative health consequences caused by the use
of herbal medicines has also been increasing.
Analysis and studies have revealed a variety of
reasons for such problems. One of the major
causes of reported adverse effects is directly linked
to the poor quality of herbal medicines, including
raw medicinal plant materials. It appears that
insufficient attention has been paid to the quality
assurance and control of herbal medicines. Quality
control directly impacts the safety and efficacy of
herbal medicinal products. Good agricultural and
collection practices for medicinal plants is one of
the most important steps in quality assurance on
which the safety and efficacy of herbal medicinal
products directly depend upon. We need to take
adequate measures so that medicinal plants are
safe with respect to microbial load, residues and

contaminants.
There is also urgent need to promote
medicinal plants based industrialization. It may
require sometime to establish manufacturing units
of Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs as
we need to formulate effective industrial policy
and programme. Nevertheless, primary processing
may be initiated forthwith. Far mers and
entrepreneurs should be trained for primary
processing. These processing will be useful value
addition and improve safety standard and
effectiveness of the drugs. To tap the potential of
the sector there is need to develop comprehensive
set of strategy and action plan for each country
depending on their strength and scope for
development with focus on full involvement of
local people.
There are a lot of similarities in the forest
conditions of the member countries. There is need
to share experience, learn from each other, evolve
a common strategy. I hope deliberation in the
conclave would go a along way in developing
multi-pronged approach for developing the sector

16

to its potentiality, benefiting from mutually shared

experience. The sector is critically important for
the region as it can create sustainable livelihood
for the people. In due appreciation of the
importance of the sector, I would request all
delegates to put their best effort to deliberate on
each aspect of medicinal plants sector and come
out with actionable recommendations.
I would also thank Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests, Manipur and his team
of officers who worked hard for organizing the
conclave and trying to make breakthrough in
the field of medicinal plant sector in Manipur.
I am very happy to see that both electronic
and print media are available in full strength. I
would request them to cover the conclave
comprehensively so that knowledge and
deliberations may be disseminated well.
Finally I once again reiterate my whole
hearted support the for development of the
medicinal plant sector in the region in general
and Manipur in particular
I wish the conclave all success.
Thank You

SPEECH OF HON'BLE MINISTER OF

ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS, MANIPUR
SHRI TH. DEBENDRA SINGH IN THE
INAUGURAL FUNCTION
Former Secretary Department of AYUSH,
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of
India and President of this function Smt. Anita
Das; Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,
Manipur, Mr. S. Singsit, Chief Executive officer,
National Medicinal Plants Board, Shri B. S. Sajwan;
all invitees, delegates, representatives of media,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to be amidst you
in the International Conclave on Medicinal Plants
for ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries. I wish to
compliment the organizers for this timely
initiative. It is also heartening to see that large
number of representatives of the member
countries, Principal Chief Conservators of
Forests and senior officers of other states, Central
government Institutes and manufacturers have
gathered here for participating in the conclave.
I am very happy to see the delegates of the
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries of Bhutan,
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam;
representatives of International organizations,
FAO and TRAFFIC. I extend a warm welcome
to them
World Health Organization has published
comprehensive guidelines on Good Agricultural
and Collection Practices for Medicinal Plants. I
am given to understand that National Medicinal
Plant Board is soon likely to finalize guidelines
on Good Agricultural practice. I hope they would
also prepare guidelines for good collection
practices, which must include species-wise method
for sustainable collection of medicinal plants. The
guidelines are particularly important for those
medicinal plants, which are destructively
harvested. Till the time such guidelines are
finalized, we need to follow general guidelines,
17

developed by WHO on good Agricultural and

Collection Practices. While deliberating on the
subject related to collection and cultivation of
medicinal plants, the guidelines of WHO should
be kept in mind by the delegates of this conclave.
Plant materials are used across the globe as
home remedies, over-the-counter drug products
and raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry,
and represent a substantial proportion of the
global drug market. It is essential to establish
internationally recognized guidelines for assessing
their quality. The World Health Organization has
emphasized the need to ensure the quality of
medicinal plant products by using modern control
techniques and applying suitable standards.
Central Government has established
National Medicinal Plants Board as an agency for
coordinating all aspects of medicinal plants in the
country. Since Chief Executive Officer personally
has come, I would request him to help us in
developing the sector in Manipur. I would again
use this opportunity to request the Department
of AYUSH to establish one cluster of AYUSH
industries at Imphal, as there is no cluster of
AYUSH industry in the region. The industries
established at Imphal can easily procure the raw
materials from the whole Manipur, Nagaland,
Assam, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya
and Tripura and the products may be easily
exported to ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries to
outside the region. This would create huge
livelihood support systems and economically
viable and sustainable employment opportunity
to the people of the region. I also request the
National Medicinal Plants Board to establish one
of the Medicinal Plants Processing Zones in
Manipur. If Department of AYUSH,

Government of India agrees, I would put officers

of Forest Department to work out details in
consultation with Department of AYUSH,
Government of India. As far as Government of
Manipur is concerned we would provide all
required inputs from our side for establishing of
both induced AYUSH cluster and medicinal plant
processing zone at Imphal. In fact, the AYUSH
industry cluster coupled with Medicinal Plants
Processing Zone would be an ideal model, which
may be replicated in other places. The centre
would also initiate a good collaboration and
friendly regime among ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries.
I hope with the experience of deliberations
in the conclave, the delegates will be able to
formulate specific programme for their respective
country or institutes or organizations to develop
medicinal plants based livelihood systems. It is
very important to address the problems of the
sector. Through the representatives of ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries, I would request their
Governments to start a new era of collaboration
in the management, cultivation, sustainable
cultivation, processing, marketing and research so
that we can give boost to the sector. In this way
we would serve the people of the region by
creating sustainable livelihood. It is an established
fact that ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries have
huge potential in the field of medicinal plants.
Time has come to draw up comprehensive action
plans to tap the potential for the development of
the people of the region.
There is urgent need to push industrialization
based on medicinal plants. Medicinal plant sector
has huge potential to create economically viable
livelihood systems and thereby creating large

18

number of employment opportunity.

Representatives of industry should use good
quality raw material available in the region. I would
also urge local entrepreneurs to develop
collaborative networks for supply of raw material
to AYUSH industries. Entrepreneurs should take
full advantage of presence of representatives of
ASEAN and BIMSTEC member countries in the
conclave. I wish the conclave will go a long way
in developing medicinal plant sector in the region
in general and Manipur in particular.
Forest Department, Manipur is not only
going to formulate and implement projects on
the basis of recommendations of the conclave,
but also monitor them rigorously. I would take
this opportunity to implore representatives of
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries to monitor
the implementation on the recommendations
of the workshop in their respective countries.
I would also request Governments of the
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries to come
forward and provide necessary support for the
Implementation of the recommendations of
the conclave.
In the last I would congratulate Forest
Department, Manipur for organizing first ever
international conclave on medicinal plants in
a professional manner. I am very happy to see
the structure of the program and quality of
resource person. I would also request all
delegates to deliberate all issues of medicinal
plants sector in the context of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries and come out with
actionable recommendations to give boost the
sector and tap its potentiality.
I wish all success for the conclave.
Thank You

VOTE OF THANKS IN INAUGURAL FUNCTION BY

BALA PRASAD, CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF
FORESTS
Hon'ble Minister for Revenue, Forest &
Environment and Law & Legislative Affairs,
Government of Manipur and Chief Guest of
Inaugural Function, Shri Th. Debendra Singh;
Former Secretary Department of AYUSH,
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of
India and President of this function Smt. Anita
Das; Chief Executive Officer, National Medicinal
Plants Board, Shri B.S.Sajwan; representatives of
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries, representatives
of International Organizations - FAO and
TRAFFIC, PCCF of Meghalaya, Shri V. K.
Nautiyal; Director, Central Council for Research
in Ayurveda and Siddha, Dr. G S Lavekar,
representatives of AYUSH senior officers of
Forest Departments of different states,
representatives of Central Government Institutes
e.g. Dr. V. K. Gupta, from CSIR and Dr.
Satyabrata Maiti, PHAREXCIL, University,
delegates, manufacturers of traditional medicines;
collectors and farmers of medicinal plants;
representatives of both electronic and print
media, Ladies and Gentlemen. - Good Morning
to all of you
On behalf of Forest Department, Govt. of
Manipur and my own behalf I would first convey
our thanks and gratitude to Hon'ble Minister for
Forest & Environment and Law & Legislative
Affairs, Government of Manipur, Shri Th.
Debendra Singh, who has spared valuable time
for this inaugural session, in spite of his busy
schedule. Sir, the inauguration of this conclave
by you has motivated us. On behalf of all
delegates, I assure you that we would put our best
not only for finalizing comprehensive sets of
recommendations, but also ensuring their
implementation. Sir, we would pursue your idea
of developing model induced AYUSH industry
cluster, coupled with Medicinal Plants Processing
Zone.
19

I would like to thank to Former Secretary

Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare, Govt. of India and President of
this function Smt. Anita Das for her unflinching
support for the conclave and gracefully presiding
this inaugural session and making an excellent
presidential address.
I thank Chief Executive officer, National
Medicinal Plants Board Shri B. S. Sajwan for his
collaboration with us in organizing the conclave
and delivering key note address, which has covered
all important issues comprehensively, highlighting
AYUSH infrastructure, schemes of NMPB, drug
testing etc.
I will like to take this opportunity to thank
our Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri
S. Singsit, who has been motivating force in
organizing this conclave.
I thank representatives of the ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries - Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Vietnam, Mrs. Sonali Bisht,
representing FAO and TRAFFIC for making the
conclave really international.
I convey our thanks to the Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests Meghalaya and Kerala,
Director Central Council for Research in
Ayurveda and Siddha, CSIR, representatives
Indian Council of Forestry Research and
Education, ICAR, members of State Biodiversity
Boards, manufacturers of traditional medicines.
I thank all delegates, resource persons and invitees
who have come to attend this function. I thank all
representatives of print and electronic media for
attending this inaugural session and request them
to provide their support in our endeavour to
develop this sector in the region. Last but not the
least I thank all officers of Forest Department and
everybody who has contributed in making this

inaugural session successful.

As it has been highlighted in this conclave
that there is resurgence of use of traditional
medicine across the globe. According to an
estimate of WHO in 2002, the global market of
traditional therapies stands at $60,000
millions and is growing steadily. Further global
market for medicinal herbs and herbal products
is estimated to touch US$ 5 trillion by 2050.
There is need to develop internally and externally
consistent policy, strategy and action plan to get
due share of this fast growing market for ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries, which has great
potentiality and creating large number of
sustainable livelihood in both rural and urban
area.
The conclave is expected to come out with
a comprehensive sets of recommendations for
providing a road map for enhancing cooperation
and give much needed boost to the sector and
trade among the member countries.

We are looking forward to have mutually

beneficial interaction in conceptual framework
and experience sharing so that actionable
recommendations for conservation, collection and
sustainable management, cultivation, Processing
and Marketing, Traditional knowledge, Trade
among ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries with
respect to medicinal plants may be finalized. I
also thank Dr. L. Fimate, Director, Regional
Institute of Medical Science, Imphal for providing
infrastructural support.
On behalf of Forest Department of Manipur
and on my own I once again convey our thanks
and gratitude to Hon'ble Minister for Forest &
Environment and Law & Legislative Affairs,
Government of Manipur and Chief Guest of
Inaugural Function, Shri Th. Debendra Singh and
all other dignitaries present on the dais and all
invitees and delegates to this 3-Days International
Conclave on Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries.
Thank you

20

Technical Session I
Emerging Global Scenario and Potential and Prospects
of Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries

21

MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR ECONOMIC

LIVELIHOOD
1. GROWING DEMAND OF MEDICINAL
PLANTS
Across the globe, there is a new trend of
using herbal medicines as a part of the movement,
which advocates the use of natural products.
There is also a growing demand in the international
market for natural products, including items of
medicinal value, pharmaceuticals, food
supplements and cosmetics, which contain
medicinal plants products. According to the
report of the World Health Organization, over
80% of the world population relies on the
traditional systems of medicines, largely plant based, to meet their primary health care needs.
Despite all advances of modern medicine, 80%
population of developing countries continues to
use accepted traditional medicine for primary
health care. Further, there is epidemiological shift
in recent years e.g. there has been increase in
mortality through 'Life-style' diseases - diabetes,
cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The increase
in life expectancy has increased the requirement
for geriatric care. Similarly, the increasing burden
of trauma cases is also a significant public health
problem. Traditional systems of medicine e.g.
Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha are in
advantageous position to handle chronic and
life style diseases. With the epidemiological
shift in contemporary society and expected
future trend, the market of medicinal plants is
expected to register accelerated growth.
According to an estimate of WHO, the global
market for traditional therapies stood at US $
60 billion a year in 2002 and it is steadily
growing. Further, it has been estimated that
the market will go up to US $ 5 trillion a year
by 2050 and US $ 2 trillion by 2020. There are
various other estimates for the global market of

Mrs. Anita Das*

Bala Prasad**

traditional medicines as follows :

(a) Global retail market for medicinal herbs
and botanicals in1998
Region
US$
North America 4.0 billion
Europe
6.7 billion
Asia
5.1 billion
Japan
2.2 billion
Others
1.4 billion
Total
19.4 billion
Source : Nutritional Buisness Journal

(b) Global Sale of herbal products (1996 )

North America 1.6 billion
Europe
6.0 billion
Japan
2.4 billion
Others
4 billion
Total
14 billion
Source :Life Extension FoundationCited in ORG-MARG, 2002

(c) Global Sale of herbal medicine

1994
US $ 12.5 billion
2000
US $ 30.0 billion
Source : Cited in ORG-MARG, 2002

Above-mentioned estimates confirm that

there is the fast growing global market of
herbal medicines. These traditional systems of
medicine are heavily dependent on the
medicinal plants for their drugs and therapies.
The accelerated growth in the demand of
traditional medicine and therapies would boost
the demand of medicinal plants and therefore
the price of medicinal plants would appreciate
in future substantially. Thus the income of
collectors and cultivators would increase and their

* Mrs. Anita Das, Former Secretary, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India CII/
101Moti Bagh New Delhi, India, E-mail anitadas@yahoo.com
** Mr. Bala Prasad, Chief Conservator of Forests, Forest Department, Sanjenthong, Imphal, Manipur, India, E-mailbalaprasad1959@hotmail.com

22

economic livelihood based on medicinal plants

would be strengthened if the sector is managed
and developed properly.
2. POTENTIAL OF MEDICINAL
PLANTS
IN
CREATION
OF
EMPLOYMENT AND INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITY
With the growing market, medicinal
plants sector is attracting capital. It is time for
the policy makers, investors, private enterprises
and farmers in developing economies to realize
the economic potential of medicinal plants
sector and seize the inherent opportunities.
Not only the collection of medicinal plants
from wild is manual, its cultivation and
handling and processing also creates a lot of
employment opportunities.
According to an
estimate 70% of investment on plantation of
medicinal plants goes towards creation of
employment opportunities. A Task Force
constituted by Planning Commission of India
on Conservation & Sustainable use of
Medicinal Plants, (GOI, 2000) had pointed out
that an amount of Rs.10000 million might be
needed over a period of five years for
comprehensive development of Medicinal
Plants sector. With the investment, the sector
is expected to generate additional employment
to 100 million people in the process of
cultivation/regeneration, collection, drying,
grading and processing of medicinal plants.
The Task Force has also observed that one
million hectares of forest area rich in medicinal
plants (about 5000 hectares each at 200 places)
should be identified, their management plans
formulated and sustainable harvesting
encouraged preferably under the JFM system.
Such areas, besides producing herbal products
will generate employment for 5 million tribal
population on sustainable basis and greatly help
to alleviate poverty. The estimated man-days

generation by cultivating Artemisia (11 million),

Chlorophytum (13 million), Withania (15.6
million), Pelargonium (00.56 million), Rauvolfia
(13.5 million), Aloe (15.72 million), Rosa (9
million), Ocimum (4 million), Pogostemon (8
million) will generate additional income to the
small and marginal farmers. It is also to be noted
that for the 11th Plan period (2007-12) the
Government of India has actually provided Rs
1000 crores for a period of 5 years to begin with.
In the year 2008-9 a Medicinal Plants Mission has
been initiated to give the sector, in the particular
private sector for cultivation of medicinal Plants
a big boost.
It is a fact that the trade in medicinal plants is
growing by leaps and bounds through legal or
illegal procurement mechanisms. In fact the
Planning Commission study referred to earlier,
had also estimated that twenty five species of
medicinal plants are in great demand and
recommended for their cultivation. Many of the
species are threatened or at the verge of extinction
in the wild. This kind of prevailing scenario
abundantly establishes the huge economic
opportunity in the field; not just for the
manufacturers and traders but also for the
cultivators.
Though approximately, 2000 plants are
used for commercial production, large
proportion of volume are shared by few plants
as it is obvious from the following Table 1
and that top 20 plants accounted for 66.2% of
the demand in volume term and demand of
many medicinal plants is growing at very high
rate.
Table 1: Estimated Domestic Demand for
Selected Medicinal Plants (Top 20 medicinal
plants) Quantity-wise in the Year 1999-2000

Botanical name

Percent
Value in
share (in
Rs. lakh
terms of
quantity)%)

Common name Quantity

(tones)

23

Manufac- Average
turer's
growth
Price
rate of
(Rs./Kg.) Demand
per annum

Emblica officinalis
Gaertn
Asparagus
racemosus Willd.
Withania
somnifera Dunal
Terminalia
chebula Retz.
Saraca asoca (Roxb)
Aegle marmelos
Corr.
Cassia
angustifolia Vahl.
Adhatoda vasica
Nees
Piper longum
Linn.
Bacopa
monnieri (Linn)
Sida cordifolia Linn
Ocimum
sanctum Linn.
Bambusa
bambos Druce.
Boerhaavia
diffusa Linn.
Azadirachta
indica A. Juss
Solanum
nigrum Linn.
Woodfordia
fruticosa Kurz.
Andrographis
paniculata
Syzygium
aromaticum
Tinospora
cordifolia (Wild)
Sub-total
Others
Total

Amala

15146.7

12.5

6058.7

40

22.5

6.8

5772.4

70-90

15.1

4.9

3543.1

60

9.1

4.5

541.3

10

4.6

Shatawar
8246.3
/Satawar
Aswagamdja 5905.1
/Asgamdh
Hartar
5413.4
/Halela Zard
Ashoka
5331.8
(1) Bael (Bark) 4479.8
(2) Belgiri
Sonapatri/Sana 4356.2

4.4
3.7

1599.5
596.0

30
20

15.0
9.6

3.6

1306.8

30

21.8

Adusa/Arusa 4211.9

3.5

631.7

15

10.9

Pippali,
Filfildaraz
Brahmi

2951.8

2.4

4427.7

150

16.3

2650.1

2.2

795.0

30

20.153

Kanghi
Tulsi

2677.8
2371.7

2.2
2.0

535.5
355.6

20
15

27.9
17.9

Vamsa;pcjam
/Tabasheer
{imarmava

2153.5

1.8

6460.5

300

6.7

2182.3

1.8

654.7

30

9.1

Neem

2039.3

1.7

61.2

8-10

30

Mokoya/Inab 2005.1
-US-Salab (mako)
Dhataki, Dhai 2014.3

1.7

601.5

30

1.8

1.7

402.8

20

13.3

Kalmegh

1886.2

1.6

377.2

20

3.1

Long/lavang.

1967.8

1.6

5903.4

300

5.9

Giloe, Guddchi 1897.3

1.6

189.7

10

9.1

79888.4 66.2
40928.4 33.8
120816.8 100.0

Source: compiled from CERPA, 2001-02

24

In a study for assessing demand and Supply

of Medicinal Plants in India, Ved and Goraya
(2007) found that out of 960 traded medicinal
plants, 178 are consumed more than 100 MT per
year in India. For 2004-05 the total annual
demand was estimated at 319500 Mt with trade
value of Rs.10687 million; and the turnover of
herbal industry was estimated at Rs. 88 billion.
Not only is the herbal sector large, but also many
medicinal plants have multiple uses, leading to
higher price elasticity for them and thereby

reducing chances of any price crash. The

medicinal plants may be identified for large scale
collection or cultivation in different area.
According to a study, conducted in Himachal
Pradesh in India, medicinal plants sector can
provide employment opportunity sustainably
round the year. As shown in table 2, different
medicinal plant's products may be collected in
different months (Negi and Bhalla, 2002).
Therefore they provide well distributed livelihood
systems.

Table 2 : Collection Pattern of Some Important Medicinal Plants

Items
Collection season
Estimated ( average collection (kg)
Per Day
Per Season
Dhoop
Aug.-Oct.
5-62
300-500
Karu
Aug.-Oct.
2-4
200-400
Patish
Sept.-Oct.
0.5-1
8-12
Panja
Sept.-Oct.
.1-.2
4-5
Kalajira
June-July
1-2
15-20
Artemisia
Aug.-Sept.
10-15
200-400
Guchhi
June-July
Around 0.5
2-5
Nihani
May-June
0.5-1
10-15
Banafsha
April - May
.1-.2
5-7
Chilgoza
Sept. - Oct.
1-1.5
15-20
Thuth
Jan.Oct.
5-6
200-300
Source - Negi and Bhalla, 2002

In the said study as shown in Table 3 it was found that the collectors were getting price
approximately one third of the nearest market price.
Table 3 : Collection Pattern of Some Important Medicinal Plants
Items
Market and Prices (Rs./Kg)
Kullu
Collector
Contractor
Dhoop (Jurinea macrocephala) 35
80
Karu (Picororrhiza kurrooa)
45
90
Patish (Aconitum heterophyllum)
500
Panja (Dactylorhiza hatagirea)
600
1000
Kalajiri ( Banium persioum)
350
400
Mushkbala ( Valeriana wallichii ) 18
30
Guchhi (Morchella esculenta)
1500
2700
Nihani (Valeriana hardwichii)
15
50
Banafsha (Viola serpens)
10
175
Thuth ( Salvia moorcroftiana ) 10
20
Source - Negi and Bhalla, 2002

25

Amritsar
110
120
900
1400
500
60
3500
82
250
25

1200

Table 4 gives an estimate of contribution of

different economic activity in the household
income in Kullu and Lohal & Spiti area. The
contribution of medicinal and aromatic Plants
sector was found to be in the range of 13 to 17

3. EMERGING ISSUES
In view of the significant growth potential
of this emerging sector, there is need to identify
and address some of the issues of critical nature
in a comprehensive way to take full advantage

Table 4 : Contribution of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants to the Estimated household

Income in Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti area
Income Source
Study Area and Income Share (%)
Kullu
Lahaul & Spiti
Agriculture (incl. Vegetable and Livestock)
14.47
61.64
Horticulture
42.99
Forestry ( Medicinal and Aromatic Plants)
13.39
17.22
Trade
18.28
10.49
Labour
10.57
10.65
Total
%
100.00
100.00
(Rs.)
60858.58
42893.00
Source - Bhalla, 1997 cited in Negi and Bhalla, 2002

percent. Since this is an average figure, it may

be reasonably inferred that in remote areas, the
sector may be contributing upto 15% income
of tribal population.
Unfortunately so far the trade has been
thriving to the extent of nearly 90% from the
wild thus eroding forests of this precious and
irreplaceable wealth. While government is
trying to support the Forest Department to
regenerate the growth by providing millions
of rupees, it is too little too late! In the last
two years a very good initiative has been taken
in India to promote the tree species of medicinal
plants like Asoca saraca, Guggul and
Dushmool species. However, by and large
medicinal plants sector has remained
unorganized and therefore in spite of high
potentiality, it has not been fully utilized for
creating sustainable economic livelihood. Even
within the forestry sector there is an urgent
need for sufficient weightage to be given to
plantation of tree species of medicinal value.
Effort has also been made to initiate joint
dialogue with state agency and to set up joint
mechanism for promoting this through the
length and breadth of the country but this has
yet to gather momentum.
26

of the strengths the sector has to offer. On the

basis of environmental and socio-economic
factors, an analysis has been made which may
offer some food for thought .
(i) Constraints in Sustainable Supply
from Forests - Forests have been the traditional
source of medicinal plants over the centuries
and they are supplying more than 80% herbal
raw material, required in India. This position
can not be sustained much further because the
requirement of medicinal plants and herbs has
increased steeply. This has resulted in creaming
out of commercially important medicinal
plants from the forests leading to a marked
decline in the availability of quality raw
material used in the manufacture of medicines
and allied products. Non-availability of raw
material at affordable price is forcing
manufacturers to opt for poor substitute /
synthetic material. For example, traditional
medicinal industry, in the absence of reliable
source of Banslochan, Asoka bark, Guggul etc.
is not above resorting to the use of natural or
synthetic substitutes thereby compromising
the safety and efficacy of drugs. This also raises
the level of misapprehension in the minds of
the consumers towards traditional medicine.
Hence to take care of the growing demand for

medicinal plants there is need to urgently

augment sustainable supply. There is need to
further shift the focus within Joint Forest
Management (JFM) and other forests to
production of medicinal plants, which would
supply medicinal plants sustainably and
provide incremental benefits to the tribal or
rural people staying in and around the forests.
This strategic shift may also ensure better field
collection practices. There is need to invest in
forests for production and sustainable supply
of medicinal plants, and simultaneously to
motivate farmers for large scale cultivation. In
fact the Government of India has adopted this
two pronged strategy through the National
Medicinal Plant Board to support the
production from the wild sources as well as to
support cultivation by private persons through
the Mission on Medicinal Plants. The Board
has actively taken up with the State
Governments to also promote this approach
in a big way, and some states are already coming
up with innovative programmes.
(ii) Organising support for farmers and
collectors and providing quality R & D
services - As farmers are showing keen interest
in cultivation of medicinal plants, there is need
to provide technical support, including inputs
on good agri-practices, and provide quality
planting material to them. There is a strong
need for research organizations in forestry and
agriculture sectors to make all out efforts to
develop high yielding varieties and clones for
providing the farmers remunerative
opportunity from the medicinal plants. For
instance it is noticed that although
Aswagandha, a vital ingredient in Ayurvedic
medicine, has been traditionally grown in the
Neemuch, Manasa and Javed Tahsils of Madhya
Pradesh for the last six seven decades, and
although the Indian Council for Agricultural
Research (ICAR) has been supporting the
College of Horticulture at Mandsaur, for the
last twenty five years or more with senior
scientists etc. there is hardly any substantial
27

research output and no system in place for the

supply of certified seeds to the growers of
Ashwagandha. In fact, it was mentioned to a
visiting team that the norms for certification
are not yet in place. While the centre may be
engaged in valuable research for other
horticultural species it has little to offer to the
growers of Aswagandha which is the signature
species of the region. In any case even the little
that is produced in the centre does not reach
the cultivator due to an unimaginative way in
which the state agency puts the seed into minikits which does not reach the cultivators who
need quality seed in bulk quantities. There is
therefore an urgent need to gear up the all India
coordinated programmes to produce some
meaningful output for the cultivators of
medicinal plants and for the state agency to put
an effective system into place to provide
cultivators with quality seeds in adequate
quantities. In actual terms it is imperative to
reach out to the farmers effectively by studying
the market and working out composite R&D
and marketing needs for the key medicinal
plants required for the Ayurveda, Unani and
Siddha medicine. Just like the National
Medicine Plants Board has initiated concerted
action for the Guggal in Gujarat and Rajasthan
and Asoka in Orissa, similarly for the
cultivable varieties also, drawing up species
specific action plans should prove useful in
providing focused and coordinated action in a
multi-agency scenario. Marketing support is
crucial to motivate farmers as the market of
medicinal plants is disorganized and there has
been volatile fluctuation of price of some
medicinal plants products. State Government
could consider support price and storage
facilities to save farmers and JFM Committees
from distress sale. Industry may also promote
these activities by going for buy-back
arrangement. Sustainable collection regime
and framework need to be developed,
particularly for those medicinal plants which
are destructively harvested or in view of

instable markets.
(iii) Protectionism in Developed
Countries - The European Union has come
out with a directive 2001/83/EC regarding
traditional herbal medicine. The directive
inter-alia insists for the use of 30 years including
15 years in member countries. This is seen by
some as a deliberate attempt on the part of
European countries to restrict the entry of
traditional medicine products from developing
countries on the pretext of safety and standards.
In fact, there is a tendency towards
protectionism particularly among developed
countries in medicinal plants sector, including
traditional medicine due to their growing
resurgence of demand.
The undue
protectionism is pushing the clandestine trade.
However there can be no quarrel on the need
to follow standards, but this has to be done in
a rational framework. Developing countries
need to take up the issue with developed
countries at appropriate fora for addressing
their concern, and developing consensus.
(iv) Good Agricultural and Collection
Practices (GACP) - WHO has formulated
comprehensive guidelines for Good
Agricultural and Field Collection Practices
(GACP). The WHO guidelines emphasize
long term survival of medicinal plants in the
forest areas, cultivation free from microbial
contaminants and toxic weeds, primary
processing near the site, training of cultivators

in identifying plants and maintaining hygiene, clean

material handling, clean and hygienic environment
for storage, packaging and transportation of the
medicinal plant products. China, Japan and
Europe already have their own GACP. Other
countries should also have such guidelines.
Traditional medicine industries should come
forward to push adoption of the guidelines. There
is need to train farmers, tribal people and forest
department officials, agricultural extension
workers about GACP. Formation of
Medicinal Plants Growers Association is a
pressing requirement as these bodies can
become active conduits for transmission of best
practices in the realm of pre and post harvesting
operations.
(v) Need for Maintaining Safety and
Quality Standards - In recent years the safety
of products of traditional medicine has been a
matter of concern as there has been strong
adverse effect of traditional Chinese medicine
due to excessive use and reaction with modern
medicine. WHO is also in the process of
finalizing guidelines for accessing safety and
herbal medicines with particular reference to
contaminants and residues. The guidelines are
expected to cover quality standard, criteria to
identify contaminants and residue, practical
technique and procedure for controlling and
inspecting the quality of finished products, etc.
Europe Union has already adopted microbial
limits (Table 5) for medicinal plants products.

Table 5 - Microbial limit (unit per gram or per ml)

Micro-organism
Herbal remedies consisting solely
of one or more vegetable drugs
(whole, reduced or powdered)
Bacteria
<10 7
Fungi
<106
Escherichia coli
<103
Salmonella
Enterobacteria
-

Herbal remedies to which boiling

water is not added before use
<106
<105
0
0
<104

Source - extract from European pharmacopoeia, 4th edition, Strasbourg, council of Europe, 2001

28

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for

traditional medicine have been notified by
some countries, including India. There is need
to strengthen regulatory mechanism..
Regulatory Body and industry may work hand
in hand to ensure compliance of GMP.
Further, Industry Association should come
forward to have self regulatory export
certification to maintain high standard. Besides,
in international marketing brand name plays a
critically important role. Unfortunately there
is no big brand name of international standard
in the field of medicinal plants sector. There is
need for companies to address these issues.
4. TAPPING POTENTIAL FOR
CREATING SUSTAINABLE
LIVELIHOOD
In spite of very high potential, the
medicinal plants sector could not be tapped due
to structural and systemic constraints and lack
of coordinated action on key concerns. For
tapping the sector to its full potential, required
measures are to be undertaken by the policy
makers, managers of forest resources,
collectors of forest produce, cultivators and
other stakeholders as has been suggested in
succeeding sub-sections.
4.1 ORGANISING COLLECTORS,
CULTIVATORS AND
MANUFACTURERS
For getting the best out of medicinal plant
sector, there is need to identify and provide
what would it take for the small cultivators,
collectors, manufacturers to get organised in
the business of collecting, growing and
marketing of medicinal plants. There is need
to provide market intelligence for entering
supply chains in any meaningful ways, ability
to negotiate for prices, technical inputs relating
to agronomy, pre and post harvesting
techniques, access to business service providers
and financial inputs. But the key to success is
the linkages to make all these easily available
and accessible to the small cultivators and
collectors. The National Medicinal Board is
willing to provide assistance to different
agencies in the field and is already engaged in
supporting agencies working for the welfare
29

and development of medicinal plant cultivators

and manufacturers. There is need to organize
the collectors and cultivators of medicinal
plants in the form of cooperatives, collectives
like the JFMC, Self Help Groups etc. for
collection, cultivation, primary processing and
marketing of medicinal plants and their
products. It can become a major platform for
organising the individual cultivators and
collectors into effective forums. Companies like
ITC are also coming forward to reach out to
small entrepreneurs. The organized approach
would bring in economic viability to the
products with capability to boost and tap the
sector. Such organized approach has been
attempted in some states like Uttarakhand and
Madhya Pradesh in India. The task can be taken
up for select clusters of cultivators for a few
chosen species and the results are bound to
flow. This has to be taken up in a projectised
manner using models, which have found
success. The efforts of Ramakrisna Mission in
Narendra Nagar and other models need to be
studied. The challenge is now to make local
community aware of this huge and growing
economic opportunity.
4.2 CLUSTER APPROACH
It has been seen that the cluster
approach has been successful particularly for
those industries where optimization may be
achieved through sharing of common facilities
and joint endeavour to cut costs and enhance
profitability. In medicinal plants sector also
there has been growth in natural and induced
cluster both for cultivation/ collection and
processing cluster. The Department of
AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare, Government. of India has formulated
and started implementation of a comprehensive
scheme for AYUSH Manufacturing clusters.
Similar scheme on Medicinal Plants Processing
Zone (MPPZ) would be useful for developing
clusters for collection and cultivation and
processing of medicinal plants/ manufacturing
of traditional medicine. The MPPZ may
provide quality planting material through
modern nursery, marketing support for
cultivators and collectors, processing,
packaging, testing and certification facilities

etc. Further, it would be better if the traditional

cluster is dovetailed with MPPZ. Therefore, there
is need to create awareness about economic
necessity and advantage of development of
medicinal plants processing zone along with
manufacturing clusters of traditional medicine.
4.3 SUSTAINABLE COLLECTION OF
MEDICINAL PLANTS
Illegal lopping and cutting the trees,
uprooting plant etc. for collection of medicinal
plants products cause widespread damage to
the plants. In a study carried out in twenty
compartments of Bilaspur district (Tiwari,
1995 cited in Bhattacharya, and Hayat, 2003 )
it was found that 60% of Emblica officinalis
trees were damaged due to pollarding and
lopping for collection of their fruits. Many
species suffer due to destructive harvesting
because of the demand of their root and stem.
Increasing demand, lack of awareness and
training to collectors are also reasons behind
large scale damage to plants in collection. There
is need to develop sustainable harvesting
regime for each species, create awareness and
impart training to collectors and regulate
collection on an urgent basis. They may also
be involved in forward and backward linkages.
JFMCs may be made pro-active for sustainable
management of forests and collection of
medicinal plants products.
4.4 DOVETAILING MEDICINAL
PLANTS SECTOR WITH RURAL
DEVELOPMENT
Integrated rural development has been
accepted as key component of developmental
strategy, being pursued by many ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries. There are many
developmental schemes being implemented for
rural development in many countries. In spite
of potential of medicinal plants sector, it has
remained at margin. However, in recent years
the potentiality of medicinal plants for rural
development has been getting better
appreciation. Medicinal plants sector can
provide sustainable livelihood systems in
cultivation, collection, processing etc. There
is need for conscious strategy for dovetailing
of rural development scheme with medicinal
plants sector for creation of sustainable livelihood
30

systems.
4.5 MARKETING SUPPORT
It has been seen that collectors and
cultivators, particularly have suffered in absence
of marketing support. The Medicinal plants
sector needs comprehensive marketing support
systems. Marketing support in terms of market
intelligence, support price, upgradation,
modernization and establishment of mandis,
buyer and seller meets, etc need to be considered
depending on necessity in different areas.
Marketing support package needs to be
developed for identified set of species Marketing
support would be critical for bringing in small
cultivators for linking in small cultivators in rural
area to the buyers in bigger market. In other
words, intermediaries and service providers would
have to be associated and their capacity and
responsible behavior would have to be built up
to provide necessary linkages to the small players,
both collectors and cultivators. This would go a
long way in motivating them for taking advantage
of the potential of this sector. Traditional growers
of medicinal plants by and large do not use
chemical and pesticide. The medicinal plants
products, collected from wild are pure organic.
An aggressive program of getting them on
organic labeling would help in value addition for
small growers and collectors.
4.6 CAPACITY BUILDING
Capacity building of collectors,
cultivators, processors and marketing
personnel is critically important because this
sector has largely remained disorganized and
industry is dominated by small scale
enterprises. The training for collectors and
cultivators in good agricultural and field
collection practices including primary
processing needs to be arranged. To facilitate
such large scale training, trainers may be
identified and trained. Further, since
certification adds to the value and helps in
getting premium prices, farmers and collectors
may be provided with certification support.
Moreover, financial support, including micro
- credit with minimum interest rate and service
charge needs to be provided. Capacity building
is also important for access and benefit sharing
of traditional knowledge so that poor

practitioners or community get their due.

4.7 PROVIDING TECHNICAL AND
RESEARCH SUPPORT
There is need to promote cultivation and
developing high yielding varieties / clones of
important medicinal plants. Captive plantation by
Industry is very successful in China because of
extensive technical support. It is an established
fact that active ingredients in medicinal plant
comes from secondary metabolism. Their
proportion varies widely in cultivation in different
environment. Research institutions, farmers and
industry need to work together to develop high
yielding variety/clones along with high proportion
of active ingredients, duly assessed by phytochemical analysis. Further, comprehensive bioprospecting is also need of the hour.
5. CONCLUSION
So from every point of view the time for
small cultivators and collectors of medicinal
plants has come! Different stakeholders would be

interested in a big movement of growing medicinal

plants and sustainable collection as there is a
growing market demand. They can fetch high
value. The foresters and ecologists would be
interested because it would be a conservation
measure for the wild, and the Government is a
major stakeholder because it provides economic
opportunities to the local people, it diversifies
form conventional subsistence agriculture by
generating work for small business in remote
areas, and helps in raising the volume of value
added trade both in foreign and domestic markets.
The policymakers and manufacturers already
know the global demand for herbs and herbals as
well as their potential for Indian cultivators and
manufacturers in the sector. There is need to take
a comprehensive set of measures as discussed in
preceding sections for creating sustainable
livelihood systems based on medicinal plants.
Hopefully these measures would go a long way in
creating fresh livelihood and large scale
employment opportunities.

REFERENCES
Bhattacharya, Prodyut and Hayat, Faiz Sayaed. 2003. Issues in Sustainable Management of NTFP, livelihood generation of
Tribals; A case from Sheopur District of Madhya Pradesh, India, Proceeding of National Workshop on Non-wood Forest Products:
New Mechanisms and Strategies, 29-30 May, 2003, Organized by Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI and M.P. State Forest
Produce (SFP) Cooperative Ltd., Bhopal.
Bhalla, Pankaj.1997. Collection Patterns and Marketing Status of Important Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Himachal
Pradesh, M. Sc. Thesis, Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Centre For Research, Planning and Action (CERPA). 2001-02. Demand Study for Selected medicinal plants, CERPA, New
Delhi.
GOI. 1998. Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy in India 1998, Planning and Evaluation Cell, Department of
Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India.
GOI. 2000. Report of the Task Force on Conservation & Sustainable use of Medicinal Plants, Planning Commission,
Government of India, New Delhi.
Khanuja, Suman PS. 2003. Medicinal and Aromatic Plans as Bio-resource: Scope and Opportunities, Proceeding of First
National Interactive Meet on Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, Central Institute of Medicinal Plants, Lucknow, India.
McAlpine, Thorpe and Warrier. 1997. Integrated Marketing Programme for Indian Herbal Medical Manufacturers, McAlpine,
Thorpe and Warrier Limited, London.
Negi, Y.S. and Bhalla, Pankaj.2002. Collection and Marketing of Important Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in tribal Areas of
Himachal Pradesh, Indian Forester, 128 (6): 2002.
ORG-MARG. 2002. Draft Report, Survey on the Herbal Products Market in the United States, ORG-MARG Research Ltd.,
Co-ordination Committee - Export Survey.
Technology Export Development Organization (TEDO). 2001. Indian Systems of Medicine & Homoeopathy, Export
Opportunities, TEDO, New Delhi.
Tiwari, K. P. 1995. Collection of Aonla (Emblica officinalis) fruits from forest - An Impact Assessment, Vaniki Sandesh, Vol.
XIX, No. 4.
Ved, D. K. and Goraya, G. S. 2007. Demand and Supply of Medicinal Plants in India, National Medicinal Plants Board, New
Delhi and Foundation for Rehabilitation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), Bangalore.
World Health Organization (WHO). 2003. WHO guidelines on Good Agricultural and Field Collection Practices (GACP) for
medicinal plants, WHO, Geneva.

31

EMERGING GLOBAL SCENARIO OF

MEDICINAL PLANTS

Abhay Kumar Sinha,

Assistant Regional Director,
Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council, India

Pharmexcil:
Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council
(PHARMEXCIL) has been set in 2004 by the
Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department
of Commerce, Government of India to represent
the Drugs & Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
Industry in the global arena. PHARMEXCIL is
mandated to help its members to achieve
excellence in export and facilitate overseas buyers
to find suitable trade partners from Indian
Pharma Industry.
The Chairman is Sri Venkat Jasti, CEO Suven
Labs, Hyderabad. Dr PV.Appaji is the Executive
Director who has rich experience in heading
NPPA, Drugs Control Deptt. Govt of Andhra
Pradesh has provided Rs 3 Crores for setting up
the HO at Hyderabad.
Various pharmaceutical sectors like Bulk
Drugs and its intermediates, Formulations,
Veterinary drugs, herbal, ayurvedic, unani and
homeopathic medicines, biotech and biological
products, diagnostics, surgicals, nutraceuticals &
phytochemicals and pharma industry related
services, collaborative research, contract
manufacturing, clinical trials and consultancy etc
come under the purview of Pharmexcil.
The Pharma industry is playing a vital role in
the Indian economy with Rs.25000 crores export
turnover in the year 2006-07.
The membership of Pharmexcil is about
3000 and the herbal Ayurvedics manufacturers are
about 500.

opened up tremendous potential for developing

countries for their exports creating competition
between the countries and the companies for
various sectors of the industry. The strategic
planning for marketing their products has seen
prospective management professionals with
excellent competitive skills in leading the industry
and thereby the respective countries.
It is seen that India is becoming a focus
country in terms software skills with huge
manpower resources available within the
country and catering services to the best
companies of the world. The pharmaceutical
industry is booming with exports with 25%
growth annually and expected to become
number one in the coming decade from the
current 4th position in terms of production
quantity wise.
The Indian system of medicines is also
potent within its own limitations. So to say
Allopathy, Herbal / Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha,
Homoeopathy, Naturopathy, Yoga, Magneto
therapy, Pranic healing, Acupressure and
several other systems are in vogue.
Most of the world population is looking
for herbal medicines / cures. WHO projected
this as 5 trillion US dollar industry by 2050?
Allopathy can tackle the medical emergencies
and Ayurveda improves the quality of life. The
organic, anti ageing, spa related products are
in demand.
With more and more newer diseases
Medicinal Herbal Products / Ayurvedic visiting the earth / humans now the world is
Drugs from India
looking for a safe and natural remedy system
The world has become a global village. It has similar to ISM. The other countries like
32

Germany etc have already understood the

philosophy of India.
India is one of the major raw materialproducing nations of South Asia and posses about
8% of the estimated bio diversity of the world
with approximately 8000 Medicinal Plants species
from flowering plants available in the wild. Many
species are being used in Traditional Systems of
Medicine as,
The number of plant species used in each
system of medicine is as follows:
Ayurveda -7000, Siddha - 600, Unani -700,
Homeopathy - 450, Modern medicine -30.
Psyllium Husk (Isobgul Husk) and Senna
leaves & Pods are exported from India in huge
quantities.
Government of India is taking several
measures to promote the cultivation of medicinal
plants, manufacture of extracts / ingredients for
finished Goods as per the international standards.
Deptt of Ayush provides:
Scheme for development of Ayush Clusters
(with minimum 15 units in a cluster): Rs 100
Crores have been allocated in the 11th Five-year
plan to fund the pilot projects under the scheme.
The assistance is restricted to 60% of the
project cost subjected to a maximum of Rs.10
Crores per cluster to fill the gaps in the sector
especially related to standardization, quality
assurance and control, productivity, marketing,
infrastructure and capacity building thru a cluster
based approach.
Under the scheme of International Cooperation (IC) in Ayush, an incentive to drug
manufacturers to get reimbursement of 50% of
the expenditure up to Rs 1 Lac for participation
in international exhibitions, trade fairs towards
airfare, boarding, lodging, display of products
including hiring of stalls. This needs prior
approval of Deptt of Ayush.
Under scheme No: 4 each unit having an
annual turnover of up to Rs. 20 Crores for
acquisition of prescribed essential quality
33

control equipment for in house Qulaity

control Lab shall be provided Rs 30 Lacs or up
to 30% of the expenditure incurred.
Under scheme No: 5 each unit having an
annual turnover of up to Rs. 20 Crores for up
gradation of facilities to US FDA / EU Good
manufacturing practices certification standards
shall be provided Rs 30 Lacs or up to 30% of
the expenditure incurred.
- NMPB
Various schemes for Cultivation of MAPs,
preparation of Project Reports, Documentary
Film preparation, Establishment &
maintenance of Herbal Gardens & Nursery etc.
(evaluated cost of about Rs. 469 lacs for 200609)
Promotion of Herbal Gardens in Schools
provided
- APEDA
50% of analytical charges are reimbursed
for testing Egg, Honey etc
- Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana
Excise duty exemption-----5% on---specified plantation.
- Backward Regions Grant Fund:
Grant of Rs 10 lacs for cultivation of MAPs
in the identified districts of each State of India.
Rs 3 crores allocated.
From Pharmexcil:
Constituted a separate committee for
Herbal / Ayurvedics involving eminent
persons from the Industry for suggesting
Export Promotional Activities etc..

Participated in the Round table

Conference held at Dehradun in July 2006

Herbal Ayurvedic CELL has been

operating in Pharmexcil since December 2006

Organised Herbal Delegation to

three CIS Countries in Oct - Nov 2006 with twelve
exporters forum thru Ayush.

Pharmexcil organized a seminar on

"Roadmap for promotion of Exports of

Herbals/Ayurvedics" by involving deptt of
DCGI, Ayush, Export Promotion Council
and Industry members wherein the limits for
heavy metals, pesticide residue, aflatoxins and
microbial burden were discussed.

MoU with USP with recent meeting

held in Feb 2008 indicates that the IPC Herbal
monographs are acceptable to USP for
publishing. USP Dietary Supplements to be
published by Sep 2008.

GTZ, Germany, an enterprise of

German Govt. proposed to associate with
Pharmexcil in helping the SMEs in Pharma
industry in India.

ICRISAT also came forward to

develop technology for cultivation, extraction
of MAPs & Extracts

Cosponsored
International
Conference organized by FIHI (Federation of
Indian Herbal Industry) in March 2006 and
March 2008

In the India - LAC International

Pharma meet held at Hyderabad in June 2007,
held exclusive technical sessions for herbal /
Ayurvedic products

Participated in Arogya 2007 at New

Delhi where more than 50 foreign delegates
and more than 200 Indian members
participated

Participating in 3rd World Ayurveda

Congress being held at Jaipur from 16th - 21st
Dec 2008
Also the following are provided to the
Pharma industry including Ayurvedics:
1. Under the Market Assess Initiative
(MAI) programme the Government has given
specific facility for refund of 50% of
Registration Fees up to a maximum of Rs.50.00
lakhs in a year.
2
In order to promote the export of
various commodities including Drugs &
Pharmaceuticals, the Government of India is
34

reimbursing part of the expenses under the

MDA scheme towards activities like
participation in Trade Fairs / Exhibitions /
Buyer Seller Meets / Trade Delegations etc
through the EPCs. In order to encourage small
and medium exporters (with export turnover
less than Rs.15.00 crores), the Government
reimburses the expenses for the activities stated
above under the MDA scheme.
3 The Ministry of Commerce & Industry
provides 60% of the expenses incurred by the
Councils for all the activities undertaken for
export promotion within the country and
outside under MDA scheme for the prior
approved activities.
4.
Under the MAI programme 25% of
the total approved cost of export related
Research Project subject to a ceiling of
Rs.50.00 lakhs (Rupees Fifty lakhs) would be
funded under the scheme and the balance 75%
shall be borne by Exporters/ECPs/TPOs. This
incentive is provided for modernizing and
upgrading the identified products as per the
needs of the specific markets. The concerned
EPCs/TPOs/ Selected exporters would
monitor this scheme.
5) PHARMEXCIL participates in
exhibitions exclusively for Pharmaceutical
Products by which Pharma Companies can
avail of opportunities to introduce their
products in the International Market through
these kinds of exhibitions.
6) Specialized seminars regarding
Marketing Of Products, Registration Of
Products (i.e. Global regulatory affairs),
Pharmacopoeias
standards,
good
manufacturing practices, to follow schedule
'M' facilities, to comply the Rules &
Regulations of the Govt. as well as the
importing countries are organized in
important Pharma producing centers.
Pharmexcil participated in Arogya 2007
at New Delhi in October 2007 by inviting 50
foreign delegates including FDA officials

where 200 members from India took part.

7) In order to export Drugs &
Pharmaceuticals Products, detailed information
on Registration Procedures are furnished to the
Pharma manufacturers and exporters by which
they are able to register the products which will
enable them to sell their products in the importing
countries.
8) Trade enquiries and tenders on

Pharmaceutical Products are communicated to

the members of the council.
9) Reverse buyer-sellers meets and
international conferences are also organized in
India to enable the small & medium exporters
an opportunity to meet the buyers without
traveling abroad.
Interested members may please contact
Pharmexcil at info@pharmexcil.com
G.Vijaya Kumar
Consultant Advisor
Herbal Ayurvedics CELL

35

OPPORTUNITIES FOR CULTIVATION OF

MEDICINAL AND
AROMATIC PLANTS IN INDIA
India has a rich heritage and long history of
Use medicinal and aromatic plants in improving
the quality of life is a 5000 years legacy in India.
India is also fortunate, perhaps, to have the richest
reservoir of traditional herbal medicinal plants
and prescriptions. The Indian system of medicines
comprise of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani are
having their long root in our society. Ayurveda is
perhaps the oldest system of medicine
predominantly use medicinal plants for their
medicine preparation and formulations. Modern
phramacopia also use medicinal plants
substantially and about 25% of modern drugs
derived from plants. The present era is
witnessing a fascinating rejuvenation in the
traditional system of medicine by the slogan
of back to nature.
India's plant bio-diversity is one of the
richest in the world and estimated to have
about 43000 of plant species on the earth.
Western Ghat and Himalayas are the most
tempting locations for those in the bioindustries causing a serious danger to the wealth
due to its over exploitation causing serious
depletion. About 7500 plant species out of
43000 that are said to exist in the country are
recorded in various folklore medicines. About
1700 species are referred in Ayurvedic texts.
India has long history of using of herbal
products not only as medicine but also for
cosmetics, health hygiene, toiletries, fragrance
and food supplements. The global herbal
industry is projected to be worth USD 200
billion in 2008 and USD 5 trillion in 2050
(Source: The World Bank Report 2000).
Functional food market is increasing in a very
fast space. These foods are used for correction
and maintenance of gut health, heart health,
36

Dr. Satyabrata Maiti

National Research Centre for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Boriavi 387 310, Anand, Gujarat
E-mail: director@nrc-map.org
www.nrc-map.org

bone health and to improve immune function.

A large number of tropical plants high in
antioxidants, protein and immunomodulator
content are good candidates for functional
food to capture growing market. Present
market is about 2.0 b US$ in Europe and about
5.0 b US$ in US. Similarly, at present herbal
cosmetic is a new emerging field known as
cosmeceuticals (functional make up) parallel to
the trend of functional food. These are
cosmetics and pharmaceuticals hybrids
designed to promote the skin health and beauty.
Some of the moisturizers, for example, are
designed for trans-dermal system of nutrients
delivery to the body. Present market of
cosmeceuticals is 5.0 b US$ in Europe and 2.5
b US$ in US. Products of Aloe vera are now
widely used in cosmetics. Similarly identifying
traditional skin care and beauty products may
offer good scope for future business.
India's share in the growing world herbal
market is negligible mainly because of
inadequate investment in this sector in terms
of research and validation of our old heritage
knowledge in the light of modern science that
is acceptable to the science led world. However,
potential of India is immense, if orchestrated
efforts are put forth with a clear vision to
capture a lion share of the world herbal trade
in next 10 years. We need to give a special
emphasis on natural products derived from
herbs, spices, aromatic and medicinal plants

from the rich biodiversity of our tropical rain district of Gujarat to work exclusively on
forest of western Ghat and temperate forests of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Himalayas.
The ICAR is also having All India Coordinated Research Projects on medicnal and
Status of Trade in Medicinal Plants
Out of 8000 plant species recorded in aromatic plants since 1971 which has been
medicinal use in India, more than 1000 are renamed as All India Networking Research
estimated to be in commercial trade as plant Project on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
raw drugs. Inventory of such species, prepared (AINPMAP) in the 10th five year plan. There
by FRLHT, based on extensive surveys of plant are ten centres in SAUs distributed in different
raw drug markets across the country and climatic conditions.
responses obtained from a few sampled ISM Our Strength
industries, enlists about 880 botanical species. 1. We have diverse climatic conditions for
Out of top 100 traded medicinal plants of
growing large number of MP and rich
India, Only 5 of these species are obtained
biodiversity from our tropical rain forest
entirely from cultivation, namely, Aloe
of western ghat and temperate forests of
barbadensis, Cassia angustifolia, Lowsonia
Himalayas.
inermis, Plantago ovata, and Trachyspermum
2. We have created All India Networking
ammi. The remaining 95 species occur in
Research Project centres located in almost
cultivated as well as wild state (41 species) or
all conditions.
only in wild state (54 species). There is a need
to develop appropriate strategies
for 3. NRCMAP offers a platform for G x E
interaction study which is important for
cultivation of remaining species.
quality assurance of MP.
Weakness of the MP sector
4. NRCMAP gives a forum for germplasm
These are the weakness of sector which
assembly within the country.
needs immediate attention.
1. Poor data base (do not match with Research Mandates
1. Develop Good Agricultural Practices
production, utilization and supply)
(GAP) for important medicinal
plants
2. Lack of quality well defined quality
through basic, strategic and applied
standard of raw drug & ISM products
research.
3. Lack of knowledge on quality aspects of
2. Germplasm enhancement of various
variability available in nature
medicinal and aromatic plants.
4. Inadvertent use of wrong plant species
3. Coordinate research under the All India
5. Marketing: inefficient; informal; secretive
Networking Research Project on Medicinal
and opportunistic
& Aromatic Plants
6. Lack of desire to collaborate and cooperate
4. Act as a National Repository for the genetic
among stakeholders
resources of some important medicinal and
Role of ICAR in Promotion of MP
aromatic plants
The Indian Council of Agricultural 5. Acts as an Information Data Bank on
Research established a National Research
medicinal and aromatic plants.
Centre for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 6. Transfer of technologies developed by the
(NRCMAP) on November 24, 1992 in a 20.2
NRC to the farmers through cooperation
hectare irrigated land at Boriavi in Anand
37

with the developmental agencies

1. Isabgol (Plantago ovata)
2. Senna (Cassia angustifolia)
3. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
4. Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra),
5. Guggal (Commiphora wightii),
6. Aloe (Aloe barbadensis),
7. Safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum),
8. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus),
9. Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii)
Our Research Thrusts
Crop Improvement
1. Introduction, collection and Enhancement of
germplasmBreeding for high yieldBreeding
for qualityBreeding for disease - pests
resistance
Crop Production
1. Development of Good Agricultural Practices
2. Water, Nutrient Integrated pest management3.
Developing yield forecasting models
Crop Protection
1. Development of IPM technology
2. Disease and Pest forecasting
Quality Assessment
1. Development of new and fast techniques for

38

quality assessment
2. Monitoring of quality of raw material
3. Fixing standards for raw material
Post Harvest Management
1. Development of efficient drying system
2. Development of storage technology for
reducing post harvest losses
3. Monitoring of aflatoxin contamination
Biotechnology
1. Genetic Finger printing
2. Micro-propagation
Services Available
1. Consultancy for cultivation of Medicinal
and Aromatic Plants
2. Contract research on any aspects of
Medicinal and Aromatic crops
3. Contract services such as testing of
chemicals/products, soil test, plant analysis
etc.
4. Genuine planting material of 300 plant
species
Facilities available
NRCMAP is having a
modern
sophisticated analytical laboratories which can
be shared with the industries.

QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF AN
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ON SUSTAINABLE
WILD COLLECTION OF MEDICINAL AND
AROMATIC PLANTS (ISSC MAP) TO EVOLVING A
STEP BY STEP PROCESS FOR ADOPTION AND
ADAPTATION.
Giridhar Kinhal

& Samir Sinha2

Abstract
Conservation and sustainable utilisation of
medicinal plants, NTFPs and other forest species
is a global concern, as it has to meet dual objectives
of maintaining the biodiversity and meeting
livelihood needs of the forest dependent
community. This is the major challenge faced by
the resource managers. The medicinal Plants
sector has an added responsibility of
accommodating the healthy security provided by
the wild resources through the ecosystem specific
traditional knowledge. These factors make the
sector more complex to design a management
system that is built on the resource conservation
as foundation with well laid out mechanisms for
prudent use of the resources for the benefit of
the stakeholders.
This paper explains about one such
international initiative coordinated by the
IUCN, BFN, TRAFFIC, and the WWF
Germany over a period of last five years. This
group, through a broad based multi
stakeholder consultation has developed a
Standard called the ISSC MAP version1, that
has six principles, 18 criteria and over more
than 100 indicators. (ISSC-MAP version 1 BFN
Skripten 195, 2007).

This paper also looks at the contents of this

standard and attempts a quantitative analysis of
the importance of each of the principles and
criteria vis a vis their contribution to the goal of
species conservation and sustainable collection.
The standard is being field tested in
Uttarakhand and Karnataka in India, where
two species from each state have been selected
for the same. Through discussions and
consultations with Forest Department a, local
communities, traders and other key
stakeholders, an attempt is being made to
develop consensus about the need and utility
of such an approach.
A novel process is adopted to quantify the
contribution of each of the principles as a
quantitative summation of contributions from
each of the criteria within. This quantitative
analysis is envisaged to be used for ranking the
Principles and in the development of an index
of sustainability for species. This will also help
develop a step by step adoption of the ISSC
MAP for certification and other processes of
application of ISSC MAP.
Key words: Medicinal Plants, NTFPs,
Livelihoods, Sustainable use, Conservation,
Biodiversity

Introduction and Background

Conservation and sustainable utilisation of
medicinal plants, NTFPs and other forest species
is a global concern, as it has to meet dual objectives
of maintaining the biodiversity and meeting

livelihood needs of the forest dependent

community. According to WHO, the majority of
the world's human population, especially in
developing countries, depends on traditional

1. Is a member of the Decision Group of the ISSC MAP development process : HVP/VC, SLPR, ICIMOD, Kathmandu Nepal:
giridharkinhal@gmail.com
2. Head TRAFFIC India ssinha@wwfindia.net

39

medicine based on MAP (WHO 2002). Between

40,000 and 50,000 plant species are known to be
used in traditional and modern medicinal systems
throughout the world. Although the trade volume
of MAPs sourced from cultivation is increasing,
the number of cultivated MAP species is still
relatively low. Most medicinal plant species are
and will be sourced from the wild over the long
term due to numerous factors: most medicinal
plants are traded locally and regionally rather than
internationally; the costs of domestication and
cultivation are high; and land for cultivation
of non-food crops is limited. Moreover,
cultivation is not necessarily the most beneficial
production system (Honnef et al. 2006). Wild
collection secures valuable income for many
rural households, especially in developing
countries, and may provide incentives for
conservation and sustainable use of forests and
other important plant areas. Medicinal Plants
sector is often projected as one of the potential
sectors of employment promotion leading to
livelihood security ( Kinhal G A & R,
Jagannath Rao. 2008) However there is in
general a lack of information related to
demand and supply from various sources (Ved
& Goraya 2008) Hence, wild collected MAPs
can be an important factor in the source
countries' local economies (Schippmann,
Leaman & Cunningham 2002). Approaches to
sustainable wild MAP collection that engage
local, regional, and international collection
enterprises and markets are urgently needed
to provide specific guidance for industry,
resource managers, collectors and other
stakeholders on sustainable sourcing practices
(ISSC-MAP flyer; www.floraweb.de/mappro). Several authors and experts have claearly
indicated the need for a comprehensive
standard (Karki,M & Rawat 2003).To provide
such guidance, the German Federal Agency for
Nature Conservation (BfN), WWF and
TRAFFIC Germany, IUCN Canada and the
IUCN Medicinal Plant Specialist Group
(MPSG) started, in early 2004, develop and
elaborate a standard for the sustainable wild
40

collection of medicinal and aromatic plants. This

new standard is called ISSC-MAP: International
Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.
In December 2006, the revised first version
of the ISSC-MAP was launched as a public
working draft (ISSC-MAP Working Draft 3) on
the ISSC-MAP website (Medicinal Plant Specialist
Group (MPSG) 2006; www.floraweb.de/mappro). This first ISSC-MAP version was published
in the 'BfN-Skripten' series.
ISSC-MAP Implementation
Objective and aims of ISSC-MAP
implementation phase I (2007 - 2008)
In a broad sense, the aim of implementation
phase I is to provide guidance on the management
planning of sustainable MAP wild collection
operations 'Provide a framework of principles
and criteria that can be applied to the management
of MAP species and their ecosystems. It provides
guidance for sustainable wild collection of MAP
and a basis for audit and certification'- (MPSG
2006; Honnef et al. 2006). The main aims of
implementation phase I are:
On-the-ground implementation experience
a) Provide case studies to illustrate the range of
ISSC-MAP implementation.
b) Carry out on-the-ground implementation
projects in a variety of different conditions.
Experience from ISSC-MAP implementation
will enhance the influence of the ISSC-MAP
on international, national and local policies,
institutional strategies, on the implementation
of international conventions, on the market
and on consumer awareness.
c) Demonstrate benefits for on-the-ground
operations and for MAP species and habitat
conservation through ISSC-MAP
implementation.
d) Detect challenges and roadblocks for
successful ISSC-MAP implementation and
suggest solutions.

e) Provide sound cost analyses of ISSC-MAP

implementation in a variety of different
environments and under different
conditions.
Implementation Strategies
The
selection
of
ISSC-MAP
implementation pathways provides a
framework for the aims of implementation
phase I. Three selection criteria were used to
prioritize implementation strategies; a)
Impact; b) Urgency; c) Effort (see also Ptzold
2006). Based on these criteria four priority
implementation strategies were chosen (in
descending order of priority):
A) Certification
B) Resource Management
C ) Legal Adoption and Policy
D) Voluntary Codes of Practice
Steps of implementation
The suggested steps of ISSC-MAP
implementation depend on the selected
implementation strategy. While ISSC-MAP
implementation through a certification
mechanism (strategy A) and through resource
management (strategy B) have a lot in common
and can therefore mostly follow the same
implementation approach, implementation
through regulatory mechanisms (strategy C)
and voluntary codes of practice (strategy D) will
have to follow rather individual concepts.
The standard is being field tested in
Uttarakhand and Karnataka in India, where two

species from each state have been selected.

Through discussions and consultations with
Forest Department , local communities,
traders and other key stakeholders, an attempt
is being made to develop consensus about the
need for and utility of such an approach.
The understanding at the field level, after
about one year, is that the application of
different principles and criteria would require
different time periods. The contents of the
Standard cannot be made applicable from "one"
go and may mandate a step wise
implementation. In this context a step by step
application of the principles and criteria is
envisaged. However to evolve such a step by
step process it is felt necessary to have a
quantitative assessment of the principles and
criteria in terms of their contribution to
species sustainability.
Methodology:
The matrix of Principles and criteria of
the ISSC MAP shall be circulated among the
chosen 100 conservation experts to make a
quantitative assessment of contribution of each
of them to the sustainability of species and
assign weigtage. Based on an assimilated average
an index will be developed and the principles
and criteria are accorded the hierarchy
accordingly.
Quantitative Assessment of Principles and
Criteria of ISSC- MAP
A matrix method to prioritize the elements of
the Standard to facilitate a step by step application

Scenario 1: Arithmetic matrix wherein 100 units are distributed among the Sections, Principles and
Criteria arithmetically
Quantitative assessment structure
Weightage Remarks
Section 1:Wild Collection and Conservation Requirements
33 units
Principle 1: Maintaining Wild MAP Resources Wild collection of
17
MAP resources shall be conducted at a scale and rate and in a manner
that maintains populations and species over the long term.
Criteria 1.1
Conservation status of target MAP species The
5.6
conservation status of target MAP species and
populations is assessed and regularly reviewed.
41

1.2

Knowledge-based collection practices MAP

5.6
collection and management practices are based
on adequate identification, inventory, assessment,
and monitoring of the target species and
collection impacts.
1.3
Collection intensity and species regeneration
5.8
The rate (intensity and frequency) of MAP
collection does not exceed the target species'
ability to regenerate over the long term.
Principle 2: Preventing Negative Environmental Impacts Negative impacts
caused by MAP collection activities on other wild species, the collection
area, and neighbouring areas shall be prevented.
Criteria 2.1
Sensitive taxa and habitats Rare, threatened, and
8
endangered species and habitats that are likely to be
affected by MAP collection and management are
identified and protected.
2.2
Habitat (landscape level) management Management
8
activities supporting wild MAP collection do not
adversely affect ecosystem diversity, processes, and
functions.
Section II
: LEGAL AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS
33
Principle 3: Complying with Laws, Regulations, and Agreements
17
MAP collection and management activities shall be carried out under
legitimate tenure arrangements, and comply with relevant laws,
regulations, and agreements.
Criteria 3.1
Tenure, management authority, and use rights
8.5
Collectors and managers have a clear and
recognized right and authority to use and
manage the target MAP resources
3.2
Laws, regulations, and administrative requirements 8.5
Collection and management of MAP resources
complies with all international agreements and with
national, and local laws, regulations, and
administrative requirements, including those
related to protected species and areas.
Principle 4: Respecting Customary Rights Local communities' and
16
indigenous peoples' customary rights to use and manage collection
areas and wild collected MAP resources shall be recognized and respected
Criteria 4.1
Traditional use, access rights, and cultural heritage
8
Local communities and indigenous people with
legal or customary tenure or use rights maintain control,
to the extent necessary to protect their rights or
resources, over MAP collection operations.
4.2
Benefit sharing Agreements with local communities 8
42

16

and indigenous people are based on appropriate and

adequate knowledge of MAP resource tenure,
management requirements, and resource value
Section III MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS 34
Principle 5: Applying Responsible Management Practices
Wild collection of MAP species shall be based on adaptive,
17
practical, participatory, and transparent management practices.
Criteria 5.1
Species / area management plan A species / area
4.3
management plan defines adaptive, practical
management processes and good collection practices.
5.2
Inventory, assessment, and monitoring Management 4.3
of MAP wild collection is supported by adequate and
practical resource inventory, assessment, and
monitoring of collection impacts
5.3
Transparency and participation MAP collection
4.2
activities are carried out in a transparent manner
with respect to management planning and
implementation, recording and sharing information,
and involving stakeholders.
5.4
4 Documentation
4.2
Procedures for collecting, managing, and sharing
information required for effective collection
management are established and carried out.
Principle 6: Applying Responsible Business Practices: Wild collection of
wild MAP resources shall be undertaken to support quality, financial,
and labour requirements of the market without sacrificing sustainability
of the resource.
Criteria 6.1
Market / buyer specifications
3.4
The sustainable collection and handling of MAP
resources is managed and planned according to
market requirements in order to prevent or minimise
the collection of products unlikely to be sold
6.2
2 Traceability
3.4
Storage and handling of MAP resources is managed
to support traceability to collection area.
6.3
Financial viability
3.4
Mechanisms are encouraged to ensure the financial
viability of systems of sustainable wild
collection of MAP resources
6.4
Training and capacity building
3.4
Resource managers and collectors have adequate
skills (training, supervision, experience) to
implement the provisions of the management
plan, and to comply with the requirements of this
standard.
6.5
Worker safety and compensation
3.4
MAP collection management provides adequate
43

17

work-related health, safety, and financial

compensation to collectors and other workers
Total
100
Quantitative Assessment of Principles and Criteria of ISSC- MAP
A matrix method to prioritize the elements of the Standard to facilitate a step by step application
Scenario 2: Wherein the species and ecosystem elements are given higher weightage
Quantitative assessment structure Weightage
Remarks
Section 1:Wild Collection and Conservation Requirements
40
Principle 1: . Maintaining Wild MAP Resources
Wild collection of MAP resources shall be conducted at a scale and rate and in a manner that
maintains populations and species over the long term.
Criteria 1.1
Conservation status of target MAP species
10
The conservation status of target MAP species
and populations is assessed and regularly reviewed.
1.2
Knowledge-based collection practices
15
MAP collection and management practices are based
on adequate identification, inventory, assessment, and
monitoring of the target species and collection impacts.
1.3
Collection intensity and species regeneration
5
The rate (intensity and frequency) of MAP collection
does not exceed the target species' ability to regenerate
over the long term.
Principle 2: Preventing Negative Environmental Impacts
Negative impacts caused by MAP collection activities on other wild species, the collection
area, and neighbouring areas shall be prevented.
Criteria 2.1
Sensitive taxa and habitats
5
Rare, threatened, and endangered species and habitats
that are likely to be affected by MAP collection and
management are identified and protected.
2.2
Habitat (landscape level) management
5
Management activities supporting wild MAP
collection do not adversely affect ecosystem diversity,
processes, and functions.
Section II
: LEGAL AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS
20
Principle 3: Complying with Laws, Regulations, and Agreements
MAP collection and management activities shall be carried out under legitimate tenure
arrangements, and comply with relevant laws, regulations, and agreements.
Criteria 3.1
Tenure, management authority, and use rights
5
Collectors and managers have a clear and recognized
right and authority to use and manage the target
MAP resources
3.2
Laws, regulations, and administrative requirements 5
Collection and management of MAP resources

44

complies with all international agreements and

with national, and local laws, regulations, and
administrative requirements, including those
related to protected species and areas.
Principle 4: Respecting Customary Rights
Local communities' and indigenous peoples' customary rights to use and manage collection
areas and wild collected MAP resources shall be recognized and respected
Criteria 4.1
Traditional use, access rights, and cultural heritage
5
Local communities and indigenous people with legal
or customary tenure or use rights maintain control,
to the extent necessary to protect their rights or
resources, over MAP collection operations.
4.2
Benefit sharing
5
Agreements with local communities and indigenous
people are based on appropriate and adequate knowledge
of MAP resource tenure, management requirements, and
resource value
Section III MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS
40
Principle 5: Applying Responsible Management Practices Wild collection of MAP species shall
be based on adaptive, practical, participatory, and transparent Management practices.
Criteria 5.1
Species / area management plan
10
A species / area management plan defines adaptive,
practical management processes and good
collection practices.
5.2
Inventory, assessment, and monitoring
10
Management of MAP wild collection is supported
by adequate and practical resource inventory,
assessment, and monitoring of collection impacts
5.3
Transparency and participation
5
MAP collection activities are carried out in a
transparent manner with respect to management
planning and implementation, recording and sharing
information, and involving stakeholders.
5.4
4 Documentation
5
Procedures for collecting, managing, and sharing
information required for effective collection
management are established and carried out.
Principle 6: Applying Responsible Business Practices: Wild collection of wild MAP resources
shall be undertaken to support quality, financial, and labour requirements of the market without
sacrificing sustainability of the resource.
Criteria 6.1

6.2

Market / buyer specifications

2
The sustainable collection and handling of MAP
resources is managed and planned according to market
requirements in order to prevent or minimise the
collection of products unlikely to be sold
2 Traceability
2
Storage and handling of MAP resources is managed
45

6.3

6.4

6.5

to support traceability to collection area.

Financial viability
2
Mechanisms are encouraged to ensure the financial
viability of systems of sustainable wild collection of
MAP resources
Training and capacity building
2
Resource managers and collectors have adequate
skills (training, supervision, experience) to implement
the provisions of the management plan, and to comply
with the requirements of this standard.
Worker safety and compensation
2
MAP collection management provides adequate
work-related health, safety, and financial compensation
to collectors and other workers
Total
100

Quantitative Assessment of Principles and Criteria of ISSC- MAP

A matrix method to prioritize the elements of the Standard to facilitate a step by step application
Scenario 3: Wherein traditional use and human benefit & welfare elements are given higher
weightage Quantitative assessment structure Weightage
Remarks
Section 1:Wild Collection and Conservation Requirements
15
Principle 1: . Maintaining Wild MAP Resources
Wild collection of MAP resources shall be conducted at a scale and rate and in a manner
that maintains populations and species over the long term.
Criteria 1.1
Conservation status of target MAP species
4
The conservation status of target MAP species and
populations is assessed and regularly reviewed.
1.2
Knowledge-based collection practices
3
MAP collection and management practices are based
on adequate identification, inventory, assessment,
and monitoring of the target species and collection
impacts.
1.3
Collection intensity and species regeneration
3
The rate (intensity and frequency) of MAP collection
does not exceed the target species' ability to regenerate
over the long term.
Principle 2: Preventing Negative Environmental Impacts
Negative impacts caused by MAP collection activities on other wild species, the collection
area, and neighbouring areas shall be prevented.
Criteria 2.1
Sensitive taxa and habitats
3
Rare, threatened, and endangered species and habitats
that are likely to be affected by MAP collection and
management are identified and protected.
2.2
Habitat (landscape level) management
3
Management activities supporting wild MAP
collection do not adversely affect ecosystem diversity,
processes, and functions.
46

Section II : LEGAL AND ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS

20
Principle 3: Complying with Laws, Regulations, and Agreements
MAP collection and management activities shall be carried out under legitimate tenure
arrangements, and comply with relevant laws, regulations, and agreements.
Critaeri 3.1
Tenure, management authority, and use rights
5
Collectors and managers have a clear and
recognized right and authority to use and manage the
target MAP resources
3.2
Laws, regulations, and administrative requirements 3
Collection and management of MAP resources
complies with all international agreements and with
national, and local laws, regulations, and administrative
requirements, including those related to protected
species and areas.
Principle 4: Respecting Customary Rights
Local communities' and indigenous peoples' customary rights to use and manage collection
areas and wild collected MAP resources shall be recognized and respected
Criteria 4.1
Traditional use, access rights, and cultural heritage
10
Local communities and indigenous people with
legal or customary tenure or use rights maintain
control, to the extent necessary to protect their
rights or resources, over MAP collection operations.
4.2
Benefit sharing
2
Agreements with local communities and indigenous
people are based on appropriate and
adequate knowledge of MAP resource tenure,
management requirements, and resource value
Section III MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS
65
Principle 5: Applying Responsible Management Practices
Wild collection of MAP species shall be based on adaptive, practical, participatory, and
transparent management practices.
Criteria 5.1
Species / area management plan
10
A species / area management plan defines
adaptive, practical management processes and good
collection practices.
5.2
Inventory, assessment, and monitoring
10
Management of MAP wild collection is supported
by adequate and practical resource inventory,
assessment, and monitoring of collection impacts
5.3
Transparency and participation
10
MAP collection activities are carried out in a
transparent manner with respect to management
planning and implementation, recording and sharing
information, and involving stakeholders.
5.4
4 Documentation
5
Procedures for collecting, managing, and sharing
information required for effective collection
47

management are established and carried out.

Principle 6: Applying Responsible Business Practices: Wild collection of wild MAP resources
shall be undertaken to support quality, financial, and labour requirements of the market without
sacrificing sustainability of the resource.
Criteria 6.1

Market / buyer specifications

5
The sustainable collection and handling of MAP
resources is managed and planned according to
market requirements in order to prevent or minimise
the collection of products unlikely to be sold
6.2
2 Traceability
5
Storage and handling of MAP resources is
managed to support traceability to collection area.
6.3
Financial viability
5
Mechanisms are encouraged to ensure the financial
viability of systems of sustainable wild collection of
MAP resources
6.4
Training and capacity building
5
Resource managers and collectors have adequate
skills (training, supervision, experience) to
Implement the provisions of the management plan,
and to comply with the requirements of this standard.
6.5
Worker safety and compensation
10
MAP collection management provides adequate
work-related health, safety, and financial compensation
to collectors and other workers
Total
100
The above process has thrown out a clear picture that different approaches would highlight the
importance of different principles and criteria so as to achieve sustainability in wild harvest.
It is useful to look at the performance of the species in each of the pilot field tests and make an
assessment of how and why the sustainability was better achieved through the selected indicators.
Conclusions
The authors of this paper are only projecting a methodology to collect experts views on the
various criteria and indicators of an international Standard so as come up with a tool to verify and
justify the application of a standard in a phased manner. It is envisaged that such a tool will help the
resource managers, traders and manufacturers to get interested in the application and adoption of an
ecological standard for ensuring a long term survival of the medicinal plants species (conservation)
alongside an assured supply of raw material to the manufacturing sector.
References
Honnef, S., Ptzold, B., Leaman, D., Klingenstein, F. & Schippmann, U. (2006): International Standard for Sustainable Wild
Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Concept Paper, January 2006.
(ISSC-MAP flyer; www.floraweb.de/map-pro).
(ISSC-MAP version 1 BFN Skripten 195, 2007).
Karki, M & R B S Rawat (2003). Non-wood Forest Products: Certification and Good Management Practices. In: Encyclopaedia
of Forest Science: Academy Press, London

48

Kinhal G A & R Jagannath Rao (2008) Adaotive management of Medicinal Plants and Non Timber Forest Products:
Strategies, Implications and Policy.Bishen Singh Mahendra pal Singh, Dehradun & FRLHT Bangalore, India
Schippmann, U., Leaman, D. J. and Cunningham, A. B. (2002): Impact of cultivation and gathering of medicinal plants on
biodiversity: global trends and issues. In: Biodiversity and the Ecosystem Approach in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO). (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/aa010e/AA010E00.pdf)
Ved D.K & G S Goraya (2008) Demand and Supply of Medicinal Plants in India. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal singh, Dehradun &
Frlht, Bangalore, India
WHO - World Health Organization (2002): WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005. WHO, Geneva.
Wolfgang et al. (2007). Methodology Guidance for ISSC-MAP Implementation Unpublished

49

RECENT RESEARCH ON MEDICINAL

PLANTS IN ICFRE INSTITUTESABOUT
ICFRE ORGANIZATION
Indian Council of Forestry Research and
Education(ICFRE) is an apex body in the
national forestry research system. It has been
undertaking the holistic development of
forestry research through need based planning,
promoting, conducting and coordinating
research, education and extension covering all
aspects of forestry. The council deals with the
solution based forestry research in tune with
the emerging issues in the sector including
global concerns such as climate change,
conservation of biological diversity,
combating desertification, sustainable
management and development of resources.
Topical research by the council enhances public
confidence in the ability of forest managers and
researchers to successfully handle challenges
related to natural resource management.
Objectives of ICFRE
The council envisages the following
objectives:
" To undertake, aid, promote and coordinate
forestry education, research and its
application.
" To develop and maintain a National
Library information Centre for Forestry
and allied sciences.
" To act as clearing-house for research and
general information relating to forests and
wildlife.
" To develop forest extension programmes
and propagate the same through mass
media, audio-visual aids and extension
machineries.
" To provide consultancy services I the field
of forestry research, education, training ad
in allied science.
50

Dr. Lokho Puni Mao

Non Wood Forest Products Division
Forest Research Institute
(Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education)
P.O. New Forest,Uttarakhand.248006

" To undertake other jobs considered necessary

to attain these objectives.
Research Institutes and Centers under the
Council
In order to carry out the functions of
forestry research and education in different biogeographical regions of the country the
ICFRE has setup eight regional research
institutes located at Dehradun, Shimla, Ranchi,
Jorhat, Jabalpur, Jodhpur, Bangalore and
Coimbatore and four advanced research
centres at Allahabad, Chhindwara, Hyderabad
and Aizawl. The institutes are as follows:
Research Institutes:
" Forest Research Institute (FRI)
Dehradun, for Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh,
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
" Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree
Breeding (IFG&TB), Coimbatore, for Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and Union Territories of
Andaman &Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and
Pondicherry.
" Institute of Wood Science and
Technology(IWS&T), Bangalore, for
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
" Tropical Forest Research Institute
(TFRI), Jabalpur, for Madhya Pradesh,
Chhatisgarh, Maharastra and Orissa.
" Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI),
Jorhat, for North Eastern states.

"
Arid Forest Research Institute
(AFRI), Jodhpur for Rajasthan, Gujarat, and
Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
"
Himalayan Forest Research Institute
(HFRI), Shimla, for Himachal Pradesh and Jammu
& Kashmir.
"
Institute of Forest Productivity (IFP),
Ranchi, for Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkim,West Bengal.
Advanced Centers :
" Centre for Forestry Research and EcoRehabilitation (CSFER), Allahabad.
" Centre for Forestry Research and Human
Resource Development (CFRHRD),
Chhindwara.
" Forest Research Centre (FRC), Hyderabad.
" Advanced Research Centre for Bamboo and
Rattans (ARCBR), Aizawl
The mission of ICFRE is to generate,
preserve, disseminate and advance knowledge,
technologies and solutions for addressing the
issues related to forests and promote linkages
arising out of interactions between people,
forests and environment on a sustained basis
through research, education and extension.
ICFRE with its research institutes and centers
therefore, are catering the forestry research
needs of different regions of the country.
Research strategy of ICFRE is
participatory. Different institutes cater to their
jurisdiction and put up research proposals to
the Research Advisory Group which is
represented by state forest departments,
research organizations, NGOs, industries and
other stakeholders. The approved research
projects are then sanctioned by the Research
Policy Committee at ICFRE Headquarters.
The RPC also has representatives of all
stakeholders at national level. The projects are
then implemented by the respective institutes
which are divided into different research
divisions and carry out works accordingly.

Recent researches on medicinal plants carried

out by ICFRE institutes
Green medicines from medicinal plants are
gaining popularity globally over the years. With
the rise in population, insufficient drug supply,
side effects of the chemically synthesized
medicines and diminishing efficacy of allopathic
medicines especially for infectious diseases have
led to the search for more herbal medicines.
Research must be carried out effective
conservation, cultivation and improve quality of
medicinal plants. Therefore, research on medicinal
plants have been carried out in various institutes
of the organization over the past many years.
Important researches carried out by the ICFRE
institutes during the last 5 years are presented.
The paper is meant to provide information on
medicinal plants researches done and which are
going on in ICFRE institutes so that duplications
on the same subject may not be done elsewhere.
Reference of the works done by each institutes
are denoted by abbreviations with year so that
any enquiry may be made at the concerned
institutes.
Cultivation Research of medicinal plants
during the last 5 years
Cultivation is an essential requirement for
meeting the ever increasing demand of
medicinal plants. Sufficient supply of raw
materials through cultivation is required for
the pharmaceutical industries as well as the
traditional practitioners. Till now more than
80 percent of the requirements in the country
are met from forest areas and availability from
wild is ever dwindling. Therefore, continued
availability from forests areas are at stake.
Cultivation, conservation and mass
multiplication of quality planting materials
must go hand in hand. Cultivation must be
resorted to reduce pressure on the wild sources.
Cultivation packages and methods are
therefore, developed for many important
medicinal species.
Agrotechniques for Desmodium gangeticum
51

and Oroxylum indicum under Eucalyptus hybrids

and Prunus cerasoides plantations have been
developed (FRI-2005). Cultivation package have
been developed for medicinal trees like
Elaeocarpus ganitrus and Prunus cerasoides, and
also for medicinal ground orchids like Habernaria
intermedia and Microstylis wallichii (Jeevak) (FRI2005). Enhancement in productivity of Oak and
deodar forest using important medicinal orchid
Jeevak is in process.
Agro-mediculture models for sustainable
diversified farming have been developed for
medicinal plants like Asparagus racemosus and
Withania somnifera under Mango orchards and
Ocimum sanctum and Andrographis
paniculata under Eucalyptus and poplar
plantations. The developed models are
biologically compatible, physically possible
and also economically viable(FRI-2005). This
can be replicated elsewhere.
Agro-forestry models with medicinal
trees like Aegle marmelos, Azadirachta indica,
Pongamia pinnata, Emblica officinalis and
climber Gymnema sylvestre have been
developed(IFGTB-2006). Agrotechniques of
Gymnema sylvestre and Embelia ribes were
also developed(IFP-07).
Intercropping models of medicinal plants
in horticultural plantations in temperate
regions have been developed. Medicinal plants
for the model include Aconitum
heterophyllum,
Valeriana
jatamansi,
Picrorhiza
kurrooa,
Polygonatum
verticullatum and Angelina glauca(HFRI2005). Cultivation packages with the optimum
time of harvesting of temperate and alpine
medicinal plants Nardostachys jatamansi and
Picrorhiza kurrooa have been developed(FRI03).
Optimum land use model through mixed
cropping of Bach(Acorus calamus) with paddy
in irrigated conditions have been perfected in
Central India(TFRI-03).
Agro-technique of high marketing potential
52

Gymnema sylvestre and Embelia ribes have been

developed(IFP-2005). Cultivation feasibility study
of medicinal plants like Asparagus racemosus,
Andrographis paniculata, Rauvolfia serpentine,
Costus speciosa, Withania somnifera, and
Chlorophytum borivillianum have been
experimented in natural forests and in forestry
plantation areas which yielded valuable data for
further works(CFRHRD-2002).
Effect of microbial inoculants using VAM
and Azospirillum on Chlorophytum borivillianum
was studied for enhancing its root
productivity(TFRI-07).
Economics of cultivation of commercially
important medicinal plants such as Andrographis
paniculata, Ocimum sanctum, Asparagus
racemosus, Withania somnifera, and Sausurea
costus have been studied(FRI-2006).
Agro forestry model of Emblica officinalis
and Gmelina arborea with wheat crop were
developed in Central India(TFRI-2006). Medicinal
plants based agro-forestry systems(silvimedicinal) with Gloriosa superba, Costus
speciosus and Curcuma longa as intercrops have
been standardized under existing teak plantations
in central India(TFRI-07).
Agro-forestry models with Withania
somnifera are being tried in farmers fields.
Preliminary results showed Amla(Emblica
officinalis) based agroforestry models registered
maximum tuber yield(IFGTB-07).
Intercropping of temperate medicinal plants
such as Aconitum heterophyllum, Angelica glauca,
Polygonatum verticulatum, Picrorrhiza kurrooa,
Valeiana jatamansi with horticulture species such
as apples and cherries in temperate regions of
Himachal Pradesh have been studied(HFRI-06).
Vitamin rich plant Seabuckthorn(Hipophae
rhamnoides) productivity studies are on at the
institute.
Production technology under tropical
climate of Madhya Pradesh were developed for
Emblica officinalis, Rauvolfia serpentina,
Andrographis paniculata, Gymnema sylvestre,

Tinospora cordifolia and Gloriosa superba(TFRI07).

Development of organic cultivation
protocols for enhancing productivity of protocols
for enhancing productivity of Asparagus
racemosus, Rauvolfia serpentina and Ocimum
sanctum and diseases affecting various medicinal
plants are being studied(FRI-2008). Technique
on maximum herbage production of Ocimum
sanctum for herbal tea have been perfected(FRI08).
Multi-tier cropping models of medicinal
plants like Azadirachta indica, Cassia angustifolia,
Santalum album, Emblica officinalis, Ocimum
sanctum, Gloriosa superba and Asparagus
racemosus are being tried at Hyderabad
centre(FRCH-07).
Cultivation techniques of medicinal fungus
Ganoderma lucidum species were done(TFRI-07)
and identified strains which produce medicinal
enzymes.
Quality Planting Materials
Quality planting materials of medicinal
plants, either trees, shrubs or herbs, are not
sufficiently available. Selection and supply of
quality planting materials are essential. Therefore,
various works on quality improvements and mass
multiplication of medicinal plants were carried
out in various institutes.
Protocols for viability testing and prolonging
seed viability and vigour of Santalum album have
been developed(IWST-2005). Rapid clonal
propagation protocols have been developed for
this species and also for Pterocarpus marsupium
(Red sanders) at the institute.
Nursery techniques for important high
altitude medicinal plants such ass Elaeganus
angustifolia, Hippophae rhamnoides, Capparis
spinosa, Collutea, Carangana, Ribes, Picrorhiza
kurrooa, Valeriana jatamansi, etc. have been
standardized((HFRI-2007). Scientific shade
management in nurseries of such plants were
also reccommended.

Vegetative multiplication techniques have

been developed for medicinal trees like
Elaeocarpus ganitrus and Prunus cerasoides, and
also the medicinal ground orchids like Habernaria
intermedia and Microstylis wallichii (Jeevak) (FRI2005). Vegetative multiplication method through
nodal cuttings of jeevak have been perfected and
the technique can be used for forest floor
enrichment in its natural areas(FRI-07).
Clonal multiplication techniques for
Oroxylum indicum and Gymnema sylvestre have
been standardized(FRI-2007). Such multiplication
methods for Oroxylum indicum using epicotyl
explants were also achieved(FRI-2007). Tissue
culture protocols have also been developed for
Kaempferia galanga (TFRI).
Superior bioactive clones of Stevia
rebaudiana containing high stevioside and
rebadioside
have been identified and
conserved(FRI-2008). Freshly harvested seeds of
Phyllanthus amarus germination was shown to
be slower than the older seeds and that the seeds
from the first capsules to dehisce after harvest had
higher germination(FRI-2007).
Availability of quality planting material of
Swertia chirata is a matter of concern.
Micropropagation protocol for mass clonal
multiplication of Swertia chirata (FRI-07) and
Comniphora wightii (AFRI-07) is being
developed. High frequency somatic embryos using
immature zygotic embryos of Swertia chirata have
been produced and these embryos could
germinate into emblings(FRI-04). This will lead
to the furtherance of more quality planting
material production.
Methods for producing quality planting
materials for Aconitum heterophyllum, Angelina
glauca, Picrorrhiza kurrooa, Valeriana and
Barberis aristata have been developed(HFRI-07).
Genetic improvement works of Asparagus
racemosus to enhance root production and
saponin contents are in progress (FRI-08).
Protocol for better ger mination was
developed for Rauvolfia serpentina, Emblica
53

officinalis, and Abelomoschus moscatus and such

works are continuing for Mimosups elengi,
Buchnania lanzan and Sapindus also(TFRI-2008).
Developed technological package for the
production and evaluations of seeds of important
medicinal plants like Myrica esculenta, Rauvolfia
serpentina, R.canescens, Wrightia arborea,
Heracleaum candicans and Zanthoxylum
alatum(FRI-07).
April month is found to be best for vegetative
multiplication of Rauvolfia serpentina and AprilMay for seed sowing. In case of Andrographis
paniculata, April is best for raising nursery and
for Gymnema sylvestre, woody cuttings planted
in July month performed best(TFRI-07).
Production of improved planting stocks of
medicinal trees like Terminalia chebula and
T.bellerica were standardized(GTBC2007).Chemical and hormonal treatments of T.
chebula seeds were found to enhance germination
percentage(TFRI-07). IFGTB has standardized
selection criteria for plus trees of Terminalia
chebula and active biochemical compounds
estimation method for T.bellerica.
Effects of Phytohormones on propagation
of Himalayan yew(Taxus baccata) though stem
cutting have been studied(FRI-03). Vegetative
multiplication method of neem(Azadirachta
indica) has also been standardized(TFRI-03).
Clonal propagation techniques of Tinospora
cordifolia have been standardized. Selected
populations of known active principles, such as
alkaloids, flavanoids and saponins, were also
studied.(GTBC-07). For this species, vegetative
propagation is best suited during April to June
months and seeds sown in October have 95
percent germination(TFRI-07).
Nursery techniques of Strychnos nux-vumica
and S. potatorum were also developed(TFRI-08).
Different physical, chemical and hormonal
treatments were found to be effective in enhancing
germination and rooting of their seeds.
A new vegetative propagation method has
54

been developed which is called as FRI-wire

technique. The technique is an improvised method
of air layering, easy to apply and very effective to
produce tall rooted branches(FRI-07).
Value addition research on medicinal plants
Active principles in medicinal plants are
housed in different parts of the plants body.
Therefore, screening of the populations,
identification of parts, environment and genetic
manipulations etc. will add to the value of
medicinal plants. Analysis and value addition
through increasing the content of active principles
in medicinal plants is necessary. Various institutes
of the organization have undertaken many such
studies. Important studies are as follows:
Antifungal proteins isolated from the leaves
of Acorus calamus showed inhibitory activity on
many pathogens(IFGTB-2006). This may lead to
the development of new bio-fungicides. Fruit
pericarp and seed kernels of Sapindus mukrossi
were studied for their saponin content and its
activities against common forest fungi (FRI-08).
Studies on seed polysaccharide from
Strychnos potatorum are in progress(FRI-08).
Evaluated medicinal plants such as Sapindus
mukrossi, Madhuca indica, Asparagus racemosus
and Chlorophytum borivillianum for its saponin
content extracted in different seasons(TFRI-03).
Physico-chemical properties of saponins and
glycosides from Chlorophytum borivillianum
tubers are being studied for its biological
activities against insect pests of stored seeds by
using saponins were studied.(TFRI-2005).
Reserpine and andrographolide in Rauvolfia
serpentina roots and Andographis paniculata have
been standardized(TFRI-2006). Phyto-chemical
examinations were carried out for Achyranthes
aspera, Clematis roylei, Casearia tomentosa and
Clematis roylei. Their active principles were
identified(FRI-2006). Evaluation of principle
chemical constituents of Andrographis
panniculata, Oroxylum indicum and Berginia
ligulata grown and harvested at at different stages

of physiological maturity have been carried out

(FRI-2008).
Active principles in Gymnema sylvestre and
Phylanthus amarus from the forest areas of South
India was studied(IWST-2008).
Developed process for direct adventitious
shoot induction and plantlet development from
leaf and internode tissues for rapid and mass
production of planting material of Santalum
album(IWST-06).Early formation of heartwood
in Santalum album by treating with chemicals was
studied(IWST-2006).
Broad spectrum antifungal proteins were
purified from Withania somnifera which inhibited
hyphal extension of pathogen Trichosporium
vasiculosum.
Among different processing and value
addition methods tested for Aegle marmelos, sun
drying method was the best(TFRI-07).
Ascorbic acid content of Emblica officinalis
from different agro-climatic zones of Western
Ghats was studied(IWST-2008).
Best time of fruit collection for Emblica
officinalis is January and grating method of
processing is better. In case of Rauvolfia
serpentina, December month is best for root
harvesting(TFRI-07).
Artificial fungal inoculation of the trees of
agar(Aquilaria malaccesis) to study on the
formation of agar wood for wood oil is being
investigated( RFRI-07).
Chemical and biochemical composition of
neem(Azadirachta indica) leaves in relation to soils
of different agroclimatic zones have been
studied(FRI-02).Barberine content in different
provenances and seasonal variations in the roots
of Barberis aristata are being carried out(FRI08).
Prospecting for utilization of unexplored
ethnobotanically important medicinal plants
Dicentra paucinervia and Pavetta indica and
phytochemical examination of medicinal orchid
Malaxis acuminta and Drymaria cordata were

being done(FRI-08).
Screening of Acorus calamus populations
for lower b-asarone content is being carried
out(FRI-08).
Management of fungal deterioration of
medicinal plant produce such as Withania
somnifera, Stevia rebaudiana, Cinamomum
verum and Carum carvi in storage by use of
botanical fumitoxicants are in progress(FRI-08).
Clerodendron inerme was studied for its
properties as a source of botanical insecticide
showed good results((IWST-03).
Sustainable Management and Conservation
We must ensure the future availability of
medicinal plants in sufficient quantity and in a
sustained manner. Conservation and utilization
aspects must be scientifically tested and must have
long term orientation.
Non destructive harvesting technique of
Andrographis paniculata and Tinospora
cordifolia were developed. Drying and processing
techniques of the later was also developed (TFRI2007).
Non destructive harvesting methods of
Picrorrhiza kurrooa, Rheum australe, Berginia
ligulata and Valeriana wallichii are being
developed(FRI-2008). Such study for Terminalia
arjuna, Litsea chinensis and Saraca ashoka were
also in progress(TFRI-07).
Non destructive harvesting practices of
Embelia ribes,Terminalia bellerica and Emblica
officinalis have been developed(TFRI-07).
Sustainable harvesting techniques of
Terminalia arjuna bark was studied(TFRI-07).
Younger tree bark regeneration was found to be
faster in comparison with older trees and in the
areas where water is available throughout the year,
the bark recovery was even faster. Extraction of
bark can be done after 2 years from opposite
quarter of the blaze. September to October is
found to be the best time for debarking(TFRI07).
Sustainable management studies of medicinal
55

plants in JFM areas in different agro-climatic zones

of Madhya Pradesh are on(TFRI-08).
Identification of the insect host and food
plants of insect host of the endangered and rare
entomogenous fungus Cordyceps sinensis and its
hybridization for enhancing production of
bioactive principles are on(FRI- 2008). Molecular
variability of its isolates of Uttarakhand is also
being studied.
Silvicultural practices for promoting
cultivation and conservation of Taxus baccata and
Rhododendron arboretum are in progress(FRI08).
Germplasm Banks of medicinal plants were
developed at various institutes. This is to facilitate
networking with farmers, community, plant
breeders, industries and also conservation
organizations. Documentation of Traditional
knowledge on ethno-medicine from traditional
tribal healers like Vaidyas, Ojhas and Gunias of
Central MP(TFRI-07) and also the Indigenous
Traditional knowledge in Jarkhand are in
progress(IFP-07). Indigenous knowledge of
Angami tribe of Nagaland in sustainable
management of biodiversity covering various
medicinal plants have been recorded(RFRI-2006).
Conclusion
Medicinal plants in most cases, are collected
in destructive ways. For many medicinal plants,
detailed studies have been carried out. However,
still much more need to be done for medicinal
plants growing in the natural habitats. It takes many
years of research to reach a conclusion and
provide tools for effective implementation of the
research recommendations, whereas, removal of
the medicinal plants from its natural habitats are
going on at a very fast pace. Therefore, an interim

management plan or guideline based on short term

research findings for each exploited medicinal
plants would be required before its full study is
done. Identifying important species and working
out the details for sustainable harvesting will be
of immense importance from conservation point
of view. Interim management guidelines must
include:
1. Scientific extraction method based on age,
season, parts to be harvested and parts to be
retained.
2. Quality evaluation and post harvest techniques
3. Regeneration of the species and forest
enrichment techniques
4. Community control mechanisms
A lot of works have been undertaken at
various institutes which will help to develop this
sector. Forest Research Institute Herbarium
housing over 3 lakh specimens are being digitized.
Correct identification of many medicinal plants
would be made easier in due course of time.
Newsletter on market information showing price
data and relevant information on commercially
important medicinal plants of Uttarakhand are
made available quarterly at FRI. A priced
bibliography of research publications by ICFRE
is available at National Forest Library, Dehradun.
Research done on medicinal plants in ICFRE
institutes are all referenced in the bibliography.
A website on medicinal plants i.e. http://
marketinfoherbs.icfre.org has also been launched.
The research works done on medicinal plants
in the institutes is a part of the vision of the
ICFRE to increase forest cover and enhancing
forest productivity through operationalization of
National Forestry Action Programme and
National Forestry Research Plan.

References and Postal address

The information provided are mostly extracted from the Annual Reports of Indian Council of Forestry Research and
Education(ICFRE) for the benefit of researchers and stakeholders. Researches carried out are accordingly referenced in respective
institutes abbreviations with year so that the institute concerned may be contacted for any particular works of interest.
" Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education(ICFRE), P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand.
" Forest Research Institute (FRI) P.O. New Forest, Dehradun-248006,Uttarakhand.

56

" Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree breeding (IFG&TB), P.B.No. 2031, H.P.O.-R.S.Puram Coimbatore- 641002,
Tamil Nadu.
" Institute of Wood Science and Technology(IWS&T),P.O. Malleswaram, Forest Research Laboratory, Bangalore560003, Karnataka.
" Tropical Forest Research Institute (TFRI), P.O. Regional Research Centre, Mandla Road, Jabalpur-482001.
Madhya Pradesh.
" Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI), Post Box no. 136 Deovan, Sotai Ali, Jorhat- 785001, Assam.
" Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI), P.O. Krishi Mandi, Near New Campus, Bhagat ki Kothi,
342008, Rajasthan.

Jodhpur -

" Himalayan Forest Research Institute (HFRI), Conifer Campus, Panthaghati, Shimla-171009, Himachal Pradesh.
" Institute of Forest Productivity (IFP), Aranyodaya, Ranchi Gumla National Highway-23, Lalgutwa,Ranchi,
Jarkhand.
" Centre for Forestry Research and Eco-Rehabilitation (CSFER), 311-Lajpat Rai Road, Allahabad- 211001, Uttar
Pradesh.
" Centre for Forestry Research and Human Resource Development (CFRHRD), Poama, P.O. Kendalikala,
Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh.
" Forest Research Centre (FRC), Forest Campus, Dulapaly Hakimpet, P.O. Hyderabad- 500014, Andhra Pradesh.
" Advanced Research Centre for Bamboo and Rattans (ARCBR), Kulikown, Aizawl- 796005. Mizoram.

57

RESEARCH IN MEDICINAL PLANTS

The Indian Traditional Medicine mainly
comprising of Ayurveda is the treasure of
Medicinal plants where about ninety five
percent Ayurvedic formulations are derived
from the plant sources. Ayurvedic Formulary
is the biggest in the world consisting of more
than hundred thousands of formulations. The
plants described in Ayurveda are of varied ecoclimatic zones including creepers to trees and
also Galls i.e. modified plant structures. The
description of plants is available in many
ancient classics; progressively the number of
plants descriptions is seen to be added with
each time period. The description is of mainly
morphological, physiological and therapeutic
in nature. Apart from this, some good
agricultural practices, the season, procedure
and time of collection of different parts of plant,
their preservation, shelf life etc. is described.
During twelfth century onwards many
treatises exclusively on medicinal plants were
written in different languages called
Nighantus, successively in each treatise the
number, properties & other related description
of medicinal plants is seen as an addition to
previous one.
The present scenario of India is as bellow
Having 16 Agro-climatic zones from arid
to arctic
One of 12 mega biodiversity countries
7 % worlds flora and 6.5 % worlds fauna.
48,000 plant species exist (plant species of
the world 250,000).
9000 species used in ISM & Folk
medicines.
Uses of Exotic plants as food or in medicine
The research in medicinal plants is having
many aspects like
Survey of medicinal plants described in
different classics
Ethno-Botanical survey
58

Dr. G. S. Lavekar
Director CCRAS
Department Of AYUSH
Ministry of Health & FW
Govt. of India

Survey of Exotic plants

Trade survey of medicinal plants
Plant tissue culture
Pharmacognostic research
Phyto-pharmacological research
Phyto-chemical research
Phyto-toxicological research
Phyto-pharmacy research
Phyto-nutraceutical research
Phyto-cosmetics research
Phyto clinical research
This paper deals mainly with the two
aspects of medicinal plants like
Pharmacological - Experimental actions and
Clinical studies of Selected Medicinal plants.
Medicinal plants described in different
classics:
The uses of medicinal plants in health care
are described in many ancient classics other than
the Ayurvedic one. The ancient classics related
to Spirituality, Mythology, Religion,
Dietetics, Social sciences, Literature etc. are to
be compiled with verification of scientific
nomenclature. This list will be an addition to
the treasure of plants al ready described in the
Ayurvedic classics.
Ethno-Botanical Survey:
Ethno botany is the study of how people
of a particular culture and region make of use
of indigenous plants. Ethno botanists explore
how plants are used for such things as food,
shelter, medicine, clothing, hunting, and
religious ceremonies. In India, in many Tribal
communities different healing practices exist,

these are the blending of religious, ritual and health

care practices. The main is that of using the herbs,
herbal preparations in the different disease
conditions. Such valuable knowledge available in
public domain is to be surveyed with the
protection of intellectual property right of the
concerned communities with monitory benefits
is necessary.
Survey of Exotic plants:
The world is becoming smaller and smaller
in respect of exchanges, business and inter relation
due to tremendous revolution in information
technology. Many plants which are not origin of
that particular country are exported for food
consumption, health care or cosmetic purposes.
In time span such exotic plants assumes the regular
practices in consumption, cultivation and become
the part of flora of that country.
Trade survey of medicinal plants:
Though the list of described and available
plants may be exhaustive but in trade the
particular limited number of plants plays an
important role, their demand is more as there
uses are frequent in many formulations. In
Ayurveda Terminalia chebula, Terminalia
belerica, Embelica officianalis, Tinospora
cordifolia, Withania Somnifera, Commiphora
wightii and many more are important. Such
list is useful in cultivation, for import and
export purposes.
Plant tissue culture:
Plant Tissue Culture is a practice used
to propagate plants under sterile conditions
many a times to produce clones of a particular
plant which are in danger, rare or threatened
to propagate in the field. Different techniques
in plant tissue culture may offer certain
advantages over traditional methods of
propagation, including: Plant tissue culture is
used widely in plant science; it also has a
number of commercial applications, which
include:
Micro propagation is widely used in
forestry and in floriculture. Micro
propagation can also be used to conserve
rare or endangered plant species.

A plant breeder may use tissue culture to

screen cells rather than plants for
advantageous characters, e.g. herbicide
resistance/tolerance.
Large-scale growth of plant cells in liquid
culture inside bioreactors as a source of
secondary products, like recombinant
proteins used as biopharmaceuticals.
To cross distantly related species by
protoplast fusion and regeneration of the
novel hybrid.
To cross-pollinate distantly related species
and then tissue culture the resulting embryo
which would otherwise normally die
(Embryo Rescue)?
For production of doubled monoploid
plants from haploid cultures to achieve
homozygous lines more rapidly in
breeding programmes, usually by treatment
with colchicine which causes doubling of
the chromosome number.
As a tissue for transformation, followed by
either short-term testing of genetic
constructs or regeneration of transgenic
plants.
Certain techniques such as meristem tip
culture etc.
Pharmacognosy research:
This is a very wide subject including many
aspects of plants; mainly the exact identity of
plant is established.
Phytopharmacological research:
This deals with the pharmacological
investigations of single medicinal plants and
also the poly herbal formulations. According
to Ayurvedic principle all universal existing
substances pusses medicinal value this reflects
that no plant is devoid of medicinal value, every
plant is having medicinal properties. The
ancient description of plants is based on
experiential - anecdotal evidence which is a
strong time tested wisdom acts as a guiding path
for pharmacological investigations.
Dravyaguna is a branch of Ayurveda deals
with the properties of substances of which

59

existence is assumed. Dravyaguna is a

comprehensive science, in respect of plants it
includes Ayurvedic name, Synonym, Habit,
Habitat, Morphology, Organoleptic characters
like Rasa (Taste) etc; Parts to be used,
Harvesting, Guna physical properties,
Biological, Therapeutic, Disease specific
actions, Toxic effects (in some cases),
Detoxification methods (of selected plants),
Virya potential action, Prabhava Specific
action contrary to plants characters, Vipaka
Bio-transformation, Dose, Dosage etc. In view
of above it is clear that Pharmacology is a
component of Dravyaguna science.
Many plants are under screening and many
had screened for their pharmacological actions
through out the world in different
organizations. In present situation there is a
growing interest in plant medicine among the
bio-scientists. It is observed that screening of
125 plants is revealing one phyto-chemical
Some of the most commonly used plants
in Ayurveda, Siddha & Unani has revealed
varied pharmacological actions, some of the
actions are correlated to the actions described
in classical texts and some are additional to the
original but a detail study of different parts of
the plant is essential.
Phytochemical research:
Phytochemistry is the study of
phytochemicals, the large number of secondary
metabolic compounds called phytochemicals
found in plants. Many of these are known to
provide protection against insect attacks and
plant diseases. They also exhibit a number of
protective and therapeutic actions in human
consumers.
Techniques commonly used in the field
of phytochemistry are extraction, isolation and
structural elucidation (MS,1D and 2D NMR)
of natural products, as well as various
chromatography techniques (MPLC, HPLC,
LC-MS).
Phytotoxicological Research:
Many plants are toxic to human being, the
contains some chemical toxins which may be
60

toxic to a particular system or organ. Many

such plants are used in Ayurveda, Siddha &
Unani also but after purification
detoxification of such plants. An extensive and
detail research is required in this field.
Phytopharmacy Research:
The preparation of Medicine, Nutra or
Cosmetic products is described in all
traditional health care system. The dosage
forms described in Ayurveda are more than
thirty but newer dosage forms can be
introduced with due research like drug delivery
through patch, sustained release tablets, ready
to use enema packs, micro emulsion etc.
Phyto-Nutra Research:
Many plants are having the medicinal and
nutritional value like Withania Somnifera,
Asparagus recemosa etc. Some specific type of
preparations like Avleha or Jam comes under
this category. The plants which are considered
as medicine, the same plants are considered as
food, Nutra supplements or functional foods
in many western countries. This type of
practices involves many issues like dose, dosage
forms, duration of usage etc.
Phyto-Cosmetic Research:

Many plants are used in cosmetic products

and some are exclusively having cosmetic value.
The Ayurvedic cosmetics are not considered
merely as cosmetics but due to their
therapeutic value they are cosmetic and
therapeutic products. More research is required
in this field as herbal cosmetics are considered
safe and used by new born to aged one and by a
patient to healthy person.
The main object of this paper is to
illustrate the pharmacological and biological
actions of some important but commonly used
plants.
Terminalia chebula
Is a drug of choice in many disease
conditions and also used as health promoter in
ASU traditional medicine, it also used in
Chinese

traditional medicine? Many preparations are

described in Ayurveda; the most important
one is Brahma Rasayan a rejuvenator. This plant
is having many varied actions like anti Diabetic,
Reno protective, Wound healing etc.
The chloroform extract of T. chebula seeds
produced dose-dependent reduction in blood
glucose of diabetic rats and comparable with
that of standard drug, glibenclamide in short
term study. It also produced significant
reduction in blood glucose in long term study.
Significant Reno protective activity is observed
in T. chebula treated rats. The results indicate
a prolonged action in reduction of blood
glucose by T. chebula and are probably
mediated through enhanced secretion of insulin
from the beta-cells of Langerhans or through
extra pancreatic mechanism. The probable
mechanism of potent Reno protective actions
of T. chebula has to be evaluated.
Long-term effects of Terminalia chebula
Retz. On hyperglycemia and associated
hyperlipidemia, tissue glycogen content and in
vitro release of insulin in streptozotocin
induced diabetic rats. [Exp Clin Endocrinol
Diabetes. 2007]
Curcuma longa:
The research on this plant has revealed
many pharmacological properties of this plant;
more than seven thousand papers are published
pertaining to this plant.
The rhizome of the plant, different fractions
and essential oil exhibited a number of
pharmacological properties and uses:
Aromatic, carminative, antiperiodic,
anthelmintic, skin infections and antacid.
Chopra, R.N. - Glossary of Indian
Medicinal plants CSIR, 85, 1956.
J Neurosci Res. 2004 Mar 15; 75(6):742-50.
Curcumin has potent anti-amyloidogenic
effects for Alzheimers beta-amyloid fibrils
in vitro. Ono K, Hasegawa K, Naiki H,
Yamada M. Department of Neurology and
Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa
University Graduate School of Medical

61

Science, Kanazawa, Japan

Studies suggest that curcumin and to a lesser
extent quercetin may offer therapeutic
potential for the treatment of crystalinduced arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Inflamm Res. 2006 Apr; 55(4):168-75. The
antioxidants curcumin and quercetin
inhibit inflammatory processes associated
with arthritis. Jackson JK, Higo T, Hunter
WL, Burt HM. Faculty of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, University of British Columbia,
2146 East Mall, Vancouver BC, Canada
V6T 1Z3.
Bioorg Med Chem. 2005 Jun 2; 13(12):400713. Synthesis and biological evaluation of
aromatic enones related to curcumin.
Robinson TP, Hubbard RB 4th, Ehlers TJ,
Arbiser JL, Goldsmith DJ, Bowen JP.
Center for Biomolecular Structure and
Dynamics, Department of Chemistry,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602,
USA.
Zhong Yao Cai. 2004 Nov; 27(11):848-50.
[The effect of curcumin on bladder cancer
cell line EJ in vitro] [Article in Chinese]
Sun M, Yang Y, Li H, Su B, Lu Y, Wei Q,
Fan T. Department of Urology of
Westchina Hospital of Sichuan University,
Chengdu.
Can suppress the growth; induce apoptosis
of bladder cancer EJ cell in vitro. Its
mechanism is related with downregulations of the expressions of NF-kappaB
and Cyclin D1. (It) has great potential for
the treatment of bladder cancer.
Curcumin reverses many of the
inflammatory and metabolic derangements
associated with obesity and improves
glycemic control in mouse models of type
2 diabetes. ...
Endocrinology. 2008 Jul; 149(7):3549-58.
Dietary curcumin significantly improves
obesity-associated inflammation and
diabetes in mouse models of diabesity.
Weisberg SP, Leibel R, Tortoriello DV.
Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion,

Columbia University Medical Center, 1150 St.

Nicholas Avenue, Room 620, New York, New
York 10032.
Cassia fistula Linn:
Aqueous, petroleum, and benzene extracts of
the pulp exhibited purgative
property.
Further the pulp extract has also shown the
antibacterial effect against gram positive and
negative bacteria. .in Ayurveda in skin
diseases
PRU- Trivendrum & Varanasi- CCRAS,
Medicinal plants of India CSIR 1976.
Water extract of pod with concentrated
sugarcane juice posses antipyretic effect in
common fever. Anis, Fitoterapia 52-55,
1986.
Terminalia Arjuna:
Alcoholic extract of bark exhibited
hypotension and bradycardia in
anaesthetised dogs with blocked carotid
occlusion response. PRU CCRAS in
AIIMS
Cissus quandrangularis
The significant effect of the extract of
tender stems is observed in bone healing.
The extract was found to neutralise the anti
anabolic effect of cortisone treated fractures
and to enhance healing.
Ca uptake and tensile strength studies
indicated early completion of calcification
and 90% gain in normal strength in one and
a half months. Udupa and Prasad, Indian
J. Med. Res. 52:480, 1964.
Withania Somnifera:
Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania
somnifera) on the process of ageing
Ashwagandha Vs Placebo: 3 gm of root
powder of Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera)
administered in dosage of two tablets three
times daily with milk for one year showed
statistically significant increase in Hemoglobin,
RBC count, Hair melanin and seated stature
and decrease in serum cholesterol and ESR .
Reference: Kuppurajan etal. Effect of
62

Ashwagandha (Withania Somnifera) on the

process of ageing in Human volunteers. Journal
of Research in Ayurveda and Siddha.
KATUKI (Picrorhiza kurroa) FOR LIVER
DISORDERS
Hepatoprotective activities of Katuki
which is a common ingredient in many of
Ayurvedic formulations have been
demonstrated through experimental
studies.
Alcoholic extracts of Picrorhiza kurroa has
been tested against CCl4 induced
hepatotoxic studies on experimental rats
revealed hepatoprotective effect viz.
improvement of bio chemical parameters SGOT, SGPT, and liver glycogen.
Powdered rhizome of Katuki 4 gm. per day
in four divided doses for 6 weeks has shown
remarkable recovery of liver function and
inhibition of HBV replication.
Ref; CCRAS Research an Over View,
Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and
Siddha. Janakpuri, New Delhi-2002
Brahmi in the management of Senile
Dementia:
Brahmi Vs Placebo
Administration of 1gm of powdered
extract of Brahmi twice a day for 5 years has
shown significant reduction in the progression
of memory loss in persons suffering from senile
dementia.
Reference: Role of the Ayurvedic Drug
Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) in the management
of Senile Dementia. Pharmaco-psychologia
(1990), 3, 47-52
Guggulu (Commiphora wightii) in
Hyperlipidaemia
Guggulu (Commiphora wightii) in
Hyperlipidaemia: Guggulu 8 gm day
(Commiphora wightii) Vs Placebo: Cardinal
clinical manifestations of disease like precordial
pain and dyspnoea were relieved in most of the
cases. Substantial fall in lipid fractions like
cholesterol 27% triglycerides 36%
phospholipids 20% and free fatty acids 37%

indicated the possibility of regression of

atherosclerosis. The reversal of ECG changes
substantiated the anti ischemic effect of the
drug in treatment of ischemic heart disease5.
Reference: Clinical and Experimental
Trial of Guggulu (Medo-Roga). 1989 Central
Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha.
Janakpuri, New Delhi.
Sallaki (Boswelia serrata) in Rheumatoid
arthritis (R.A):
Sallaki (Boswelia serrata) in Rheumatoid
arthritis (R.A): Sallaki Vs Diclofenac sodium:
600 mg of Sallaki 3 times in a day and 50 mg of
Diclofenac Sodium, 3 times in a day was given
in treated and control groups respectively for
4 weeks. Efficacy of Sallaki was found to be
comparable to that of Diclofenac in relieving
the symptoms of Rheumatoid arthritis. Sallaki
was even better tolerated than Diclofenac
Sodium by patients of RA, who demonstrated
predisposition for gastric intolerance with antiinflammatory medication.
Reference: Bichile, LS et al., Double blind
Randomized controlled trial of Sallaki Vs
Diclofenac in treatment of Rheumatoid
arthritis., Select Resaerch Papers on Evidence
base drugs in Ayurveda, Dept. of ISM&H,
Ministry of Health, Government of India, New
Delhi.2000

modulating effects in pre and post menopausal

women. Yastimadhu root powder at the dose
of 2.5 gm with 3.5% glycerrhizic acid content
(n=19) and Soy extract at the dose of 64 g
(n=20) were given for a period of 12 weeks.
The study revealed decline in the lipid
peroxides without significant change in serum
lipid levels which were statistically significant
(p<0.05).
Reference: Pandey S., Vaidya A.B. et al.,
Evaluation of Anti-oxidant and Lipid
modulating effects Soy isoflavones and root
powder of Glycerrhiza glabra Linn. In Peri/
Post Menopausal women, Indian Drugs, 43 (2),
February 2006, p. 130-135
Bilva (Aegle marmelos Corr)
8 Marmelosin isolated from fruits was
tested for anthelminthic activity on
experimental ankylostomiasis in rats infected
with N.muris. The drug was found to possess
significant antihookworm property (P.R.U. CCRAS, Lucknow)
Alcoholic extract of the fruit exhibited
hypotensive property in anaesthetized dogs
and rats with intestinal motility. The
hypotensive effect was blocked on atropine.
The extract produced spasmogenic effect on
isolated guinea pig and rabbit ileum. The ileum
contraction was blocked by atropine and
mepyramine maleate. It was found to possess
no effect on skeletal muscles (frog rectus
abdominis). From the above studies it appeared
that the alcoholic extract acted on muscarinic
receptors but not on nicotinic receptors.
Reference: Agarwal, S.S. et al.: Some
pharmacological studies on Pedalium murex
Linn. J.Res. Indian Med. Yoga and Homeo. 11
(1): 107-108, 1976.

Bhumyamalaki (Phyllanthus amarus) a

promising Hepato-protective agent
A clinical trial of Bhumyamalaki
(Phyllanthus amarus) in chronic viral hepatitis
for a period of three months revealed
remarkable recovery of liver function and
inhibition of HBV replication1.
Reference: WHO traditional medicine
strategy 2002-2005, Document WHO/EDM/
Kumari (Aloe barbadenis Mill.)
TRM/2002.1
Aloe compound improved fertility in 85%
Yastimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra) vs. Soy
of the 250 cases of sterility and improved
extract
menstrual function in 44.6% of the cases which
Were studied for anti-oxidant and lipid demanded its use in cases of functional sterility
63

and disturbed menstrual function. A vera juice as

emulsion in vaseline was found to hasten healing
of wounds of thermal burns and radiation injury
in albino rats (R.S.S.C.A., Jamnagar).
Reference: Annual report R.S.S.C.A. CCRAS, Jamnagar.
Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia)
The bitter principle produced
hypoglycaemic effects in rats and increases the
glucose uptake by tissues. It was found effective
in disintegration and dissolution of urinary
calculi. The glycoside caused depression in rats
and mice as was observed after oral and
parenteral administration of the drug. The LD
of glycoside was 1132 mg/kg, p.o. and 428.7
mg/kg ip., possessed antipyretic effect in rats.
With T.A.B. vaccine produced mild analgesic
effect, exhibited anti-inflammatory and
antiarthritic activity in rats. The acute antiinflammatory activity was further confirmed
through cotton pellet granuloma and
granuloma pouch in rats where 20% reduction
was obtained in 20 mg does as compared to 51%
reduction with sodium salicylate.
Reference: Annual report P.R.U. - CCRAS, Raipur

to show effect against histamine and 5-HT

induced asthma in guinea pigs but only a mild
antispasmodic action against acetylcholine
induced asthma; showed no effect on
spontaneous motility of rabbit ileum but marked
decrease in spontaneous motility of rabbit ileum;
produced relaxant effect against barium chloride
induced spasm in rabbit, rat and guinea pig ileum;
exhibited marked decrease in spontaneous
motility of rat uterus without having any effect
on different spasmogens on the tissue; caused
slight to moderate antispasmodic effect against
acetylcholine and histamine but was ineffective
against nicotine and barium chloride on dogs
ileum in situ; produced non-specific relaxation
against different spasmogens in dog tracheal
chain preparation.
Reference: Annual report, P.R.U. - CCRAS,
L.H.M.C., New Delhi.
Musta (Cypurs rotundus)
Sitosterol from C.rotundus administered in
the doses of 160-320 mg/kg i.p. in rats produced
significant anti-inflammatory effect on different
models of inflammation. Sitosterol, in a does of
160 mg/kg, i.p. exhibited significant antipyretic
effect against Pyrexia by Brewers yeast as well as
bilateral adrenal ectomised rats. The result was
compared with acetylsalicylic acid. C.rotundus
inhibited prostagland in biosynthesis and was due
to the presence of sesquiterpenes in the plant.
Reference: Kirchi, F. Et al: Inhibition of
prostaglandin biosynthesis by the constituents of
medicinal plants. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 31 (10):
3391-3396, 1983 (Chem. Abstr. 100: 29312x,
1984).

Kancanara (Bauhinia variegata)

Goiter was produced in rats of 100 gm
weight by neomerca ptazole. Water soluble
fraction was administered 200 mg/day, po. For
20 days to the rats. The animals gained in
weight and I131 uptake increased and reached
to normal level in treated animals. In eltroxin
treated group the I131 value was much lower
in comparison to water soluble fraction, so it
was highly effective on goiter.
Pippali (Piper longum)
Reference: Veena Kumari et at. : Effect of
Petroleum ether extract of P. longum pindigenous drugs on experimentally produced
reduced
respiratory stimulation of central origin
goiter, J.Res. Indian Med. 10 (3): 19-26, 1975.
in anaesthetized dogs; antagonized morphine and
Kantakari (Solanum surattense Burm.f.syn.) pentabaritone induced respiratory depression.
Seed and fruit extract of S. xanthocarpum Reference: Kulshereshtha V. K. et. Al: A study
exhibited non-specific mild relaxation against of central stimulating effect of Piper longum.
histamine, acetylcholine and barium chloride Indian J. Pharm. I: 8, 1969.
in guineas pig tracheal chain preparation. It failed
64

Vasa (Adhathoda vasica)

Two essential alkaloids vasicine and its
oxidized product vasicinone were isolated from
leaves of A. vasica. The vascinone was found to
possess potent bronchodilator activity as potent
as the theophylene both in vivo and in vitro
experiments. It had also weak cardiac stimulant
and good anti-anaphylactic activity.
Reference: Annual reports, P.R.U. CCRAS-

HaffkinnInstitute, Bombay.
The field of medicinal plant research is very
vast, as such every plant is having some or other
medicinal properties. Considering the number of
plants or total flora the available research is very
much meager, this requires a joint multi
disciplinary approach, this era is suppose to be a
era of Ayurveda / Traditional medicine / Herbal
medicine.

65

Technical Session II
Commercially Important Species for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries and expectations of Traditional
Medicine Industries

66

MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING OF

MEDICINAL PLANTS IN MADHYA PRADESH: A
SUCCESS STORY

Dr. P. K. Shukla
Director
State Forest Research Institute
Polipathar, Jabalpur - 482 008, M.P. - India
Email: sdfri@rediffmail.com

Abstract
Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest area
(94,689 km2) in the country. Forests of the state
are endowed with rich floral diversity with
2751 recorded species. Medicinal plants and
other NTFPs constitute important source of
livelihood to the forest dependent tribal
communities besides providing valuable raw
material to pharmaceutical industries. The state
has been fore runner in the conservation,
research, development sustainable management
and marketing of medicinal plants. These
initiatives include identification of pockets of
abundant and diverse occurrence of medicinal
plants in natural forests, identification of rare,
endangered and threatened species in wild and
initiation of steps for their in situ conservation
with active participation of local communities
through establishment of Peoples Protected
Areas (PPAs), initiation of scientific research
to determine optimum harvesting time and
quantities to ensure their continued
regeneration and sustained yield, collection of
germplasm of various species from different
sources and their evaluation and mass
multiplication of superior varieties and
provenances, standardization of agrotechniques and development of packages of
practices for cultivation of commercially
important species, organisation of training
programmes for farmers interested in
cultivation of medicinal plants, development
of suitable technology packages of post-

harvesting (driage, processing, storage, value

addition and packaging); popularization and
awareness creation through various extension
activities, development of Market Information
System (MIS), and development of marketing
network starting from producers/gatherers to
consumers through various levels in the
market chain.
Through this paper, a modest attempt
has been made to describe briefly about these
initiatives taken by the state forest department,
MFP Federation and SFRI for conservation,
management, development and marketing of
medicinal plants in the state.
INTRODUCTION
Madhya Pradesh with 3,08,250 km 2
geographical area, is the second largest state in
India. It is located in the heart of the country
between 21 17' and 26 52' N latitude and
between 74 08' and 82 49' E longitude.
The state is richly endowed with forest
resources, although these are not evenly
distributed. It has the largest recorded forest
area (94,689 km2) in the country, which is 30.72
per cent of the geographical area of the state
and 12.3 per cent of the total forest area of the
country.
Due to wide variations in edaphic,
climatic and topographic factors, forests of the
state harbour fairly rich floral biodiversity. It
can boast of having 2751 identified species
belonging to 1201 genera and 164 families.
67

Forests of the state not only produce

valuable commercial timber like teak (Tectona
grandis), sal (Shorea robusta), bija (Pterocarpus
marsupium) etc but also a plethora of NTFPs
(non-timber forest products), including
medicinal and aromatic plants. More than 650
species have been identified as important
NTFPs found in the natural forests of the state.
These NTFPs provide livelihood and
sustenance to the rural, especially tribal,
population of the state residing in the vicinity
of forests. The state is also home to 46 tribal
groups, three of them belonging to primitive
tribes. The total tribal population of the state
is, about 1/5th of the total population of the
state and 1/7th of the total tribal population of
the country.
Some of these NTFP species like tendu
(Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves, used for the
manufacture of bidi (an indigenous form of
cigarette in which cut leaf, instead of paper, is
used to wrap tobacco); sal seeds yielding
valuable oil, fruits of harra (Terminalia chebula),
baheda (Terminalia bellerica), aonla (Emblica
officinalis), and achar (Buchanania langan),
mahul (Bauhinia vahlii) leaves used in making
cups and plates, medicinal plants, species
yielding gums, oleoresins and tannins etc are
very important in trade and industry also.
Realising the importance of NTFPs, the
state took an important initiative by
establishing Madhya Pradesh State Minor
Forest Produce (Trade & Development)
Federation, in short called MFP Federation to
promote development and trade of NTFPs
(formerly called MFPs) in the year 1984.
Initially, activities of this Federation were
focused on the collection and marketing of
only tendu leaves, the biggest revenue earner,
but later, it diversified and expanded its
activities to the promotion of in situ
conservation, ex-situ cultivation, processing,
value addition and marketing of other
important NTFPs, especially medicinal and
aromatic plants.
68

State of Madhya Pradesh has also been a

fore runner in the field of research in medicinal
and aromatic plants. State Forest Research
Institute, Jabalpur conducted preliminary
survey of medicinal plants in the state and
published a comprehensive list of medicinal
plant species found in the state with their
vernacular and botanical names, places and
frequency of occurrence, plant parts used in the
treatment of various ailments, phenological
characters etc, as early as in the year 1968. The
institute also simultaneously initiated work on
the development of nursery and cultivation
techniques of medicinal plants in its various
research nurseries located in different agroclimatic zones of the state.
These earlier investigations laid firm
foundation in the state for research and
development in various aspects of medicinal
plants like identification of pockets of
abundant and diverse occurrence of medicinal
plants in natural forests, identification of rare,
endangered and threatened species in wild and
initiation of steps for their in situ conservation
with active participation of local communities
through establishment of Peoples Protected
Areas (PPAs), initiation of scientific research
to determine optimum harvesting time and
quantities to ensure their continued
regeneration and sustained yield, collection of
germplasm of various species from different
sources and their evaluation and mass
multiplication of superior varieties and
provenances, standardization of agrotechniques and development of packages of
practices for cultivation of commercially
important species, organisation of training
programmes for farmers interested in
cultivation of medicinal plants, development
of suitable technology packages of postharvesting (driage, processing, storage, value
addition and packaging); popularization and
awareness creation through various extension
activities, development of Market Information
System (MIS), and development of marketing

network starting from producers/gatherers to

consumers through various levels in the
market chain.
Through this paper, a modest attempt
has been made to describe briefly about these
initiatives taken by the state forest department,
MFP Federation and SFRI for conservation,
management, development and marketing of
medicinal plants in the state.
Sustainability Concerns
Traditionally, local people have been
enjoying right of free access to collect tubers,
herbs and other medicinal plants from natural
forests. Forestry working plans also had
timber-centric approach with only casual
mention of NTFPs (including medicinal
plants). Unlike timber management, there had
been no systematic attempts to estimate the
growing stock and regeneration of NTFPs or
to regulate or record their removal from
forests. These NTFPs were not even considered
important enough from the view point of
revenue generation to the state forest
department. This attitude is reflected in their
nomenclature as Minor Forest Products
(MFPs).
However, a change in this scenario was
witnessed by late seventies due to their
increased commercial utilization, leading to
their over-exploitation from forests. Gradually,
it was realised that the prevailing practices
were quite destructive and unsustainable. It
was bound to draw the attention of policy
makers and other stake holders and cause
concern among conservationists, foresters,
practitioners of indigenous systems of medicine
and pharmaceutical industries requiring
medicinal plant parts as raw material.
Policy Initiatives
(a) Establishment of MFP Federation
The first serious step as policy
initiatives was establishment of M.P. State
Minor Forest Produce (Trade &
Development) Federation in the year 1984.
This is a 3-tier cooperative structure

with primary cooperative societies at the lowest

(village) level comprising of collectors/gatherers
of NTFPs, district unions (with Divisional Forest
Officers as ex-officio divisional managers) at the
middle level and the apex body (with a PCCF level
forest officer as managing director) at the state
level. The Federation was created to promote
development, trade and marketing of various
NTFPs, including medicinal plants.
(b) State Forest Policy, 2005
Madhya Pradesh is one of the few states
having formulated its own state forest policy
within the broad framework of the National
Forest Policy, 1988. Increase in productivity
of NTFPs, especially medicinal plants, their
sustainable harvesting, and improvement of the
economic condition of forest-dependent
communities through value addition and
development of marketing infrastructure are
mentioned explicitly and prominently in the
objectives of the State Forest Policy. For the
achievement of this objective, the following
strategies have been suggested in the policy
document.
i) In view of the increasing importance of
medicinal plants and their demand for
indigenous systems of medicine, their
conservation and sustainable harvesting will be
done in Govt. forest, to increase area under
medicinal plants. Ex-situ cultivation in private
lands will also be encouraged.
ii)Medicinal plants will be listed for
conservation and detailed plan will be made
for their in situ conservation and sustainable
harvesting.
iii) Value addition will be done on
medicinal plants through upgrading of skills
of local communities/institutions on
processing techniques for enhancement of
employment opportunities.
iv) Private initiative will be encouraged
to cultivate medicinal plants on a large scale in
RDF areas.
v) Adequate arrangements will be made
for
69

marketing of medicinal plants and their

processed parts in national and international
markets.
vi) Latest biotechnological and traditional
techniques will be combined for enhancing
quality and value addition of medicinal and
aromatic plants.
vii) Laboratories will be established for
testing and certification of active ingredients
in medicinal plants parts.
viii) Listing of people who have traditional
knowledge will be done and their traditional
knowledge will be documented and used in
public health security programmes.
(c) Integration of NTFPs, including
medicinal plant species, in forestry working
plans
As a matter of principle, the state forest
department has taken a decision to include
NTFPs, in forestry working plants now being
prepared. During the process of stock mapping
and resource survey, areas rich in medicinal
plant resources are identified and delineate and
pro-active measures are prescribed for their
conservation. If such areas of substantial extent
are available in the division, a separate Working
Circle is also formed for their management.
Otherwise, general prescriptions for the
conservation, development and sustainable
management are provided under the chapter
miscellaneous regulations.
(d) Regulation on harvesting under
State Biodiversity Act
The state of Madhya Pradesh has enacted
a State Biodiversity Act in the year 2000 for
promoting conservation of floral and faunal
diversity of the State. Rules framed under the
Act empower the Divisional Forest Officer to
restrict, regulate or even ban the exploitation
of certain forest products in designated areas if
it is necessary for their conservation.

state for the conservation, development,

management and marketing of the medicinal
plants which are briefly described below:
(a) Floral survey of potential pockets
of rich biodiversity
State Forest Research Institute has
conducted a number of studies to survey and
identify pockets of abundance of medicinal
plants in various regions of the state and has
prepared a list of species occurring there. Some
such pockets are Amarkantak, Satpura plateau,
Pachmarhi hills, Shyamgiri in Panna, etc. These
studies have contributed to the establishment
of two biosphere reserves viz. Pachmarhi and
Achanakmar-Amarkantak in the state.
(b) Identification of RET species
The state of Madhya Pradesh, being very
large in extent, has been divided into following
agro ecological zones and zone-wise
biodiversity surveys have been conducted
separately. These zones are:1. Bundelkhand eco region

4. Malwa eco region

2. Central eco region

5. Satpura eco region

3. Chambal eco region

6. Vindhyan eco region

Indigenous knowledge of the local

communities was also made use of in the
identification of rare, endangered and
threatened (RET) species. This identification
of RET species will be very useful in
formulating region specific strategies and
action plans for their in situ and ex-situ
conservation.

(c) Establishment of peoples

protected areas (PPAs)
In order to formulate a people friendly
frame work for poverty alleviation, sustainable
forest management and biodiversity
conservation through integrated ecosystem
approach, a model of Peoples Protected Areas
(PPAs) has been evolved considering the theme
of IUCN Category-VI which dictates that the
Present Status
sites contain predominantly unmodified
Various actions have been initiated in the natural systems, under management to ensure
70

the long term protection and maintenance of

biological diversity whilst providing at the
same time a sustainable flow of natural products
and services to meet local community need.
Experimentally, Peoples Protected Areas have
been identified in potentially rich forest
localities in Madhya Pradesh State.
State Forest Department and State Minor
Forest Produce Federation have jointly started
these innovative initiatives by establishing 20
PPAs in selected forest localities in various
districts as a part of strategy to translate the
philosophy of PPAs into implementable
extension programmes. The PPAs aim at
assessing and preparing a data bank on quantity,
quality and value of NTFPs (including
medicinal plants) existing in the area through
active involvement of local people along with
indigenous
technology.
Continuous
monitoring and evaluation of the status of
NTFPs in the PPAs is being done by SFRI.
Design for survey and collection of
information and management of resources is
based on sound statistical principles with
integrated approach of community
participation. Interim findings obtained from
the studies conducted by SFRI have revealed
significant improvement in regeneration status
and enhancement of diversity.
(d) Determination of optimum
harvesting limits for sustainable
management
through
community
participation
Due to sudden spurt in market demand of
medicinal plant parts, the village communities
have been tempted to over-exploit this valuable
renewable resource from natural forests
ignoring their traditional practices of
sustainable harvesting, leading to its depletion
and even extinction. It is therefore, absolutely
necessary to involve and motivate the local
communities in sustainable management for its
in situ conservation.
Keeping this in view, State Forest
Research Institute, Jabalpur has taken lead to
determine the sustainable harvesting limits of
71

commercially important medicinal plants and

other NTFPs in natural forests, employing an
integrated participatory approach. A project
was initiated in the tribal dominated Mandla
and Dindori districts in which eight
commercially important NTFP species viz.
Chlorophytum tuberosum, Curculigo orchioides,
Dioscorea daemona, Curcuma angustifolia,
Bauhinia vahlii, Plumbago zeylanica, Asparagus
racemosus and Embelia robusta were taken up
for this study. A replicated experiment was
designed with various treatments based on
different harvesting intensities (0, 20, 40, 60,
80 and 100 per cent harvesting of the utilizable
plant parts). Regeneration capacities of the
species were estimated using regeneration
index methods. Further studies are planned to
determine the threshold density levels to
permit harvesting. More species are also
proposed to be covered in future to determine
their sustainable harvesting limits.
(e) Establishment of Gene Bank
A gene bank, having about 350 species of
various medicinal plants has been established
at SFRI, Jabalpur. In this gene bank,
germplasm, collected from various sources, is
brought and evaluated for its growth, vigour,
utilizable biomass and concentration of active
ingredients. SFRI has developed laboratory
facility with HPLC (High Performance Liquid
Chromatograph) and other equipments for
chemo profiling. It has also developed standards
for certain species. MFP Federation has also
developed chemo-profiling laboratory facilities
with HPLC and GC (Gas Chromatograph) at
its MFP Processing and Research Centre at
Barkhera Pathani (Bhopal).
The superior germplasms, screened during
the evaluation, are used for mass multiplication
through seeds and vegetative propagation.
(f)Standardization
of
cultivation
techniques
SFRI, Jabalpur has been engaged for more
than a decade in developing nursery and
cultivation techniques of various medicinal and

aromatic plant species. So far, techniques for the

following 26 species have been standardized.
Vegetative propagation (macro and micro
propagation) techniques for some species,
which are difficult to raise from seeds, have
been worked out and protocols have been
developed.

The institute also provides post-cultivation

consultancy services to the farmers.

Post-harvest handling

Trade in medicinal plants is mostly in the

informal sector and problems inherent in the
unorganized sector like lack of proper markets,
market inefficiency, huge marketing margins,
wide variations and fluctuations in price over
regions were prevalent in the trade. Lack of
information on market arrivals and scattered
nature of availability of species were other
problems.

Proper post-harvest handling is equally

important because lack of proper handling
results in wastage, deterioration of quality and
reduction in market value of the produce.
SFRI, Jabalpur has standardized processing and
driage protocols for 26 species of NTFPs,
including medicinal plants.
Extension & transfer of technology
SFRI has published a large number of
bulletins and extension series on various
medicinal plants giving details about their
cultivation, harvesting and post-harvesting
techniques, economics and market
information. Regular training programs are
conducted at the Institute headquarters as well
as in the field, for farmers and forest staff. Feed
back obtained from the trainees has revealed
that quite a substantial number of farmers have
started cultivation of medicinal plants after
receiving the trainings. Species popular among
farmers for cultivation, are:1. Acorus calamus
8. Gymnema sylvestre
2. Andrographis
9. Mucuna pruriens
paniculata
3. Asparagus
10.Ocimum basilicum
racemosus
4. Cassia angustifolia 11.Phyllanthus
emblica
5. Chlorophytum
12.Rauvolfia
borovilianum
serpentina
6. Chlorophytum
13.Withania
tuberosum
somenifera
7. Gloriosa superba
72

MFP Federation also encourages farmers

to cultivate medicinal plants and helps them in
marketing of their produce.
Marketing of Medicinal Plants

The methods of collection adopted by

tribals are primitive and unscientific. Gradual
ingress of traders strongly through local
inhabitants has made medicinally rich areas
highly vulnerable.
The collectors bring medicinal plants for
sale in the periodic rural markets/ weekly
haats. Here the agents of primary wholesalers
or petty traders purchase the produce. These
traders then send the produce to primary or
secondary wholesale markets.
The medicinal plants markets in the
state are distributed throughout the state, both
in rural and urban areas. Since Madhya Pradesh
is a large state, a number of medicinal plants
trading centers have emerged over a period of
time.
Medicinal plants trade has been going on
for about a century in Central India, beginning
with only a few species which were exported
to France and few other countries. The
commercial trade is now in more than 150
species. Some of the markets like Katni are more
than 80 years old. Trade is however now
shifting to other newly emerging markets.

Western zone of the state

accounts for 70 per cent of ISM
manufacturers of these 96 per
cent are Ayurvedic and 4 per cent
Unani.
Market Information System
The institute has developed
a Market Information System for
medicinal plants for use by
various stake holders. The goal of
MIS was to improve peoples
access to market information in
time. The MIS works through a
network of market data
collection centers. The collected data is stored,
processed and analyzed using computers. The
dissemination of market information is done
through Van Dhan Vyapar newsletter being
published for past eight years.

There are some markets which are specialized and

deal in a few species. Map - 1 and the following
table depict the important markets for medicinal
plants.
Table: Zonewise important markets for
medicinal plants in Madhya Pradesh

The time series data are used in analysing

market trends. These trends are very useful to
planners, farmers and other users for decision
support. Trend reports are generated through
MIS software developed for the system. Such
trend reports have been generated for a number
of species. For example graphical
representation of the market trend for
Andrographics paniculatus is given as under:-

S. No. Zone
1
Central Zone

Markets
Betul, Chicholi,
Chhindwara,
Bhopal
Eastern Zone Katni, Mandla, S
hahdol, Umaria,
Panna
Northern zone Shivpuri, Karhal
(Sheopur),
Gwalior
Western zone Indore,
Neemuch,
Manasa

The main users of medicinal plants are

pharmaceutical companies manufacturing
drugs used in Indian systems of medicine (ISM).
These 468 ISM manufacturers are located in
37 districts of the state. These industries are
mainly located in Indore (192), Jabalpur (52),
Bhopal (52), Ujjain (25) and Gwalior (29).
73

Marketing Strategy
The strategy for marketing of medicinal
plants followed by M.P. MFP (Trade and
Development) Federation is:
1. Organization of buyers sellers meets:
Buyers-sellers meets are regularly
organised at at Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and
Jabalpur during Van Melas (fair) each year to
facilitate interaction among producers, traders
and manufacturers in different regions in order
to promote trade and export of medicinal
plants.
2. The state has created the Sanjeevni brand
for processed medicinal plants. A number of
Sanjeevni sale outlets have been established in
various districts.
3. On the pattern of mandis for
aqricultural produce it has developed four
markets at Jabalpur, Indore, Bhopal and
Gwalior to facilitate buying and selling of
medicinal plants.
4. The state is also promoting contractual
system of medicinal plants with assured buy
back support.
5. Certification of GMP and ISO 9001-2000
has been received.
MFP-PARC: The house of Vindhya
Herbals
A centre of excellence for processing and
training has been set up by the MFP Federation
at Berkheda Pathani, Bhopal in the year 2003
which has state of art facilities for processing
of medicinal plants. A number of primary and

74

secondary processing centers are being established

at other parts of the state also.
The programmes initialized at MFP-PARC
are as under:
1.
Quality control and standardization
development: Under this programme, it
includes creation of a assay for nearly 40
medicinal plants have been developed.
2. Processing technology development
programme: Under this programme, drugs
for 70 herbal products have been formulated
under FDA license.
3. Herbal awareness program: Gene
bank, development of nursery techniques
production of vermi-compost/bio-pesticides.
4. Marketing program of MFP: This
programme includes on-line marketing and
registration of traders, setting up mandis,
buyers-sellers meets etc.
Conclusion
Multidisciplinary initiatives taken by the
state have already made very significant positive
impact on the overall performance of medicinal
plants sector in the state. However, many more
initiatives like establishment of a certification
cell, incorporation of detailed prescriptions on
the sustainable management of medicinal plants
and other NTFPs in working plans,
participatory approach involving forest
dependent communities in the sustainable
harvesting, infrastructure development for
processing, value addition and market
networking at local level are major tasks
proposed to be taken up as future strategy.

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FOR QUALITY

CONTROL OF AYURVIDIC SIDDHA &
UNANI DRUGS
Dr. D.R. Lohar
Director
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Department of AYUSH
Pharmacopoeial Laboratory for Indian Medicine
Ghaziabad

With the growing demand and popularity of

ASU medicines, it becomes very essential to
provide quality medicines. Government of India
as well as consumers are very much concerned
with the quality of medicines for human health
care. For any quality medicine, the quality control
methods are important. It is observed that
industries are always trying to say that quality
control methods and techniques are very costly
and beyond the capacity for medium and small
industries and are trying to avoid for using in house
quality control. They are of the new that private
testing laboratories are charging very high testing
fees which cannot be afforded and result is that
Quality Control in ASU industries is almost nil
except a few (about 50 to 100) industries out of
8000 have quality control facilities. It is, therefore,
decided to provide an appropriate technology for
Quality control of ASU medicines, so that these
industries can create the test facilities in their
premises and maximum number of industries can
get benefit of this.
Broadly Quality Control can be divided
under three heads
A. Pharmacognostic Methods
1. Morphology & Anatomy of Plant drugs
2. Types of stomata
3. Stomatal index
4. Stomatal number
5. Palisade ratio
6. Foreign matter
7. Vein-Islet number

8. Powder microscopy
B. Phytochemical Methods
1. Weight/ml/Sp. gravity
2. Alcohol content
3. Estimation of Volatile oil
4. Boiling point / Melting point
5. Refractive index
6. Optical rotation
7. Viscosity
8. Disintegration test
9. Moisture content/LOD
10. Total solid
11. Total Ash & Acid Insoluble Ash/Water
soluble/Sulphated Ash
12. TLC/HPTLC
13. pH
14. Saponification value
15. Acid value
16. Iodine value
17. Peroxide value
18. Rancidity test
19. Unsaponifiable matter
20. Water soluble extractives
21. Alcohol soluble extractives
22. Limit Test for arsenic & Heavy metals
23. Pesticide residue
24. Test for aflatoxins

75

C. Microbiological Methods
1. Microbial load
2. Sterility
Common Pharmacognostic, Phytochemical
and Microbial test with simple technical /
instrumentation, cost effective and easy to operate
are as follows :
A. Pharmacognostic Methods
Morphology & Anatomy of plant drugs :
Drugs of plant, animal and mineral origin, are
used in their natural or so called "Crude" forms
singly or in combination, to make a compound
formulation. Nearly 90 per cent of the Crude
Drugs are obtained from the plant sources
while about 10 per cent of the drugs are derived
from animal and mineral sources. The drugs
of plant origin especially of herbaceous nature
are frequently used as whole plant; otherwise
their parts such as Root, Stem, Leaf, Flower,
Seed and Fruit, Bark of a Stem or Root, Wood,
and their Exudates or Gums etc. constitute
single drugs in the Indian Systems of Medicine.
These vegetable drugs are either used in dried
forms or some times as whole fresh or their
juice. Systemic study comprises of (I) origin,
common names, scientific nomenclature and
family, (ii) geographical source (and history),
(iii) cultivation, collection, preservation and
storage, (iv) Macroscopical, Microscopical and
sensory (organoleptic) characters.
Morphological or Macroscopical details of
the respective part are given by observing it
with a naked eye or with the aid of a
magnifying lens. In this description general
conditions of the drug, size, shape, outer
surface, inner surface etc are referred to. Drugs
can be identified with the aid of the above, only
if they are available in entire condition.
Sensory or organoleptic characters describe
colour, odour, taste, consistency etc.
Anatomy (Microscopy) : The microscopic
examination of different parts of the drug
provides several diagnostic characters. In case
of leaves, surface preparation and transverse
76

section, preferably through midrib, are made

and nature of epidermis, trichomes, stomata,
arrangement of tissues like palisade cells,
vascular bundles and nature of cell content are
studied. Similarly in case of bark, root, rhizome
and wood, transverse and longitudinal sections
are made and from characteristic arrangements
of tissues of each drug and from diagnostic
elements like stone cells, fibres, vessels etc. as
also from the study of the cell deposits like
crystals, starch etc., the drugs are identified.
The studies of diagnostic elements are helpful
especially when the drugs are in powdered
condition and give clues in the identification
of drugs. Linear measurements and other
methods of quantitative microscopy give
further aid in the identification of the drugs.
Microscopical Methods : Crude Vegetable
Drugs Methods of preparing specimens of
crude materials of vegetable drugs for
microscopical studies vary, depending on the
morphological groups of drugs to be examined
and also on the natures of the material i.e.,
entire, cut or powdered.
I. Leaves, Herbs and Flowers
A. Entire and cut materials
(i) Entire materials - When examining
entire leaves, herbs and flowers, take pieces of
leaf (margin and vein of leaves only), herbs
(only leaf) and flowers (only calyx and corolla)
in test tube. Add a solution of caustic alkali or
nitric acid to the test tube and boil for 1-2
minutes, pour the contents into a porcelain
dish, drain off the liquid, wash the material
with water and leave for sometimes. Remove
the pieces of the material from the water with
a spatula and put on the slide, add a few drops
of the solution of glycerol or chloral hydrate.
Crush the material with scalpel and cover with
cover slip before examining.
(ii) Cut materials - For examining cut
leaves, herbs and flowers, take several pieces in
a test tube and employ the same methods as
described for entire materials. Other methods

employed for clarification of the material (leaf

and stem) are described below :(a) Leaf - Boil pieces of leaves in a test tube
with chloral hydrate for several minutes until
completely clarified and then examine them in
chloral hydrate solution. After clarification,
leaf pieces are divided into two parts with the
help of a scalpel or needle, and carefully turn
one part. The leaf can be examined from both
the dorsal and ventral surfaces.
(b) Stem - To examine stem material
(without leaf) boil pieces in a solution of caustic
alkali or in nitric acid. Remove the epidermis
with a scalpel or a needle for examining the
surface. For examining pressed specimen of
stem, take separate tissue and press them with
a scalpel on the slide.
II. Fruits and Seeds
A. Entire materials
For microscopical examination of fruit
and seed take the specimens or outer coat of
seed or fruit and examine as described below :
(i) Outer Coat - For examining the outer
coat, boil 3 or 4 seeds or fruits in caustic alkali
solution in a test tube for 1-2 minutes (outer
coat specimens with intensive pigmentation are
boiled for longer period). After boiling, place
the pieces on slide, remove the layers of the
coat and examine them after mounting in
glycerol solution.
(ii) Section - If fruits or seeds are too hard
to cut, then boil them for 15-30 minutes or
more depending on their hardness or keep
them in moistening chamber or absorb in
water and chloroform solution or soften them
with stem and then cut the specimen for
examining purpose. For cutting small, flat
seeds (which are difficult to hold) place them
in a pith or potato slit for section cutting.
Small, round or smooth seeds cannot be cut
into section in the pith, then in such cases, they
may be embedded in paraffin wax blocks for
section cutting. For this, a block of paraffin (0.6
0.5 1.5 cms. in size) is made and the seed is

embedded in the block by making a cavity or a

pit in the block with a hot teasing needle. Cut
the section with a sharp razor (through the
object) together with the paraffin, place them
on to the slide, remove paraffin with a needle
or wash it with xylene and examine the section
in chloral-hydrate solution.
III. Barks
A. Entire material
Prepare transverse or longitudinal section
of bark. To soften bark breaks it into pieces of
about 1-2 cm long and 0.5-1 cm wide and boil
with in a test tube for 1-3 minutes. Soft pieces
are then straightened with a scalpel so as to have
an exact transverse or longitudinal direction.
Cut the section with razor, moisten the surface
of the bark with glycerol solution. Remove the
sections with a brush and place them on the
slide. Thin pieces of the bark are cut by placing
them in the pith (potato or carrot). The
sections are treated with various reagents
before examining.
Lignified elements - For testing lignin add
several drops of phloroglucinol and a drop of
concentrated hydrochloric acid to the section
on a slide then draw off the liquid, immerse
the section in chloral hydrate solution and
cover with a cover slip (the specimen should
not be heated); the lignified elements are
coloured crimson. Phloroglucinol can be
substituted by saffranine, and the lignified
elements are coloured pink. The excessive stain
can be washed out with acidified alcohol.
IV. Roots and Rhizomes
A. Entire materials
For anatomical examination of entire
roots and rhizomes cut transverse and
longitudinal sections. For this, soften small
pieces of roots without heating in glycerol
solution for 1-3 days, depending on their
hardness. The softened roots are straightened
with the help of a scalpel in the right direction
and then cut a section with the razor. First,
cut thicker entire slices and then make thin,
77

smaller sections. Stain the entire slices with

phloroglucinol and concentrated hydrochloric
acid or with safranin examine the specimen under
a dissecting microscope. For micro-chemical test
the small and thin sections are examined under
microscope, for starch, Inulin, Lignified elements
& Fixed oil.
Types of Stomata : There are several types
of stomata. Their forms and arrangement of
surrounding all help in the identification of
plant species. They are Anomocytic (irregular
celled), Anisocytic (unequal celled), Diacytic
(cross celled) and Paracytic (parallel celled)
Methods : Take out a thin layer from
lower surface of leaf carefully, mount it on the
slide with a drop of glycerin-ethanol solution,
put a cover slip and see under microscope and
observe the nature of stomata.
Stomatal Index : The stomatal index is the
percentage of the number of stomata formed
by the total number of epidermal cells,
including the stomata, each stoma being
counted as one cell.
Place leaf fragments of about 5 5 mm in
size in a test tube containing about 5 ml of
chloral hydrate solution and heat in a boiling
water-bath for about 15 minutes or until the
fragments become transparent. Transfer a
fragment to a microscopic slide and prepare
the mount. Examine slide under microscope
epidermal cell and a stoma. Calculate the result
as follows:
S x 100
Stomatal index = ----------------E+S
Where S = the number of stomata in a
given area of leaf ; and E = the number of
epidermal cells (including trichomes) in the
same area of leaf. Take about ten determinations
and calculate the average index.
Stomatal Number : Mark on the drawing
paper a cross (X) for each stomata and calculate
the average number of stomata per square
millimeter for each surface of the leaf.
78

Palisade Ratio : Prepare the slide as above

and trace four adjacent epidermal cells on paper;
focus gently downward to bring the palisade
into view and trace sufficient palisade cells to
cover the area of the outlines of the four
epidermal cells. Count the palisade cells under
the four epidermal cells. Where a cell is
intersected, include it in the count only when
more than half of it is within the area of the
epidermal cells. Calculate the average number
of palisade cells beneath one epidermal cell,
dividing the count by 4; this is the "Palisade
ratio". Take ten determinations and calculate
the average number.
Foreign Matter : The amount of foreign
matter shall not be more than the percentage
prescribed in the monograph.
Weigh 100 -500 g of the drug sample to be
examined or the minimum quantity prescribed
in the monograph, and spread it out in a thin
layer. The foreign matter should be detected
by inspection with the unaided eye or by the
use of a lens (6x). Separate and weigh it and
calculate the percentage present.
Vein-Islet Number : The number of veinislets per square millimeter is termed the "VeinIslet number".
This value has been shown to be constant
for any given species and, for full-grown leaves,
to be unaffected by the age of the plant or the
size of the leaves. The vein-islet number has
proved useful for the critical distinction of
certain nearly related species.
Powder Microscopy : Prepare specimen
for examination by placing a little amount of
powder on a slide, add 1-2 drops of
phloroglucinol and a drop of concentrated
hydrochloric acid, cover it with a cover slip,
draw off the liquid from one side of the slide
with filter paper, and then apply 1-2 drops of
chloral-hydrate solution from the other side
of the slide, lignified elements are stained
crimson-red. Specimen may also be prepared
with caustic alkali or ferric ammonium

sulphate for this purpose.

B. Phytochemical Methods
Weight Per Millilitre and Specific Gravity :
Weight per millilitre - The weight per millilitre of
a liquid is the weight in g of 1 ml of a liquid when
weighed in air at 25, unless otherwise specified.
Method : Select a thoroughly clean and dry
25 ml. sp. gravity bottle. Calibrate the sp.
gravity bottle by filling it with recently boiled
and cooled water at 25 and weigh the contents.
Calculate the capacity of the sp.gravity bottle.
Adjust the temperature of the substance to be
examined, to about 25 and fill the sp.gravity
bottle with it. Adjust the temperature of the
filled bottle to 25, find out the weight of the
liquid. Divide by 25 to get the weight per
milliliter.
Specific gravity - The specific gravity of a
liquid is the weight of a given volume of the
liquid at 25 (unless otherwise specified)
compared with the weight of an equal volume
of water at the same temperature, all weighings
being taken in air.
Method : Proceed as described under Wt.
Per ml. Obtain the specific gravity of the liquid
by dividing the weight of the liquid contained
in the sp. gravity bottle by the weight of water
contained, both determined at 25 unless
otherwise directed in the individual
monograph.
Alcohol Content : The ethanol content of
a liquid is expressed as the number of volumes
of ethanol contained in 100 volumes of the
liquid, the volumes being measured at 25 C.
Alcohol content of any drug may be
determined by taking 25 ml test sample in 250
- 500 ml round bottomed flask. Add 125 - 150
water, connect to condenser and distill off the
liquid. Collect the distillate about 90 ml in 100
ml volumetric flask. add purified water to
make upto 100 ml at 25 C. Find out sp. gravity
at 25 C and find out alcohol content from
standard table of alcohol content.

Volatile Oil : The determination of volatile

oil in a drug is made by distilling the drug with a
mixture of water and glycerin, collecting the
distillate in a graduated tube in which the aqueous
portion of the distillate is automatically separated
and returned to the distilling flask, and measuring
the volume of the oil. The content of the volatile
oil is expressed as a percentage v/w.
Method of determination : A suitable
quantity of the coarsely powdered drug
together with 75 ml of glycerin and 175 ml of
water in the one litre distilling flask, and a few
pieces of porous earthen ware and one filter
paper 15 cm cut into small strips, 7 to 12 mm
wide, are also put in the distilling flask, which
is then connected to the still head. The tap is
then closed and the condenser attached. The
contents of the flask are now heated and stirred
by frequent agitation until ebullition
commences. The flask is rotated occasionally
to wash down any material that adheres to its
sides.
As soon as the layer of the oil completely
enters into the graduated part of the receiver,
the tap is closed and the volume is read. The
measured yield of volatile oil is taken to be the
content of volatile oil in the drug.
Boiling Point : The billing-range of a
substance is the range of temperature within
which the whole or a specified portion of the
substance distils.
Method : Take about 50 ml boiling point
determination tube. Put about 25 ml liquid
whose boiling point is to be determined. Put a
calibrated thermometer and a capillary tube
closed from the upper end. Start heating slowly
from the side of the glass tube and note down
the temperature when bubbles start coming out
from the capillary tube suitable apparatus. A
capacity of about 130 ml. The side tube slopes
downwards in the same plane as the axis of the
neck at angle of between 72 to 78. Use
suitable thermometer having temperature
range which covers boiling point of test liquid.
79

Note down the temperature at which liquid

start distilling.
Melting Point/Melting Range : The meltingrange of a substance is the range between the
corrected temperature at which the substance
begins to form droplets and the corrected
temperature at which it completely melts, as shown
by formation of a meniscus.
Method : Take a small amount of substance
in 0.9 to 1.1 mm internal diameter capillary
tube of soft glass, closed at one end, and having
attached with a thermometer having range upto
360 C. Put it in a glass beaker having sulphuric
acid/glycerin in which glass bulb of
thermometer and capillary dips inside the
liquid. In place of this melting point apparatus
may also be used. Start heating slowly and note
down the temperature when solid in capillary
tube start melting.
Refractive Index : The refractive index (n)
of a substance with reference to air is the ratio
of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine
of the angle of refraction of a beam of light
passing from air into the substance. It varies
with the wavelength of the light used in its
measurement.
Unless otherwise prescribed, the refractive
index is measured at 25 with reference to the
wavelength of the D line of sodium (=589.3
nm). The temperature should be carefully
adjusted and maintained, since the refractive
index varies significantly with temperature.
The Abbe refractometer is convenient for
most measurements of refractive index but
other refractometer of equal or greater
accuracy may be used. To achieve accuracy, the
apparatus should be calibrated against distilled
water, which has a refractive index of 1.3325 at
25 or against the reference liquids. The
cleanliness of the instrument should be checked
frequently by determining the refractive index
of distilled water, which at 25 is 1.3325.
Optical Rotation : Certain substances, in
a pure state, in solution and in tinctures posses
80

the property of rotating the plane of polarized

light, i.e., the incident light emerges in a plane
forming an angle with the plane of the incident
light. These substances are said to be optically
active and the property of rotating the plane
of polarized light is known as Optical
Rotation. The optical rotation is defined as the
angle through which the plane of polarized
light is rotated when polarized light obtained
from sodium or mercury vapor lamp passes
through one decimeter thick layer of a liquid
or a solution of a substance at a temperature of
25 unless otherwise stated in the monograph.
Substances are described as dextrorotatory (+)
or laevorotatory (-) according to the clockwise
or anticlockwise rotation respectively of the
plane of polarized light.
Method : A polarimeter on which angular
rotation accurate 0.05 can be read, may be
used. For liquid substances, take a minimum
of five readings of the rotation of the liquid
and also for an empty tube at the specified
temperature. For a solid, dissolve in a suitable
solvent and take five readings of the rotation
of the solution and the solvent used. Calculate
the average of each set of five readings and find
out the corrected optical rotation from the
observed rotation and the reading with the
blank (average).
Viscosity : Viscosity is a property of a
liquid, which is closely related to the resistance
to flow. Absolute viscosity can be measured
directly if accurate dimensions of the measuring
instruments are known but it is more common
practice to calibrate the instrument with a
liquid of known viscosity and to determine the
viscosity of the unknown fluid by comparison
with that of the known.
Method : The liquid under test is filled in
a U tube viscometer in accordance with the
expected viscosity of the liquid so that the fluid
level stands within 0.2 mm of the filling mark
of the viscometer when the capillary is vertical
and the specified temperature is attained by the
test liquid. The liquid is sucked or blown to

the specified weight of the viscometer and the

time taken for the meniscus to pass the two
specified marks is measured. The kinematic
viscosity in centistokes is calculated from the
following equation:
Kinematic viscosity = kt
Where k = the constant of the viscometer
tube determined by observation on liquids of
known kinematic viscosity. T = time in
seconds for meniscus to pass through the two
specified marks.
Disintegration test :
Method - Place five tablets in the tube.
Insert the guided disc above the tablets, in the
tube and raise and lower the tube in such a
manner that the complete up and down
movement is repeated thirty times a minute.
The tablets are disintegrated when no particles
remains above the gauze which will not readily
pass through it. The time required for five
tablets to disintegrate in the manner prescribed
is, unless otherwise stated in the monograph,
not more than fifteen minutes.
Moisture content (Loss on drying ) : Place
about 10 gm of the drug (coarse powder or in
case of fresh plant cut into small pieces of about
3 mm in thickness) in a tared evaporating disc,
weigh it and dry at about 1050 C for five hours
and weigh again. Continue drying & weighing
at one hour interval until difference between
two successive weighings corresponds to not
more than 0.25 per cent. Weigh & find out
percentage loss.
Total Solids : Determination of total
solids in Asava/ Aristha is generally required.
Asava/ Aristha containing sugar or honey
should be examined by method 1, sugar or
honey free Asava/ Aristha and other material
should be examined by method 2.
Method 1 Transfer accurately 50 ml of the
clear Asava/ Aristha an evaporable dish and
evaporate to a thick extract on a water bath.
Unless specified otherwise, extract the residue
with 4 quantities, each of 10 ml, of dehydrated

ethanol with stirring and filter. Combine the

filtrates to another evaporating dish which
have been dried to a constant weight and
evaporate nearly to dryness on a water bath,
add accurately 1 g of diatomite (dry at 105C
for 3 hours and cooled in a desiccator for 30
min), stir thoroughly, dry at 105C for 3 hours,
cool the dish in a desiccator for 30 min, and
weigh immediately. Deduct the weight of
diatomite added, the weight of residue should
comply with the requirements stated under the
individual monograph.
Method 2 Transfer accurately 50 ml of the
clear Asava/ Aristha to an evaporable dish,
which have been dried to a constant weight and
evaporate to dryness on a water bath, then dry
at 105C for 3 hours. After cooling the dish
containing the residue in a desiccator for 30
min, weigh it immediately. The weight of
residue should comply with the requirements
stated under the individual monograph.
Total Ash : Incinerate about 2 to 3 g
accurately weighed, of the ground drug in a
tared platinum or silica dish at a temperature
not exceeding 450 until free from carbon, cool
and weigh. If a carbon free ash cannot be
obtained in this way, exhaust the charred mass
with hot water, collect the residue on an ash
less filter paper, incinerate the residue and filter
paper, add the filtrate, evaporate to dryness,
and ignite at a temperature not exceeding 450.
Calculate the percentage of ash with reference
to the air-dried drug.
Acid Insoluble Ash : Boil the ash obtained
for 5 minutes with 25 ml of dilute hydrochloric
acid; collect the insoluble matter in a Gooch
crucible, or on an ashless filter paper, wash with
hot water and ignite to constant weight.
Calculate the percentage of acid-insoluble ash
with reference to the air dried drug.
Water Soluble Ash : Boil the ash for 5
minutes with 25 ml of water; collect insoluble
matter in a Gooch crucible, or on an ash less
filter paper, wash with hot water, and ignite
for 15 minutes at a temperature not exceeding
81

450. Substract the weight of the insoluble

matter from the weight of the ash; the
difference in weight represents the water
soluble ash. Calculate the percentage of watersoluble ash with reference to the air dried drug.
Sulphated Ash : Heat a silica or platinum
crucible to redness for 10 minutes, allow to cool
in a desiccator and weigh. Put 1 to 2 g of the
substance, accurately weighed, into the
crucible, ignite gently at first, until the
substance is thoroughly charred. Cool, moisten
the residue with 1 ml of sulphuric acid, heat
gently until white fumes are no longer evolved
and ignite at 800 25 until all black particles
have disappeared. Conduct the ignition in a
place protected from air currents. Allow the
crucible to cool, add a few drops of sulphuric
acid and heat. Ignite as before, allow to cool
and weigh. Repeat the operation until two
successive weighings do not differ by more
than 0.5 mg.
Thin Layer Chromatography : This is a
very sensitive technique. With this technique
we can get the characteristic spots of active
constituents of plant drugs. It requires very
small quantity and is very fast in detection. In
TLC technique TLC plate, TLC applicator,
capillary tube for spotting, TLC jar for
developing and sprayer for developing TLC
plate, and a UV chamber is required to observe
the plate under long and short UV radiation.
Method : Prepare a 0.2mm thin silica gel
'G' plate or precoated plate available in market.
The alcoholic extract or chloroform or ether
extract of the drug as given in individual
monograph is applied with the help of the
capillary tube sample applicator (5 to 10 ?) is
allowed to evaporate. Then develop the plate
in a suitable mobile phase in a pre-saturated
TLC chamber. Allow to run the plate upto 8
to 10 cm high. Take out the plate. Dry in air
and observe the plate under long/short UV
light. Write down the no. of spots and colour.
Then spray the plate with developing reagent
like Drangendroff Reagent for alkaloid,
82

antimony trichloride for steroid, terpenes,

vanillum-sulphuric acid etc for developing the
color to the spots. Measure their Rf value. The
number of spots, color and the Rf values in a
particular solvent are characteristic for a
particular drug and gives a finger print profile
for that plant drug. This profile helps in the
identification of herbal drugs. In this technique
marker compounds are also used to identify
the presence of marker compound in that drug
by using Co-TLC. We can also find out the
quantitative value of active principles with
marker compounds. In latest HPTLC
apparatus the scanner have a facility to scan the
individual spot for complete UV range and
thus we can get UV visible spectrum. It helps
in the qualitative as well as quantitative
estimation of active compounds.
pH values : The pH value of an aqueous
liquid may be defined as the common
logarithum of the reciprocal of the hydrogen
ion concentration expressed in g, per litre. The
pH value of a liquid is determined
potentiometrically by means of the glass,
electrode and a suitable pH meter.
Method : Operate the pH meter and
electrode system according to the
manufacturer's instructions. Standardise the
meter and electrodes with 0.05 M potassium
hydrogen phthalate (pH 4.00) when measuring
an acid solution, or with 0.05 M sodium borate
when measuring an alkaline solution. At the
end of a set of measurement, take a reading of
the solution used to standardize the meter and
electrodes. This reading should not differ by
more than 0.02 from the original value at which
the apparatus was standardized. If the difference
is greater than 0.05, the set of measurements
must be repeated. Unless otherwise stated all
solution must be brought to laboratory
temperature prior to measurement. Whilst the
pH/temperature coefficient of 0.05 M
potassium hydrogen phthalate may be
neglected that of 0.05 M sodium borate must
be taken into account. When measuring pH

values above 10.0 make sure that the glass

electrode is suitable for use at the alkaline and
of the pH scale and apply any correction that
is necessary. Water used as the solvent in the
determination of the pH of a solution is water
having a pH of 5.5 to 7.0.
Saponification value : The saponification
value is the number of mg of potassium
hydroxide required to neutralize the fatty
acids, resulting from the complete hydrolysis
of 1 g of the oil or fat, when determined.
Method :- Dissolve 35 to 40 g of potassium
hydroxide in 20 ml water, and add sufficient
alcohol to make 1,000 ml. Allow it to stand
overnight, and pour off the clear liquor. Weigh
accurately about 2 g of the substance in a tared
250 ml flask, add 25 ml of the alcoholic solution
of potassium hydroxide, attach a reflux
condenser and boil on a water-bath for one
hour, frequently rotating the contents of the
flask cool and add 1 ml of solution of
phenolphthalein and titrate the excess of alkali
with 0.5 N hydrochloric acid. Note the number
of ml required (a) Repeat the experiment with
the same quantities of the same reagents in the
manner omitting the substance. Note the
number of ml required (b) Calculate the
saponification value from the following
formula:(b-a) 0.02805 1.000
Saponification Value = ------------------------------------W
Where 'W' is the weight in g of the
substance taken.
Acid Value- The acid value is the number
of mg potassium hydroxide required to
neutralize the free acid in 1 g of the substance,
when determined.
Method: Weigh accurately about 10 g of
the substance (1 to 5) in the case of a resin into
a 250 ml flask and add 50 ml of a mixture of
equal volumes of alcohol and solvent ether,
which has been neutralized after the addition
of 1 ml of solution of phenolphthalein. Heat

gently on a water-bath, if necessary until the

substance has completely melted, titrate with
0.1 N potassium hydroxide, shaking constantly
until a pink colour which persists for fifteen
seconds is obtained. Note the number of ml
required. Calculate the acid value from the
following formula: a 0.00561 1000
Acid Value = -------------------------------------W
Where 'a' is the number of ml. of 0.1 N
potassium hydroxide required and 'w' is the
weight in g of the substance taken.
Iodine Value : The Iodine value of a
substance is the weight of iodine absorbed by
100 part by weight of the substance, when
determined by one of the following method:Iodine Monochloride Method :
Place the substance accurately weighed,
in dry iodine flask of 250 ml capacity, add 10
ml of carbon tetrachloride, and dissolve. Add
20 ml of iodine monochloride solution, insert
the stopper, previously moistened with
solution of potassium iodine and allow to stand
in a dark place at a temperature of about 17
or thirty minutes. Add 15 ml of solution of
potassium iodine and 100 ml water; shake, and
titrate with 0.1 N sodium thiosulphate, using
solution of starch as indicator. Note the
number of ml required (a). At the same time
carry out the operation in exactly the same
manner, but without the substance being
tested, and note the number of ml of 0.1 N
sodium thiosulphate required (b).
Calculate the iodine value from the
formula:(b-a) 0.01269 100
Iodine value = -------------------------------------W
Where 'W' is the weight in g of the
substance taken.
Peroxide Value : The peroxide value is the
83

number of milliequivalents of active oxygen

that expresses the amount of peroxide contained
in 1000 g of the substance.
Method : Weigh accurately about 5 g of the
substance being examined, into a 250-ml glassstoppered conical flask, add 30 ml of a mixture
of 3 volumes of glacial acetic acid and 2 volumes
of chloroform, swirl until dissolved and add
0.5ml volumes of saturated potassium iodide
solution. Allow to stand for exactly 1 minute, with
occasional shaking, add 30 ml of water and titrate
gradually, with continuous and vigorous shaking,
with 0.01M sodium thiosulphate until the yellow
colour almost disappears. Add 0.5 ml of starch
solution and continue the titration, shaking
vigorously until the blue colour just disappears (a
ml). Repeat the operation omitting the substance
being examined (b ml). The volume of 0.01M
sodium thiosulphate in the blank determination
must not exceed 0.1 ml.
Calculate the peroxide value from the
expressionPeroxide value = 10 (a - b)/w
Where w = weight, in g, of the substance.
Rancidity test (Kreis Test) : The test
depends upon the formation of a red colour
when oxidized fat is treated with conc. HCl
and a solution of phloroglucinol in ether. The
compound in rancid fats responsible for the
colour reaction is epihydrin aldehyde. All
oxidized fats respond to the Kreis test and the
intensity of the colour produced is roughly
proportional to the degree of oxidative
rancidity.
Method : Mix 1 ml of melted fat and 1 ml
of conc. HCl in a test tube. Add 1 ml of a 1%
solution of phloroglucinol in diethyl ether and
mix thoroughly with the fat-acid mixture. A
pink colour formation indicates that the fat is
slightly oxidized while a red colour indicates
that the fat is definitely oxidized.
Unsaponifiable
Matter
:
The
unsaponifiable matter consists of substances
present in oils and fats, which are not saponifiable
84

by alkali hydroxides and are determined by

extraction with an organic solvent of a solution
of the saponified substance being examined.
Method : Introduce about 5 g accurately
weighed of the substance being examined, into a
250-ml flask fitted with a reflux condenser. Add a
solution of 2 g of potassium hydroxide in 40 ml
of ethanol (95%) and heat on a water-bath for 1
hour, shaking frequently. Transfer the contents of
the flask to a separating funnel with the aid of 100
ml of hot water and, while the liquid is still warm,
shake very carefully with three quantities, each of
100 ml, of peroxide-free ether. Combine the ether
extracts in a second separating funnel containing
40 ml of water, swirl gently for a few minute, allow
to separate and reject the lower layer. Wash the
ether extract with two quantities, each of 40 ml,
of water and with three quantities, each of 40 ml,
of a 3% w/v solution of potassium hydroxide,
each treatment being followed by a washing with
40 ml of water. Finally, wash the ether layer with
successive quantities, each of 40 ml, of water until
the aqueous layer is not alkaline to phenolphthalein
solution. Transfer the ether layer to a weighed
flask, washing out the separating funnel with
peroxide-free ether. Distil off the ether and add
to the residue to 6 ml of acetone. Remove the
solvent completely from the flask with the aid of
a gentle current of air. Dry at 100 to 105 for 30
minutes. Cool in a desiccator and weigh the residue.
Calculate the unsaponifiable matter as % w/w.
Dissolve the residue in 20 ml of ethanol
(95%), previously neutralised to phenolphthalein
solution and titrate with 0.1M ethanolic potassium
hydroxide. If the volume of 0.1M ethanolic
potassium hydroxide exceeds 0.2 ml, the amount
weighed cannot be taken as the unsaponifiable
matter and the test must be repeated.
Water Soluble Extractive : Proceed as
directed for the determination of Alcohol-soluble
extractive, using Chloroform-water instead of
ethanol.
Alcohol Soluble Extractive : Macerate 5 g
of the air dried drug, coarsely powdered, with

100 ml of Alcohol of the specified strength in a

closed flask for twenty-four hours, shaking
frequently during six hours and allowing to
stand for eighteen hours. Filter rapidly, taking
precautions against loss of solvent, evaporate
25 ml of the filtrate to dryness in a tared flat
bottomed shallow dish, and dry at 105, to
constant weight and weigh. Calculate the
percentage of alcohol-soluble extractive with
reference to the air-dried drug.
Limit Test for Lead : He following
method is based on the extraction of lead by
solutions of dithizone. All reagents used for
the test should have as low a content of lead as
practicable. All reagent solutions should be
stored in containers of borosilicate glass.
Glassware should be rinsed thoroughly with
warm dilute nitric acid, followed by water.
General Test
Transfer the volume of the prepared
sample directed in the monograph to a
separator and unless otherwise directed in
monograph, add 6 ml of ammonium citrate
solution Sp., and 2 ml hydroxylamine
hydrochloride solution Sp., (For the
determination of lead in iron salts use 10 ml of
ammonium citrate solution Sp.). Add two
drops of phenol red solution and make the
solution just alkaline (red in colour) by the
addition of strong ammonnia solution. Cool
the solution if necessary, and add 2 ml of
potassium cyanide solution Sp. Immediately
extract the solution with several quantities each
of 5 ml, of dithizone extraction solution,
draining off each extract into another
separating funnel, until the dithizone extraction
solution retains its green colour. Shake the
combine dithizone solutions for 30 seconds
with 30 ml of a 1 per cent w/v solution of nitric
acid and discrad the chloroform layer. Add to
the solution exactly 5 ml of standard dithizone
solution and 4 ml of ammonia-cyanide solution
Sp. and shake for 30 seconds; the colour of the
chloroform layer is of no deeper shade of violet
than that of a control made with a volume of

dilute standard lead solution equivalent to the

amount of lead permitted in the sample under
examination.
Pesticide Residue : Definition. For the
purposes of the Pharmacopoeia, a pesticide is any
substance or mixture of substances intended for
preventing, destroying or controlling any pest,
unwanted species of plants or animals causing
harm during or otherwise interfering with the
production, processing storage, transport or
marketing of vegetable drugs. The item includes
substances intended for use as growth-regulators,
defoliants or desiccants and any substance applied
to crops either before or after harvest to protect
the commodity from deterioration during storage
and transport.
Sampling : Method. For containers up to 1
kg, take one sample from the total content,
thoroughly mixed, sufficient for the tests. For
containers between 1 kg and 5 kg, take three
samples, equal in volume, from the upper, middle
and lower parts of the container, each being
sufficient to carry out the tests. Thoroughly mix
the samples and take from the mixture an amount
sufficient to carry out the tests. For containers of
more than 5 kg, take three samples, each of at
least 250 g from the upper, middle and lower parts
of the container. Thoroughly mix the samples and
take from the mixture an amount sufficient to carry
out the tests.
Size of sampling. If the number (n) of
containers is three or fewer, take samples from
each container as indicated above under Method.
If the number of containers is more than three,
take n+1 samples for containers as indicated under
Method, rounding up to the nearest unit if
necessary.
The samples are to be analysed immediately
to avoid possible degradation of the residues. If
this is not possible, the samples are stored in
airtight containers suitable for food contact, at a
temperature below 0C, protected from light.
Reagents. All reagents and solvents are free from
any contaminants, especially pesticides, that might
interfere with the analysis. It is often necessary to
85

use special quality solvents or, if this is not

possible, solvents that have recently been redistilled in an apparatus made entirely of glass. In
any case, suitable blank tests must be carried out.
Apparatus. Clean the apparatus and
especially glassware to ensure that they are free
from pesticides, for example, soak for at least 16
h in a solution of phosphate-free detergent, rinse
with large quantities of distilled water R and wash
with acetone and hexane or heptane.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of
pesticide residues. The analytical procedures used
are validated according to the regulations in force.
In particular, they satisfy the following criteria :
- the chosen method, especially the
purification steps, are suitable for the combination
pesticide residue/substance to be analysed and
not susceptible to interference from co-extractives;
the limits of detection and quantification are
measured for each pesticide-matrix combination
to be analysed.
- between 70 per cent to 110 per cent of each
pesticide is recovered.
- the repeatability of the method is not less
than the values indicated.
- the reproducibility of the method is not
less than the values indicated.
- the concentration of test and reference
solutions and the setting of the apparatus are such
that a linear response is obtained from the
analytical detector.
Test for Aflatoxins : This test is provided to
detect the possible presence of aflatoxins B1, B2,
G1 and G2 in any material of plant origin. Unless
otherwise specified in the individual monograph,
use the following method.
Zinc Acetate - Aluminum Chloride Reagent
- Dissolve 20 g of zinc acetate and 5 g of aluminum
chloride in sufficient water to make 100 ml.
Sodium Chloride Solution - Dissolve 5 g of
sodium chloride in 50 ml of water.
Test Solution 1 - Grind about 200 g of plant
86

material to a fine powder. Transfer about 50 g of

the powdered material, accurately weighed, to a
glass-stoppered flask. Add 200 ml of a mixture
of methanol and water (17 : 3). Shake vigorously
by mechanical means for not less than 30 minutes
and filter. [Note - If the solution has interfering
plant pigments, proceed as directed for Test
Solution 2.] Discard the first 50 ml of the filtrate
and collect the next 40-ml portion. Transfer the
filtrate to a separatory funnel. Add 40 ml of
Sodium Chloride Solution and 25 ml of solvent
hexane and shake for 1 minute. Allow the layers
to separate and transfer the lower aqueous layer
to a second separatory funnel. Extract the aqueous
layer in the separatory funnel twice, each time with
25 ml of methylene chloride, by shaking for 1
minute. Allow the layers to separate each time,
separate the lower organic layer and collect the
combined organic layers in a 125 ml conical flask.
Evaporate the organic solvent to dryness on a
water bath. Cool the residue. If interferences exist
in the residue, proceed as directed for Cleanup
Procedure; otherwise, dissolve the residue
obtained above in 0.2 ml of a mixture of
chloroform and acetonitrile (9.8 : 0.2) and shake
by mechanical means if necessary.
Test Solution 2 - Collect 100 ml of the filtrate
from the start of the flow and transfer to a 250 ml
beaker. Add 20 ml of Zinc Acetate-Aluminum
Chloride Reagent and 80 ml of water. Stir and
allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add 5 g of a suitable
filtering aid, such as diatomaceous earth, mix and
filter. Discard the first 50 ml of the filtrate, and
collect the next 80 ml portion. Proceed as
directed for Test Solution 1, beginning with
"Transfer the filtrate to a separatory funnel."
Cleanup Procedure - Place a mediumporosity sintered-glass disk or a glass wool plug
at the bottom of a 10 mm x 300 mm
chromatographic tube. Prepare a slurry of 2 g of
silica gel with a mixture of ethyl ether and solvent
hexane (3 : 1), pour the slurry into the column
and wash with 5 ml of the same solvent mixture.
Allow the absorbent to settle and add to the top
of the column a layer of 1.5 g of anhydrous

sodium sulfate.
Dissolve the residue obtained above in 3 ml
of methylene chloride and transfer it to the
column. Rinse the flask twice with 1-ml portions
of methylene chloride, transfer the rinses to the
column and elute at a rate not greater than 1 ml
per minute. Add successively to the column 3 ml
of solvent hexane, 3 ml of ethyl ether and 3 ml of
methylene chloride; elute at a rate not greater than
3 ml per minute; and discard the eluates. Add to
the column 6 ml of a mixture of methylene
chloride and acetone (9 : 1) and elute at a rate not
greater than 1 ml per minute, preferably without
the aid of vacuum. Collect this eluate in a small
vial, add a boiling chip if necessary and evaporate
to dryness on a water bath. Dissolve the residue
in 0.2 ml of a mixture of chloroform and
acetonitrile (9.8 : 0.2) and shake by mechanical
means if necessary.
Aflatoxin Solution - [Caution - Aflatoxins are
highly toxic. Handle with care.]
Dissolve accurately weighed quantities of
aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1 and
aflatoxin G2 in a mixture of chloroform and
acetonitrile (9.8 : 0.2) to obtain a solution having
concentrations of 0.5 ?g per ml each of aflatoxin
B1 and aflatoxin G1 and 0.1 ?g per ml each of
aflatoxin B2 and aflatoxin G2.
Procedure - Separately apply 2.5 ?L, 5 ?L,
7.5 ?L and 10 ?L of the Aflatoxin Solution and
three 10-?L applications of either Test Solution 1
or Test Solution 2 to a suitable thin-layer
chromatographic plate coated with a 0.25-mm
layer of chromatographic silica gel mixture.
Superimpose 5 ?L of the Aflatoxin Solution on
one of the three 10- ?L applications of the Test
Solution. Allow the spots to dry and develop the
chromatogram in an unsaturated chamber
containing a solvent system consisting of a mixture
of chloroform, acetone and isopropyl alcohol (85
: 10 : 5) until the solvent front has moved not less
than 15 cm from the origin. Remove the plate
from the developing chamber, mark the solvent
from and allow the plate to air-dry. Locate the

spots on the platy by examination under UV light

at 365 nm: the four applications of the Aflatoxin
Solution appear as four clearly separated blue
fluorescent spots; the spot obtained from the Test
Solution that was superimposed on the Aflatoxin
Solution is no more intense than that of the
corresponding Aflatoxin Solution; and no spot
from any of the other Test Solutions corresponds
to any of the spots obtained from the applications
of the Aflatoxin Solution. If any spot of aflatoxins
is obtained in the Test Solution, match the position
of each fluorescent spot of the Test Solution with
those of the Aflatoxin Solution to identify the type
of aflatoxin present. The intensity of the aflatoxin
spot, if present in the Test Solution, when
compared with that of the corresponding aflatoxin
in the Aflatoxin Solution will give an approximate
concentration of aflatoxin in the Test Solution.
C. Microbiological Methods
Microbial Limit Test : The methods given
herein are invalid unless it is demonstrated that
the test specimens to which they are applied do
not, of themselves, inhibit the multiplication
under the test conditions of micro-organisms that
can be present. Therefore, prior to doing the tests,
inoculate diluted specimens of the substance
being examined with separate viable cultures of
Escherichia coli, Salmonella species,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus
aureus. This is done by adding 1 ml of not less
than 10-3 dilutions of a 24-hr broth culture of
the micro-organisms to the first dilution (in buffer
solution pH 7.2, fluid soyabean-casein digest
medium or fluid lactose medium) of the test
material and following the test procedure. If the
organisms fail to grow in the relevant medium the
procedure should be modified by (a) increasing
the volume of diluent with the quantity of test
material remaining the same, or (b) incorporating
a sufficient quantity of a suitable inactivating agent
in the diluents, or (c) combining the
aforementioned modifications so as to permit
growth of the organisms in the media.
If inhibitory substances are present in the
87

sample, 0.5% of soya lecithin and 4% of

polysorbate 20 may be added to the culture
medium. Alternatively, repeat the test as described
in the previous paragraph, using fluid casein
digest-soya lecithin-polysorbate 20 medium to
demonstrate neutralization of preservatives or
other antimicrobial agents in the test material.
Where inhibitory substances are contained in the
product and the latter is soluble, the Membrane
filtration method described under Total Aerobic
Microbial Count may be used.
If inspite of incorporation of suitable
inactivating agents and a substantial increase in
the volume of diluent it is still not possible to
recover the viable cultures described above and
where the article is not suitable for applying the
membrance filtration method, it can be assumed
that the failure to isolate the inoculated organism
may be due to the bactericidal activity of the
product. This may indicate that the article is not
likely to be contaminated with the given species
of micro-organisms. However, monitoring should
be continued to establish the spectrum of
inhibition and bactericidal activity of the article.
Sterility Test : The tests for sterility are
intended for detecting the presence of viable
for ms of micro-organisms in or on
pharmacopoeial preparations. The tests must be
carried out under conditions designed to avoid
accidental contamination of the product during
the test. Precautions taken for this purpose should
not adversely affect any micro-organisms which

88

should be revealed in the test.

The working conditions in which the tests are
performed should be monitored regularly by
sampling the air and surfaces of the working area
and by carrying out control tests, The tests are
based upon the principle that if micro-organisms
are placed in a medium which provides nutritive
material and water, and kept at a favourable
temperature, the organisms will grow and their
presence can be indicated by a turbidity in the
originally clear medium.
The tests for sterility are designed to reveal
the presence of micro-organisms in the samples
used in the tests; interpretation of results is based
on the assumption that the contents of every
container in the batch, had they been tested, would
also have complied with the tests. Since every
container cannot be tested, a sufficient number
of containers should be examined to give a
suitable degree of confidence in the results of the
tests.
No sampling plan for applying the tests to a
specified proportion of discrete units selected
from a batch is capable of demonstrating that all
of the untestred units are in fact sterile. Therefore,
in determining the number of units to be tested,
the manufacturer should have regard to the
environmental conditions of manufacture, the
volume of preparation per container and other
special considerations particular to the
preparation being examined.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND TRACEABILITY IS THE

KEY TO SUCCESSFUL MARKETING OF MEDICINAL,
AROMATIC AND DYE PLANTS (MADPS)

Introduction
MADPs, in many rural regions, are a major
income source for tribal and landless people.
Medicinal plants are also the only accessible
medicine system for the majority of the rural
populations globally. However, the rapid loss and
degradation of collection sites and the slow
adoption of cultivation of MADP species,
endangers the future availability of this important
natural resource for the rural poor as well as for
the rest of humanity. Small farm holders can
incorporate MADPs in the local farming systems,
often on marginal lands, to diversify and increase
their net income.
To stimulate the protection, sustainable
collection and environment-friendly production
of MADPs for a growing local, national and
international market, rural communities need to
gain and maintain access to markets. In most cases
this requires the ability to produce and guarantee
a high or special quality of the final product in
keeping with buyer specifications.
Environmentally sustainable production is
considered an intrinsic quality of the product as
also perceived by many consumers. Thus
producers have to be informed about quality
requirements; there has to be a transparent and
traceable quality assurance or certification system
to have access to and benefit from better market
access for quality products and higher prices. A
good reference document for this is the Good
Agricultural and Collection practices (GACP)
compiled by WHO.
General objective
The general objective is to improve
marketability and sustainable production of
cultivated and collected MADPs, forming part

Subhash Mehta
Trustee
Devarao Shivaram Trust
Bangalore

of the local farming system, for improved

livelihoods of agricultural and rural
populations.
Specific Objectives

Assess safety and quality requirements

to secure future market access

Survey local conditions for

developing and implementing quality
improvement and assurance programs

Assess sustainable production and

collection conditions and requirements

Identify and develop incentives and

models for traceability, quality and sustainability

Evaluate the capability of the various

target groups and markets

Develop appropriate educational

material and training programmes for
implementation of required quality and
sustainability standards
Design appropriate platforms promoted
by local communities.
Purpose and focus
To merge traditional, indigenous
knowledge with the most advanced scientific
knowledge and most appropriate technologies.
Optimising safety and quality aspects of
MADPs and their value addition to meet
market requirements in the areas of safety
(cleanliness, purity, etc), efficacy (handling,
domestication) of the product and sustainable
production
or
collection
methods
(environmentally sustainable without negative
health implications) is of increasing concern with
growing markets and consumer awareness. These
89

aspects are also the subject of upcoming global

Empower local communities
market regulations (Indian, EU, USA and other
Facilitate conservation of genetic
national markets, and organic and other specialty resources
products).
Promote and document indigenous
Innovations
knowledge systems
Many novel quality assurance systems have
Validate innovative technologies
been developed that are appropriate for use in
Pilot test new institutional arrangements
sustainable production of MADPs. This includes
Develop novel approaches to rural
a number of third party certification programmes
poverty alleviation
such as group growers organic certification,
FairWild and ISSC (International Standards for
Disseminate lessons on what works and
Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and what does not in fighting poverty
Aromatic Plants), as well as self-certification
Engage in policy dialogue
programmes such as PGS (Participatory
Develop and share knowledge
Guarantee Systems). Third party certification is
Influence and shape policy on rural
generally agreed to be more suited to export
markets, whereas PGS is more appropriate for development options.
the local market. If producers do not wish to, or Capacity Building and Training
are not ready to certify their products, the
Current producers and collectors are for the
guidelines and operational structures of such
certification programmes can still be of great help most part from marginalized groups in rural
in improving the marketability of their MADPs. communities. Hence there is an urgent need to
develop their capacity to comply with these future
market requirements if they are to become
The internet has also opened up innovative sustainable. In rare cases the buyers provide
means of improving quality assurance and guidance to the producers and help them to reach
traceability systems through online documentation the required standards. In most cases however it
and record-keeping. Increasingly stringent quality is the responsibility of the producer to meet these
regulations and requirements for traceability often standards themselves before the buyers will
demand that producers produce a lot of paper consider entering into a contract. It is therefore
work, a lot of which needs to be duplicated for essential that appropriate training programmes are
different authorities, certifiers and buyers. Online developed in the PC to raise the quality standards
documentation systems can be developed in such at the ground level.
a manner that it meets the requirements of all of
these parties at once, and at the same time serves Capacity building programmes may include some
as an internal management tool for the producer or all of the following:
Educational literature in the local
company (PC) intervention.
language,
illustrated where possible
Catalytic impact of the PC intervention is
Training videos translated into the
essential to achieve the above objectives as
local
language
farmers, collectors, tribals and local communities
Training of field staff, including
are best left to their core competence and all risks
exposure
visits to successful
and responsibilities are taken over by professionals
production units that are complying
staffing the PCs to:
with GACP standards
Pilot institutional arrangements
Regular species and location-specific
Network and form strategic alliances
90

training programmes for farmers and

collectors.
Traceability
Key to all quality assurance is a clear
information flow from the user to the producer
on requirements and the complete traceability and
therefore transparency of the whole production
to consumer chain. Most of the present market
chains lack any traceability from the producer or
collector to the trader or exporter (see graph 1,
courtesy, late Dr Akash Chopra). Depending on
the requirement of the buyers, an appropriate
documentation system needs to be put into place
to record details of the product flow. The nature
of the documentation system will depend on the
capability of the farmers and collectors, and in
many cases will be facilitated by their PC. This
will build on the GMP/GACP processes, which
will be the bedrock of the growing/processing
platform in the context of environment-friendly
sustainable growing and cultivating parameters,
following organic principles.
Graph 1: Certification and product chains
are organized to obtain the transparent traceability
for safe and quality product marketing.
(Left classical chain; Right after the project)

Feasibility and usefulness

Once identified, the feasibility of such
options is to be evaluated for different production
scenarios, including different environments,
MADP species, collector groups and the types
of markets being targeted.
Quality assurance models will need to be
tested for their appropriateness in the rural
livelihood and fair trade context to assure equitable
distribution of benefits and to evaluate the
feasibility of these sustainability factors in the
quality parameters of MADP production, primary

value addition on field, etc. Quality schemes for

organic production and sustainability certification
for non timber forest produce (NTFPs) are
becoming the standard. The results from these are
causing policy makers to establish enabling
frameworks and incentives for stakeholders to
start implementing well aimed quality
improvement and control, most effective for
market access. It is expected that following these
protocols will have a strong catalytic effect in
providing producers and collectors with tools to
improve their product quality and demonstrate it
to potential buyers.
Target Groups
The target groups are mostly marginalized
rural groups of collectors and small farm holder
producers. The whole issue (quality control during
production, collection, primary value addition,
processing and trading) is gender sensitive, and
can play a significant role for rural employment
(rural youth and landless) and for income security
for tribal people. The raising of quality awareness
of all the stakeholders will give the communities
an advantage in organizing themselves for
improving their livelihoods and net incomes.
Partnerships
Strategic alliances with NGOs, stakeholders,
local authorities and buyers will result in the
transfer and application of this participatory
approach and the adapted quality assurance
models will have to establish networks for further
dissemination of this knowledge and continuously
upgrade it according to evolving market
requirements.

91

UNANI MEDICINE IN INDIA AN INTRODUCTION

Dr. Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui* & Dr. M. Khalid Siddiqui**

Dr. Khalid Mahmood Siddiqui*

Indian systems of medicine are collectively

known as AYUSH and represent Ayurveda, Yoga
and Naturopathy, Unani Siddha and Homeopathy.
These systems are recognized systems of treatment
in India and are part of health care delivery system
of the country. These systems are governed by
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of India through a separate
Department of AYUSH. National Policy on
Indian Systems of Medicine includes promotion
of good health, expansion, outreach and
ensurance of affordable AYUSH services to the
people, improvement in the quality of teachers
and clinicians by revising curricula to
contemporary relevance, facilitation of
availability of raw drugs which are authentic and
contain essential components as required under
pharmacopoeial standards, integration of
AYUSH in health care delivery systems in the
National Programmes, reorientation and
prioritization of research in AYUSH. It also
includes creation of awareness about the strengths
of these systems in India and abroad and
providing full opportunity for the growth and
development of these systems.
Unani Tibb (Medicine) is the science of
which we learn the various states of body, in health
and when not in health, and the means by which
health is likely to be lost and, when lost is likely to
be restored. The Unani system of medicine owes,
as its name suggests, its orgin to Greece. It was
the Greek philosopher-physician Hippocrates

(460-377 BC) who freed Medicine from the realm

of superstition and magic, and gave it the status
of Science. The theoretical framework of Unani
Medicine is based on the teachings of
Hippocrates. After a number of other Greek
scholars enriched the system considerably. Of
them Galen (131-210 AD) stands out as the one
who stablized its foundation, on which Arab
physicians like Rhazes (850-925 AD) and Avicenna
(980-1037 AD) constructed an imposing edifice.
Unani Medicine got enriched by imbibing what
was best in the contemporary system of traditional
medicine in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Persia, India, China
and other Middle East and Far Eastern countries.
It also benefited from the native medical systems
in vogue at the time in various parts of Central
Asia. That is why this system is known, in different
parts of the world, with different names, such as,
Greeco-Arab Medicine, lonian Medicine, Arab
Medicine, Islamic Medicine Traditional Medicine,
Oriental Medicine etc.
In India, Unani system of medicine was
introduced by the Arabs, and soon it took firm
roots in the soil. When Mongols ravaged
Persian and Central Asian cities like Shiraz,
Tabrez and Geelan, scholars and physicians of
Unani Medicine fled to India. The Delhi
Sultans, the Khilijis, the Tughalaqs and the
Mughal Emperors provided state patronage to
the scholars and even enrolled some of them as
state employees and court physicians. During
13th and 17th century Unani Medicine has its hey-

*Assistant Director** Director General Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine 61-65, Institutional Area, Janakpuri, New Delhi-110058

92

day in India.

food and drinks, controlled physical movement

and rest, controlled mental activity and rest
controlled sleep and wakefulness, proper retention
of useful material and evacuation of waste
material from the body. The principles of
treatment in Unani Medicine is aimed to
strengthen medicatrix naturae, to balance the
disturbed humoral composition by-diversion of
diseased matter or by evacuation of diseased
matter, to normalise the disturbed temperament
and to elevate the weakened faculties of organs
and systems.

It was mainly the Sharifi Family in Delhi, the

Azizi family in Lucknow and the Nizam of
Hyderabad due to whose efforts Unani Medicine
survived in the British period. An outstanding
physician and scholar of Unani Medicine, Hakim
Ajmal Khan (1868-1927) championed the cause
of the Unani system in India. The Hindustani
Dawakhana and the Ayurvedic and Unani Tibbia
College in Delhi are the two living examples of
his immense contribution to the multipronged
development of the two Indian system of
medicine, Unani Medicine and Ayurveda.

In the Unani system of medicine the human

body is considered to be made up of the following
seven components which are called UMOORE-TABAYA in Unani Medicine, each having a
close relation to and direct bearing on the state
of health of an individual and, therefore, it is
necessary for an Unani physician to take all these
factors of the human entity into consideration for
arriving at a correct diagnosis and deciding the
line of treatment of the ailment.

Unani Medicine is based on the concept

of elementology i.e. groups of four elements,
air, water, fire and earth, and on Hippocratic
theory of four humours i.e. blood, phlegm, bile
and black bile. According to Unani Medicine,
every physical existence is the combination of
four groups of elements. Human body is a
microcosm developed with the combination
of these groups of elements. Healthy state of
individual represents unique humoral
constitution. The humoral balance is
maintained by power of self preservation called
medicatrix naturae. When medicatrix naturae
weakens, the imbalance of humors results in
the causation of disease. Principle of treatment
in Unani Medicine is to strengthen medicatrix
naturae- the self defense mechanism.

The salient features of Unani Medicine are:

It provides principles of healthy living.

It is science of health & disease

In Unani medicine the well being of

patient is given more importance than
the disease.

Traditional methods of diagnosis like

pulse & urine examination are also
practiced besides use of modern
diagnostic tools

The main objectives of Unani system are

Prevention of disease and development of
healthy society and environment, preservation
& promotion of health of individual, society
and environment and treatment of individuals
and society. Prevention is the prime concern
of Unani Medicine. Unique fundamental
principles of prevention of diseases and
promotion of health are described under
chapter Asbab Sitta Zarooriya the six
essentials of health living. The six essentials of
healthy living are Pure air/atmosphere, balanced

It includes Eco-friendly practices,

therapies and remedies.

Natural raw materials mainly from plant

origin are used for treatment.

Approach of treatment is individualized

and holistic.
Dos and donts related to food, lifestyle, and
behavior are important features of treatment.
Treatment approach emphasizes on

93

preventive, curative, meditation and

rehabilitation.

Treatment approach aims at

restoration and maintenance of homeostasis i.e.
harmonious equilibrium in humors.

Comprehensive approach of
treatment in non-communicable, metabolic,
degenerative, psychosomatic and lifestyle related
diseases.
Unani Medicine is most developed in India
as compared to other countries India is the world
leader with respect to present status of Unani
Medicine. It has largest number of institutionally
qualified practitioners of Unani Medicine (
45,000). There are 45 under Graduate and Post
graduate academic institutions of Unani Medicine
in India. Research and development in Unani
Medicine is executed through a network of 22
Institutes functioning under Central Council for
Research in Unani Medicine (Government of
India). Education and practice in Unani Medicine
is regulated by a statutory body Central Council
of Indian Medicine (CCIM) established by an Act
of Parliament since 1970. There is a specified
code of medical ethics for the practitioners of
Unani Medicine. Manufacture and sale of Unani
drugs is regulated by drug control of India
through Indian drugs and cosmetic Act 1940. Five
and a half year degree course is offered in Unani
Medicine by these Colleges leading to award of
BUMS. Post Graduate course of three year
duration is offered in specialized subjects leading
to award of MD(Unani). There is a set GMP for
manufacturing of Unani drugs and the
manufacture and sale of Unani drugs is controlled
by Drug Controller of India. There is testing
facility for Unani drugs in Pharmacopeial and
testing laboratories in 21 States of the country.
Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine
is secretariat for Unani Pharmacopeia Committee
which needs frequently. So far six volumes of
Unani Pharmacopeia has been published
According to Unani Physicians, states of the
body are grouped under three heads:
94

Sehat (Health) in which all the functions of

the body are carried on normally.
Maraz (Disease) is the opposite of Health in
which one or more functions or forms of the
bodily organs are at fault. La Sehat La Maraz
(Neither health nor disease), there is neither
complete health nor disease as is the case of old
people or those who are convalescing.
Diseases are of two types :
(1) Maraz-e-Mufrad (singular disease)
(2) Maraz-e-Murakkab(Complex disease)
A singular disease is one that completes its
course without complications and a complex
disease is opposite of it. A singular disease may
manifest itself in three forms:
(1)Su-e-Mizaj (Dyscrasia)
(2) Amraz-e-Tarkib (Structural diseases)
(3) Amraz-e-Tafarruq-e-Ittisal (Diseases of
solution of Unity).
Further divisions of diseases have been
mentioned according to different conditions in
Ibn Sinas Al-Qanun.
Practitioners of the Unani medicine have,
from the very outset, placed great reliance on
investigating the causes of the disease thoroughly
for proper diagnosis and have employed the
following means to determine the cause and the
nature of disease:1.
Nabz (Pulse): The alternative
contraction and expansion of the arteries
produced by the systolic and diastolic movements
of the heart is called pulse. The ten features of
pulse which are particularly observed during the
diagnosis of a disease are:
(i) Miqdar (Quantity)
(ii) Kaifiat-e- Qara (Force)
(iii) Zamana-e-Harkat (Duration of
movement)
(iv) Qawam-e-Ala (Condition of vessel
wall; soft or hard)
(v) Miqdar Ma Fil Shiryan (Volume)

(vi) Zamana-e-Sukun (Duration of rest

period)
(vii) Malmas ( Palpation of the pulse)
(viii) Istawa-wa-Ikhtilaf (Equality and
inequality)
(ix) Wazan (Balance of the pulse)
(x) Nizam-wa-Adam-e-Nizam (Rhythm)
2.
Physical examination of Urine and
stool: Physical examination of Urine helps a lot
in the diagnosis of Urinogenital disorders,
pathogenesis of blood and other humours,
metabolic disorders, and liver diseases. The
following properties of urine are observed:
(i) Laun (Colour)
(ii) Qiwam (Consistency)
(iii) Safa-wa-Kudurat (Clearness and
Turbidity)
(iv) Raiha (Odour)
(v) Zabad (Foam or Froth)
(vi) Rasub (Precipitates)
(vii) Miqdar (Quantity)
The physical examination of stool helps in
the diagnosis of various diseases. The colour,
quantity, consistency and the presence of foreign
bodies are observed
Other means of diagnosis: In addition to the
above, other conventional modes of diagnosis
such as inspection, palpation, percussion and
auscultation have also been used by the Unani
Physicians. Regular case histories of patients were
recorded and maintained as is evident from the
books of Rhazes And Avicenna.
Unani medicine aims at restoring the
equilibrium of the various elements and faculties
of the human body. Secondly it presupposes the
presence of a Medicatrix naturae in the human
system and attempts to call it into action to restore
the normal health. To achieve this objective diverse
lines of treatment are adopted keeping in view
the specific cause and the nature of disease.
Unani medicine emphasizes more on
prevention of disease and epidemics. Unani

medicine recognised the influence of surroundings

and ecological conditions on the state of health
of human beings long ago. It has laid down six
essential prerequisites for the prevention of
disease and lays great emphasis, on the one hand
on the maintenance of proper ecological balance
and on the other hand on keeping the water, food
and air free from all pollution. These essentials
known as ASBAB-E-SITTA ZARURIYA are
briefly explained as under.
1.
Air : Good and clean air is most
necessary for health; many diseases occur due to
changes in the air. Avicenna the famous Unani
Physician says that the change of environment
relieves the patients of many diseases. Avicenna
has also emphasised the need of open airy houses
with proper ventilation, play grounds and gardens
in the cities so that every one has plenty of fresh
air and a proper ecological balance is maintained.
2.
Food and Drinks: The food that we
eat should be fresh, free from putrefaction and
disease producing matters. The drinking water
should also be pure. The water of some wells act
as a drug due to the presence in it of sulphur or
other minerals..
3.
Bodily movement and repose: To
maintain perfect health and good trim the body
requires exercise as well as rest. Again, certain
diseases can be cured by giving the body
rest while some are cured by movement of
affected organs. Inflammation and fractures require
complete rest to get properly cured. On the other
hand afflictions such as paralysis demand specific
quantum of movement. Several exercises help
growth of muscles and ensure nutrition, increased
blood supply and proper functioning of excretory
system. Exercise also keeps the heart and liver in
good condition.
4.
Psychic movement and repose:
Psychological factors such as happiness, sorrow,
anger etc. have considerable bearing on the health
of a human being Unani physicians maintain that
certain diseases like tuberculosis, hysteria and
mental disorder are caused in most cases, by
95

emotional strain and maladjustment, and

therefore, while dealing with such cases a physician
should do his best to take all these factors into
account. There is a branch of Unani medicine
known as Psychological treatment which deals
with the above mentioned factors and many
diseases are treated with psychological means.
Sometimes this type of treatment cures the disease
without using medicines and some times by
administration of drugs along with psychological
methods. The curative effect of music, pleasant
company and beautiful scenery has also been
recognised by Unani physicians.
5.
Sleep and wakefulness: Normal
slumber and wakefulness are essential for health.
Sleep is an ideal form of rest, physical as well as
mental. Lack of sleep causes dissipation of
energies, mental weakness and digestive
disturbances.
6.
Evacuation and retention: Waste
products of body, if not completely and properly
excreted, produce disease. The natural means of
excretion are the diuresis, diaphoresis, vomiting,
faeces, excretion through uterus in the form of
menses, through eyes, ears and nose or respiration.
Proper and normal functioning of the excretory
processes must be ensured in order to maintain
perfect health. Any disturbance in the normal
excretory balances, whether it be excess,
dimunition or blockage, leads to disease.
Practitioners of Unani medicine have, from time
immemorial cured numerous diseases by
regulating the excretory processes.
Unani medicine has the following modes of
treating an ailment depending upon the nature of
the ailment and its causes.
Ilaj-bil-Tadbir (Regimental therapy)
Ilaj-bil-Ghiza(Dietotherapy)
Ilaj-bil-Dawa(Phar macotherapy)
Ilaj-bil-Yad (Surgery) R&D in Unani Medicine
Research in Unani Medicine is being
executed through Central Council for Research
in Unani Medicine, an autonomous organization
under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
96

Department of AYUSH. The research

programme of the CCRUM has been so devised
that not only the system could stand on solid
scientific foundations and be acceptable to the
scientific world but also its benefits could be
extended to the common man, particularly the
under served living in rural and far flung areas.
Greater emphasis is being laid on achieving the
national priorities. The areas of research chosen
by the Council include the following:

Clinical Research

Drug Standardization Research

Literary Research

Survey and Cultivation of Medicinal

Plants.
The Council has therefore taken up both diseaseand drug-based trials on the following diseases:
1. Bars (Vitiligo)
2. Nar-e-Farsi (Eczema)
3. Daus Sadaf (Psoriasis)
4. Iltehab-e-Kabid (Infective hepatitis)
5. Hasatul Kuliya Wa Masana (Renal and
bladder calculus)
6. Qarah-e-Meda wa Isna-e-Ashari
(Gastric and duodenal ulcer)
7. Ishal-e-Muzmin (Chronic diarrhoea)
8. Ishal-e-Atfal (Infantile diarrhoea)
9. Deedan-e-Ama (Helminthiasis)
10. Waram-e-Kuliya (Nephritis)
11. Rabu-e-Nazli (Tropical pulmonary
eosinophilia)
12. Jarbul Ajfan (Trachoma)
13. Waram-e-Lissa (Gingivitis)
14. Kasrat-e-Tams (Menorrhagea)
15. Sailan-ur-Rahem (Leucorrhoea)
16. Humma-e-Ijamia (Malaria)
17. Zusantaria Mevi (Amoebic dysentery)
18. Humma-e-Aswad (Kala Azar,
Leishmaniasis)
19. Daul Feel (Filariasis)

20. Ziabetus Sukari (Diabetes mellitus)

21. Waja-ul-Mafasil (Rheumatoid arthritis)
22. Iltehab-e-Tajaweef-e-Anf (Sinusitis)
23. Zeequn Nafas (Bronchial asthma)
24. Kasrat-e-Shahmuddam
(Hyperlipidemia)
25. Falij-e-Nisfi (Hemiplegia)
26. Irq-e-Madani (Dracontiasis)
27. Zaghtuddam Qawi (Hypertension)
28. Muzmin Zubeh-e-Sadaria Sabit
(Chronic stable angina)
29. Bawaseer (Piles)
30. Takassur Kuliya Muzmin (Chronic
renal failure)
Literature relating to Unani system of
medicine is scattered in private and public libraries
in India and abroad and at times, is not within the
reach of scholars and research workers. Quite a
number of manuscripts are available in various
libraries. Some manuscripts are in dilapidated
condition and the valuable information therein has
got to be obtained before they get completely
destroyed. Some manuscripts and even the ancient
published works are very rare and old, and the

responsibility rests on the scholars of today to

make full use of the information contained
therein. Further, there has been scarcity of
standard text books dealing with various subjects
of Unani Medicine. The scholars who can
understand and interpret the concepts laid down
are also becoming fewer as most of the Unani
classics are in Persian/Arabic.
The programme of drug standardization is
mainly concerned with evolving standards of
single and compound Unani drugs of proven
efficacy included in the National Formulary of
Unani Medicine for their incorporation in the
official Unani Phar macopoeia of India.
Standardization of single drugs includes Unani
and scientific documentation, pharmacognosy and
phytochemistry of the drugs.
Survey plays a pivotal role in the drug
research programme of the Unani system of
medicine. Under this programme the Council has
undertaken extensive surveys of medicinal plants
in different parts of the country, primarily to
collect and identify medicinal plants and record
basic data on ethnopharmacological uses of plants
to provide a lead material for the discovery of
new drugs of natural origin.

97

EXPECTATIONS OF TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN

MANIPUR

N. Tombi Raj
President
Apunba Manipur Maiba-Maibi Phurup
(Manipur State Traditional Healers Assn.)

The North Eastern Region of India is blessed

by nature as it is isolated from the so called
mainland. It is still kept without much change due
to isolation of the area from the rest of the subcontinent. This region has no good
communication and contact with rest of the world.
Fast changing scenario of global development
cannot reach easily in this part of the country. On
the other hand, it has its age old civilization which
could not be intercoursed easily by so called
modern way of life. It is a blessing in disguise.
Manipur having a small area of 22,327 sq.
km. is located at the central point of Indo-Burma
Biodiversity Hotspot of the world. The rate of
rainfall, micro-climatic condition of the area, its
varied altitude ranging from 50 metres above sea
level to 2,995 metres above sea meal level etc are
facilitating the habitation for varieties of flora and
fauna in Manipur.
Traditional Maiba-Maibi treatment of
Manipur
APUNBA MANIPUR MAIBA
MAIBI PHURUP (Manipur state traditional
healers association) is a registered body of the
traditional healers locally known as Maiba
(male healer) and Maibi (female healer) in
Manipur. This association of the traditional
healers, registered under the society
registration act, 1860 (registration no. 5492 of
1984) and also registered under the State
Medicinal Plant Board, Manipur (Regd. No.
19/SMPB/MR/2006) aims to promote
indigenous medical treatment, application of
traditional medicines, production of medicines
from locally available plants, animals and other
forest products, training to persons who are
interested in this profession and to maintain
records on traditional treatment techniques,
98

application of traditional medicines, research on

traditional treatment and medicines, proper
documentation of Maiba-Maibi treatment etc.
Generally, Maiba and Maibi in Manipur have
different meanings; Maiba & Maibi referred in
this context are those who are involved only
in health care services and not those who are
engaged in some other professions like
worshipping the local deities and performing
dances etc.
Traditional treatment & scope for
revitalization
Manipur has its own traditional healing
practices since time immemorial. The writer
was not born by a modern doctor in a clinic or
hospital but by a local traditional maibi at
home according to his parents. He is still alive
and healthy without any serious illness. It is
the contribution of traditional healers of
Manipur. Modern system of medicines came
in Manipur at around 1910 -1920. Before the
coming of the British, who brought modern
treatrment, people were healthy and
prosperous. It proves that the traditional
healers of Manipur were so effective in taking
care of the health of the society.
According to ancient manuscripts of
Manipur, the aim and object of Maiba-Maibi is
to make every individual healthy and
wealthy. Maibas and Maibis are not only
treating the human ailments but they are also
looking after the well being of every individual
in the society. They advise the people about
good health, good food as well as not to
commit inbreeding known as yek-sagei lounaba
etc.

The importance of Maiba-Maibi treatment

is still there in present Manipuri society
particularly in Meitei community. The death
certificate issued by a modern doctor has no
traditional, cultural or religious value for taking
up the process of disposal of dead body by the
Meiteis. Just to enable to take up the process for
disposal of dead body a traditional Maiba has to
be engaged by the family members before the
death the death of a person. Formal declaration
of death should be pronounced by a traditional
Maiba. Only then the process for disposal of dead
body can be taken up religiously. This is an
example of the importance of Maiba-Maibi in
contemporary Manipuri society.
The system of traditional treatment in
Manipur is quite different from other methods of
treatment e.g. Allopathy, Homoeopathy, Nature
Cure etc. It is widely accepted by the people of
Manipur that treatment for disease conditions like
bone fracture, dog bite, white patches, jaundice,
kidney stones etc by traditional treatment
techniques are superior to other kinds of
treatments. In rural and hill areas of Manipur
where modern doctors are not available, the
traditional Maibas and Maibis are the only experts
available. In fact, the traditional Maibis are dealing
with the case of child delivery in the rural and
hilly areas of the state. Traditional treatment in
Manipur is believed to be very much effective in
health care in some selected areas like other system
of treatment in the modern days. It still occupies
an important role in Manipuri society. Traditional
healers diagnose the ailments by taking the case
history in details, reading body temperature, pulse
etc. After proper diagnosis, they start the
treatment. There are five types of treatment in
traditional healing practices in Manipur.
a)
Treatment by psychotherapy
performing rituals like chanting of hymns,
offerings to the nature or gods.
b) Treatment by masseur therapy
(pukshuba) and reflexology (mari
shuba).
c) Treatment by exercise like chingkhei
khurumba, seboti kaonaba etc

d) Treatment by the application of

medicines and
e) Treatment by diet and food (chak-hel
etc).
There are three components of Manipuri
traditional medicine. They are:
a) Medicinal plants b) Medicinal animals and
c) Minerals.
Though the present conclave is on medicinal
plants, I want to include the treatment by
application of medicines prepared from animal
organs and minerals since they are also a part of
forest products. While taking up the Manipuri
traditional medicines, we need to see all the
components. At the very outset we have to identify
these three components available in the local areas.
Secondly, we have to know the uses of the
identified components. In case of medicinal plants,
we have to cultivate them and preserve them in a
store house. If it is the case of medicinal animals,
we have to rear them for collecting their organs.
In case of minerals, we need to collect them after
proper identification. All the collected materials
have to be processed to make them drugs. Lastly,
we have to see for the marketing of the drugs.
Many persons interested to learn these
techniques are provided training facilities under
the guidance of skilled, well experienced and
noted traditional healers of Manipur. Further
research on traditional health care techniques and
application of locally made medicines may be
taken up to assess its merits & demerits and further
improvement needed if any, can be pursued
scientifically through research and development.
THE APUNBA MAIBA MAIBI PHURUP
(MANIPUR STATE TRADITIONAL
HEALERS ASSOCIATION) has so far identified
about 2100 plants and 300 animals which are
ethno-biologically used for health purposes in
Manipur. Maiba-Maibis of Manipur are using
plants and animal for processing medicines since
time immemorial. Many more plants and animals
earlier used by Maibas-Maibis (Traditional
Healers) could not be identified by the present
generation. Many youngsters are not aware of
99

these bio-resources. Due to modernization, use

of medicinal plants and animals for processing
medicines has been substituted by synthetic
chemicals. If the rural population withdraws their
support from the traditional healing practices, the
existence of Maiba-Maibi treatment will be no
more. So, the need of the hour is to take up the
work for identification of medicinal plants and
animals locally available in the respective areas.
We have to go a long way by taking up research
and development works in this field. In the
meantime, we have to take up certain measures to
prevent the massive destruction of wild plants and
animals by burning and cutting down the forest,
harmful collection of wild plants and animals from
the forest areas etc. So, our expectation is to take
up preservation and development works for the
ethno-biologically used plants and animals in this
part of the country.We should set up a task force
to identify the medicinal plants and animals with
the help of local traditional healers and to know
their uses. We need to register all the available biospecies used by traditional healers with colour
photographs. For time being, the said task force
should note down the local name with visible
colour images for further scientific studies. The
best way for documentation of traditional healing
practices which is facing extinction now is to take
documentary films because it has both audio and
visual effects in all the natural colour and
action.There is a need for establishment of govt.
sponsored investment and purchasing unit which
may be in the form of corporation like Seed
Corporation of India to encourage local
collectors, planters as well as traditional healers
in the area.
Regarding the steps taken by the Govt. for
the development of traditional healing practices
in the state, it still seems non-existent in Manipur
till today. But the Maiba-Maibi movement still
exists here in Manipur with the popular support
of the people. There are lots of expectations of
the traditional healers from the government to
revitalize the movement of traditional healing
practices in this area.

Since the contemporary society/

government has given due emphasis on modern
system of medicine as well as AYUSH system of
medicine, there is a great threat to the survival of
the traditional healing practices of Manipur known
as maiba-maibi treatment. Before it is too late,
there is an urgent need for proper documentation
of the Maiba-Maibi treatment system of Manipur.
It should be given top priority by the government.
The following aspects should be prioritized
as expected by the traditional healers of Manipur.
1.
Identification of medicinal plants,
animals and minerals and their uses.
2.
Proper documentation of traditional
healing practices.
3.
To establish an institute with hospital
for the traditional healing practices in all the
districts.
4.
To take up training program for
young learners, research and development works
in the field of traditional healing practices for its
scientific application.
5.
Training for scientific plantation,
cultivation and preservation of the products,
production of drugs including scientific packaging
etc. should be given to the traditional healers and
their workers by the concerned authorities.
6.
Forest Dept. should take up publicprivate partnership (PPP) schemes for plantation
of medicinal plants and rearing of medicinal
animals by providing forest land to the farmers/
healers for the purpose by extending Joint Forest
Management facilities to the traditional healers and
to provide financial aid.
7.
To establish medicinal plant gardens
and mini-zoo for medicinal animals in the districts,
blocks and sub-divisions through PPP.
8.
To establish manufacturing unit for
traditional medicines.
9.
To establish a testing laboratory for
finding out the active components of the
medicinal plants and animals in all the states.

100

10.To have a drug licensing authority in all

the states.
11.To give proper guidelines for the
Intellectual Patent Right (IPR) to the traditional
healers.
12.To find out market for the sale of
traditional medicines and to encourage export of

traditional medicines abroad.

13.To take up awareness program on
traditional healing practices in all the villages to
sensitize the general public about the traditional
healing practices.
14.To encourage books, journal, films etc on
traditional healing practices.

101

Technical Session III

Access, Benefit Sharing and Policy Framework on Protection of
Traditional Knowledge Associated with Medicinal Plants

102

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE DIGITAL

LIBRARY
Dr. V. K. Gupta

1.
Traditional Knowledge Digital
Library (TKDL) is a collaborative project
between Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and
Technology and Department of Ayurveda, Yoga
& Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy
(AYUSH), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The work began in 2001 and is being implemented
by CSIR through a team of interdisciplinary team
of experts from Traditional Medicine, Patent
Examiners, IT Experts and Scientists. TKDL
involves
" Documentation of the knowledge available
in public domain on traditional knowledge from
the existing literature related to Ayurveda, Unani,
Siddha and Yoga in digitized format in five
international languages which are English, French,
German, Spanish and Japanese
"
Creation of structured classification
known as Traditional Knowledge Resource
Classification of about 25,000 subgroups
(related to medicinal plants, minerals, animal
resources, effects and diseases, methods of
preparation, mode of administration, etc.) for
retrieval of data similar to International Patent
Classification.
2.

Objective
TKDL, a pioneering initiative of India, is
being created to prevent the misappropriation
of Traditional Knowledge at international
patent offices so that the cases such as turmeric
and neem could be prevented. The reason for
misappropriation is that the traditional
medicinal knowledge exists in local languages
which is neither available and even if it is
available nor understood by patent examiners at

international patent offices. In other words, there

exists language and format barriers due to which
patents are being taken on the existing knowledge.
TKDL breaks the language and format barriers
and makes the knowledge available to patent
examiners in their own language in patent
application format.
3.

Scope and current status of the Project

The medicinal formulations present in 140
traditional texts of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha
and Yoga, existing in local languages such as
Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Persian and
Tamil, are being transcribed in patent
application format in five international
languages which are English, French, German,
Spanish and Japanese.
With reference to TKDL Ayurveda
project, information present in 59 Ayurveda
texts are being transcribed. So far, 81,500
formulations have been transcribed. The
scanned images from the original texts of the
transcribed formulations are incorporated into
the database. The transcribed formulations
have been peer reviewed by the Eminent
Ayurveda Experts.
TKDL Unani Project was initiated from
July, 2004. Over 1,09,000 formulations from
Unani texts have been transcribed similar to
TKDL Ayurveda.
In TKDL Siddha transcription of 12,500
forrmulations have been completed from 45
Tamil books.
Activities on TKDL Yoga were initiated
in January 2008 and so far approx. 1500 yoga
practices have been identified and approx. 900

103

international level
yoga practices have been transcribed.
"
TKDL has enabled incorporation of
Under the TKDL project so far a total of
2,03,800 formulations have been transcribed and approx. 200 subgroups on medicinal plants used
the database exists in 34 million A4 sized pages. in traditional medicine in International Patent
4. Access of the TKDL database to Classification as against few that were available
earlier, which will enhance effectiveness in search
International Patent Offices:
and examination process
Access to the TKDL database has been given
"
Several countries and organizations
to European Patent Office (EPO), one of the
International Search Authorities after signing the have shown interest for creating their own TKDL
Access Agreement, in February, 2009. EPO is a based on TKDL created by India for protecting
regional office with 35 member states such as UK, their own traditional knowledge
"
European Patent Office has signed
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Norway, etc.
Hence, terms and conditions of access agreement Access Agreement and access to TKDL database
with EPO will be applicable even to the regional has been provided for search and examination
offices under the ambit of EPO. This is for the purposes
first time that such an agreement has been signed,
"
EPO has described TKDL as a
which will defensively protect the traditional unique encyclopedia which is very precise and shall
medicine knowledge of a country. EPO after using prevent bio-prospectors from digging up ancient
the TKDL has defined it as a unique encyclopedia, medical wisdom and laying claim upon them.
a powerful tool, and a precise database and
"
EPO has acknowledged that with
capable of establishing prior art.
TKDL, examiners have improved access to
With respect to providing access to the background information at an early stage of patent
TKDL database to United States Patent and examination vis-a-vis a scenario where a patent
Trademark Office (USPTO), negotiations are at may have been granted and the countries had to
a mature stage and may get concluded by June, present evidence against it
2009
"
USPTO considers TKDL as a part of
5. Major Achievements and Impacts
the very important work being done internationally
"
Out of total of 140 books in different with respect to TK databases and the negotiations
disciplines of traditional Indian systems of for access to TKDL with USPTO are at an
medicine, 2,03,800 formulations have been advanced stage
transcribed in five international languages
"
Efforts are being made to include
TKDL
as
non-patent
database for processing of
"
Standards used for creation of the
TKDL database has been adopted by World patent applications at the International Search
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as Authorities and other International Patent Offices
international standards for creation of databases
"
Director General, World Intellectual
on Traditional Knowledge
Property Organization in one of his recent
"
WHO has recognized the effort and communication has stated that TKDL has made
recommends the replication of TKDL in other unparallel contributions in the international policy
context of the patent system.
countries
"
Traditional Knowledge Resource 6. Road Ahead
Classification has given structure to the Traditional
So far, TKDL is based on about 140 public
Knowledge where none existed and helped in domain books and a further 173 books in
recognition of India's Traditional Knowledge at Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga have been
104

identified for coverage under TKDL. About 0.5

million traditional medical manuscripts are also
being targeted.
After conclusion of Access Agreement with
EPO and USPTO, efforts would be initiated for
similar agreements with other patent offices which
include International Search Authorities (Austrian
Patent Office, Canadian Intellectual Property
Office, Federal Service for Intellectual Property,
Patents and Trademarks of the Russian
Federation, IP Australia, Japan Patent Office,

Korean Intellectual Property Office, National

Board of Patents and Registration of Finland,
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, State
Intellectual Property Office of the People's
Republic of China, Swedish Patent and
Registration Office, and Nordic Patent Office) and
about 50 additional major International patent
offices.
TKDL also holds enormous potential on
collaborative research for developing
affordable medicines.

105

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION THROUGH

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ACT
Dr. K. Venkataraman
National Biodiversity Authority, #475, 9 th South Cross Street
Kapaleeswar Nagar, Neelankarai, Chennai 600 041
Email: venkyzsi56@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
This lecture summarizes what is known of
the biological diversity of India and their various
ecosystems, from past literature, museum records
and other lesser-known sources of information.
The synthesis suggests that the number of species
known could be of the order 45,000 species of
flora and 90,000 species of flora or higher.
However, the inventory is very detailed only in
the case of commercially important groups and
is very weak with respect to minor phyla or
microbial organisms. In terms of spatial coverage,
probably only two-thirds of the total area has been
covered till today and the remote islands and other
ecosystems still virtually remain untouched. It is,
therefore, likely that true inventory of
biodiversity could be several times higher than
what is known today. Ecosystems and biological
diversity of India have been exploited since long
time but it is only in the last century that the rate
of exploitation has increased dramatically, due
mostly to the increase in the human population.
After a national wide consultation processes
the Government of India promulgated the
Biological Diversity Act on December 2, 2002
and Biological Diversity Rules on April 15, 2004.
The Act and Rules are implemented by the
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA),
established in October 2003, as enshrined in the
Section 8 of the Act. The NBA consists of a
Chairperson, 10 official members and five non
official members to implement the provisions of
the act. The functions of NBA are focused on

conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of

its components and securing equitable sharing of
benefits arising out of the utilization of biological
resources. The NBA regulates access to biological
resources and associated traditional knowledge
for research and/or commercial purposes, biosurvey and bio-utilization as well as transfer of
research results, seeking IPR and third party
transfer of bio-resources. NBA also advice the
government of India on matters relating to a) the
conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of
its components and equitable sharing of benefits
arising out of the utilisation of biological
resources, b) advice the state governments in the
selection of areas of importance as biodiversity
heritage sites and measures for the management
of such sites. On behalf of the government of
India, the NBA may take measures necessary to
oppose the grant of Intellectual Property Rights
without adhering to the PIC and MAT. The NBA
has constituted expert committees to perform
functions such as laying down the procedure and
guidelines to govern the activities such as access
and benefit sharing, Prior Informed Consent,
Mutually Agreed Terms, Intellectual Property
Rights, list of normally traded commodities
establishment of heritage sites and their
management, national designated repositories and
safeguarding of traditional knowledge respecting
the Article 8 (j) (preserve and maintain knowledge,
innovations and practices of indigenous and local
communities) of the United Nations Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD). The authority

106

coordinates the activities of the 28 State

Biodiversity Boards and very large number of
local level Biodiversity Management Committees
by providing them with technical guidance and
financial assistance. The NBA commissions
studies and sponsor investigations and research
on preparation of Peoples Biodiversity Register
to document the rich valuable knowledge of local
people on biodiversity. The NBA undertakes
capacity building and long term awareness
generation by sponsoring workshops, seminars,
exhibitions through various stake holders. The
further infor mation may be browsed in
www.nbaindia.org.
INTRODUCTION
India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity
countries of the world as well as one of the 17
Like Minded Mega-diversity Countries (LMMC)
established under the Convention on Biological
Diversity. Demographically, it is the secondlargest populated country in the world and a
majority of its population still directly depends
on biological resources for their livelihood. With
only 2.5% of the total land area, India accounts
for 8 % of the recorded species of the world which
includes countless millions of races, subspecies
and local variants of species and the ecological
processes and cycles that link organisms into
populations, communities, and all different
ecosystems. The wide variety in physical features
and climatic situations have resulted in diversity
of ecological habitats like forests, grasslands,
wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems and
desert ecosystems which harbour and sustain the
immense biodiversity. India is very rich in terms
of biological diversity due to its unique biogeographic location, diversified climatic
conditions and enormous eco-diversity and geodiversity. India embraces three major biological
realms, viz. Indo-Malayan, Eurasian and Afrotropical and is adorned with 10 bio-geographic

zones and 26 biotic provinces (Venkataraman,

2006).
Plant Diversity: About 850+ species of
bacteria, 14,500+ species of fungi 6,500+ species
of algae and 17500+ species of flowering plants
are reported from India till today (Botanical
Survey of India, http://envfor.nic.in/bsi/
flora.html). At National level, the information on
flowering plants is being documented in the form
of Fascicles of the Flora of India and the Flora
of India. So far, 24 Fascicles have been brought
out by the Botanical Survey of India and eight
volumes covering general aspects of flora of
India, such as physiography; geology; climate;
botanical history; phyto-geographical divisions;
endemism; centers of diversity and phytogeographical affinities; exotics; ethno-botanical,
medicinal and plants of other economic value;
plant based industries; wild relatives of cultivated
plants; endangered plants, habitats and their
conservation; protected area network; botanic
gardens and the statistical analysis of the flora have
been published (http://envfor.nic.in/bsi/
books.html).
Faunal Diversity: Based on data reported on
identified fauna from India are 89,451 of which
insects alone include 59,353 species. Amongst
invertebrates, parasitic forms, Meiofauna and Soil
Fauna, (Annelida) exhibit a very high degree of
endemism at species level. Overall, 34.90% of
insect species are endemic to the Indian region
and more than 40% of Indian leech, freshwater
sponges and molluscs also show endemism.
Among vertebrates, highest degree of endemism
at species level is seen in Amphibia followed by
Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia and Pisces (http://
envfor.nic.in/). Fisheries in India play an important
socio-economic role. More than six million
fishermen and fish farmers in India depend on
fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood. The
harvestable potential of marine fishery resources
in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone has been

107

estimated at about 3.9234 mt.A total fish

production of 8.09 million tonnes (3.26 million
tonnes from the marine sector and 4.83 million
tonnes from the inland sector) has been achieved
at the end of the 2007.
Crop Diversity: Indias preponderance of native
tribal and ethnic groups has contributed
significantly in the conservation and diversification
of biodiversity. Its cultural and ethnic diversity
includes over 550 tribal communities of 227 ethnic
groups spread over 5,000 villages. These people
have traditionally protected patches of forests
dedicated to deities in the form of sacred groves
and more than 50,000 sacred groves have so far
been reported from various parts which harbour
several species of flora and fauna. India holds a
prominent position among the eight vavilovian
centres of origin of cultivated plants, which is the
geographic region where crops exhibit maximum
diversity in terms of number of races and
botanical varieties (Vavilov, 1926). In India rice
landrace variability exists both in indigenous crops
as well as those introduced from other parts of
the world. Today, about 166 crop species and
well over 324 species of wild relatives of crop
plants are recognized and utilized for food
production. Wild edible plants account for nearly
1000 species serving various purposes: 145 as
roots/tubers, 526 as leafy vegetables/greens, 101
for buds/flower, 647 for fruits and 18 for seeds
and nuts.
Moreover, India has rich tradition of conserving
nature and natural resources. Worship of trees,
forests, rivers, ponds, mountains and association
of animals and birds with gods and goddesses
have contributed immensely to their conservation.
Various traditional systems of in-situ conservation
of natural resources have been organised and
institutionalised. Therefore, a great challenge
exists for India to conserve its rich biodiversity

while ensuring economical and ecological security.

Agro-biodiversity: India holds a prominent
position among the eight Vavilovian centres of
origin of cultivated plants that is the geographic
region where crops exhibit maximum diversity in
terms of number of races and varieties. Rich
diversity and genepools comprising primitive
cultivars, landraces, wild relatives and less-known
food plants occur in this region. About 46.6% of
the total area of India comprises agricultural land.
Several crops of major economic importance
originated in South Asia, including India, and a
large number of their progenitors and wild
relatives continue to thrive and evolve here.
Primary Centre of Diversity: Rice (Oryza spp.),
black gram (Vigna mungo), mothbean (Vigna
aconitifolia), pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan),
cucurbits like smoothgourd (Luffa aegyptiaca),
ridgegourd (Luffa acutangula) and
pointedgourd (Trichosanthes dioca), tree
cotton (Gossyipium sp.), capsularis jute
(Chorcorus capsularis), jackfruit (Artocarpus
heterophyllus), banana (Musa sp.), mango
(Mangifera indica), jamun (Syzygium cumini),
large cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum),
black pepper (Piper nigrum), minor millets and
several medicinal plants like Rauvolfia
serpentina and Saussurea lappa.
Secondary Centre of Diversity (introduced
crops): African crops - finger millet (Eleusine
coracana), sorghum (Sorghum sp.), cowpea
(Vigna unguiculata), clusterbean (Cyamopsis
tetragonoloba), okra (Abelmoschus
esculentus), sesame (Sesamum indicum), niger
(Guizotia abyssinica) and safflower
(Carthamus tinctorius); tropical American
crops maize (Zea mays), tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum), pumpkin
(Cucurbita spp.), chayote (Sechium edule),
chillies (Capscium sp.) and Amaranth
(Amaranthus sp.).

108

Regional (Asiatic) Diversity: Maize (Zea mays),

barley (Hordeum vulgare), buckwheat (Fagopyrum
esculentum), prosomillet (Panicum miliaceum), foxtail
millet (Setaria italica), mungbean (Vigna radiata),
chickpea (Cicer arietinum), cucumber (Cucumis
sativus), bittergourd (Momordica charantia),
bottlegourd (Lagenaria siceraria), snakegourd
(Trichosanthes anguina), Brassica spp. (Dhillon
and Agrawal, 2003)
Rich landrace variability exists both in
indigenous crops as well as those introduced
from other parts of the world. Today, about
166 crop species and well over 324 species of
wild relatives of crop plants are well
documented and utilized one way or the other.
Wild edible plants account for nearly 1,000
species serving various purposes: 145 as roots/
tubers, 528 as leafy vegetables/greens, 101 for
buds/flower, 647 for fruits and 18 for seeds and
nuts. This species diversity is largely
distributed in the Western and Eastern Ghats,
central India, North-eastern region and the
Himalayas. Its less-known crops, such as grain
amaranths, buckwheat, chenopods and rice
bean, with high nutritive value offer unique
opportunities for diversification of food crops
and with value addition for enormous export
potential.
Indian farmers grow and maintain an
amazingly large number of their landraces and
traditional cultivars. For instance 1,500 distinct
rice varieties have been recorded in Jeypore
tract of Koraput district in Orissa. Estimates
on the total landraces of rice in India range
between 50,000 to 2,00,000. Some other crops
with intra-specific varietal diversity in India
include sorghum (~5,000), mango (~1,000),
black pepper (~1,000) and banana (~600).
Such diversity is a result of careful selection
and even cross-breeding, by Indian farmers over
centuries, in addition to inputs from the formal
breeding by public and private sector. These
plant genetic resources contain valuable genes
for resistance to diseases, insect-pests and also
for adaptation to abiotic stresses.
Indias medicinal plant diversity is unique

and unparalleled in the world and coupled with

incredible indigenous knowledge and uses. The
richness of diversity in medicinal and aromatic
plants has caught worlds attention for its vast
industrial prospects. It is estimated that 9,500
species are utilized by native communities for
diverse uses : 7,500 for medicinal purposes, 3,900
for edible uses.
Indian agriculture is also enriched
considerably by a continuous influx of field and
horticultural crops that found new ecological
niches from their original home of
domestication in Central Asia, Near East, IndoChina and Indo-Malayan region. The crops
introduced by Moghuls, Spaniards, Portuguese
and British colonial regime diversified the crop
diversity that hold great promise for the entire
world. The influx of genetic material from
Mediterranean, African regions and the
Americas has also resulted in the diversification
of Indian economic plant wealth. The exotic
plants that occupy a prominent place in Indian
agriculture include hexaploid wheat, maize,
potato, tomato, chilli, French bean, cowpea,
sorghum, pearl millet, soybean and sunflower.
Flow of improved genetic stocks and high
yielding varieties of rice, wheat, maize and
pulses from international agricultural research
centers contributed in ushering green
revolution. Moreover, speciality varieties of
rice like Basmati, spices, fruits and vegetables
of Indian origin contribute to major export of
agricultural commodities.
India is equally rich in diversity of animal
breeds and genetic resources of other forms of
agricultural biodiversity. About 214 breeds of
domesticated animals including accredited
breeds of cattle (60), buffaloes (13), sheep (58),
goat (28), camels (9), horses (7), pigs (7), chicken
(14), other species like yak, mithun and ducks,
occur here. Of about 20,000 species comprising
the fish genetic resources of the world, nearly
11 % (2,200) species of fish and shell fish are
reported to occur in Indian sub-continent.
India shares a significant diversity in microbial
diversity as well. The holdings are more than

109

1.18 lakh cultures, and account for about 14% of The significant initiatives that India has taken are
The World Heritage Convention (1972),
the world collection.
Convention on International Trade in
S.N Species
Number of breeds
Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna
Local Regional Internati- Total
(CITES) 1975, Ramsar Convention on
Trans- onal Tran
Wetlands (1975), FAOs International
boundary s- boundary
Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources
1 Buffalo
13
5
2
20
(1983), Convention on Biological Diversity
(1992), Agenda 21 (1992), UN Framework
2 Cattle
60
7
6
73
Convention on Climate Changes (1992), UN
Convention to Combat Desertification (1994),
3 Goat
28
3
3
34
The Trade Related Intellectual Property
Rights (WTO-TRIPs) 1994, Cartagena
4 Sheep
58
4
0
62
Protocol for Biosafety to CBD (2000), FAO
International Treaty on Plant Genetic
5 Yak
5
0
0
5
Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO,
2001), Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
6 Pig
7
1
0
8
(2002), the Bonn Guidelines on Access to
Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable
7 Horse
7
1
0
8
Sharing of the benefits Arising out of their
Utilization (2002), etc., (http://envfor.nic.in/
8 Ass
3
0
0
3
). CBD is the most comprehensive legal
instrument that addresses the issues of access
9 Dromedary 9
0
0
9
Camel
and benefit sharing involving genetic resources
10 Bactrian
1
0
0
1
and traditional knowledge. Consequent to the
camel
ratification of CBD by India on 18th February
11 Rabbit
3
0
0
3
1994 and in pursuance of the Conference of
Parties (CoP) decisions of CBD that followed,
12 Chicken
14
1
4
19
the Government of India, predominantly the
Ministry of Environment and Forests - the
13 Duck
4
0
2
6
national focal point of CBD, has taken steps to
implement the CBD provisions by
14 Quail
2
0
0
2
promulgating the Biological Diversity Act,
2002 in the Parliament of India. Recognizing
TOTAL
214
22
17
253
urgent need to develop human resources,
Source: SOW-AnGR, FAO, 2007 capabilities and legal and public policy to
enable countries rich in Biodiversity to take
International Regime on Biological Diversity and
an active part in the new economy associated
India
with the use of Biological Diversity and
India has been playing a major role in Biotechnology, eighteen countries rich in
the implementation of global, international, biological diversity and associated Traditional
regional and national policies and programs Knowledge have formed a group known as Like
related to environment, biodiversity, trade and Minded Megadiverse Countries (LMMC). India
intellectual property rights. Biological in its capacity as the Chair of the LMMC (2003diversity and associated traditional knowledge 2005) had organized an Expert and Ministerial
are two important bioresources of India, and level Meeting of the LMMCs in New Delhi
the major focus is on sustainable development. from 17-21 January, 2005. This meeting has
110

adopted the New Delhi Ministerial

Declaration of Like Minded Megadiverse
Countries on Access and Benefit Sharing,
which is being seen as the beginning of a new
era in the negotiations on International Regime
on Access and Benefit Sharing as a Legally
Binding
Instrument
(http://
www.lmmc.nic.in/prologueLmmc_new.
php?Section=two). India continued its
international negotiations on ABS from the
fifth Conference of the Parties (CoP-5) which
decided to establish a Working Group on ABS
to develop guidelines and other approaches for
consideration by CoP-6, and to assist Parties
in addressing elements relevant to ABS.
Recently, India submitted concrete options on
substantive items on agenda of ABSWG-5 and
ABSWG-6. India, along with the LMMCs and
other developing countries, continue to insist
that the regime must be legally-binding for
the effective implementation of the ABS
requirements enunciated by the CBD.
Convention on Biological Diversity and
India
India signed the Convention on Biological
Diversity on 5th June 1992, ratified it on 18th
February 1994 and brought it into force on 19th
May 1994. This convention provides a
framework for the sustainable management and
conservation of Indias natural resources. After
consultation process involving the
stakeholders, the Government of India brought
a legislation, to regulate access to biological
resources of the country with the purpose of
securing equitable share in benefits arising out
of the use of biological resources and associated
knowledge relating to biological resources to
conserve and sustainably use biological
diversity. Other important issues are: to respect
and protect knowledge of local communities
related to biodiversity, to secure sharing of
benefits with local people as conservers of
biological resources and holders of knowledge
and information relating to the use of biological
resources, conservation and development of

areas important from the viewpoint of

biological diversity by declaring them as
biological diversity heritage sites; protection
and rehabilitation of threatened species,
involvement of institutions of self-government
in the broad scheme of the implementation of
the Act through constitution of committees
at the local village level.
The implementation of different sections
of the Biological Diversity Act is the major task
of National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).
Guidelines on Collaborative Research Projects
(under Section 5 of the BD Act) involving
transfer or exchange of biological resources or
information relating thereto between
institutions, including government sponsored
institutions of India and such institutions in
other countries has been prepared and notified
(http://www.nbaindia.org/docs/so-1911english.pdf). Establishment of Designated
National Repository (DNR) (Section 39) is an
essential part of the infrastructure for
biodiversity conservation. DNR consists of
service providers and repositories of preserved
specimen consisting of all fauna, herbarium
(dried plant material for research), the living
cells, genomes of organism, and information
relating to heredity and the functions of
biological systems. DNRs also contain
collections of culturable organisms (e.g. microorganisms, plant, animal and human cells),
replicable parts of these (e.g. genomes,
plasmids, viruses, cDNAs), viable but not yet
culturable organisms, cells and tissues, as well
as databases containing molecular,
physiological and structural information
relevant to these collections and related
bioinformatics. National Biodiversity
Authority, India has prepared guidelines on
Designated National Repository and it is in the
process of notification. The other guidelines
such as Access to bioresources or associated
knowledge for research or for commercial
purpose by foreigners (Section 3 of the BD Act)
and determination of equitable benefit sharing
arising out of the use of accessed biological

111

resources, their by-products, innovations and

practices associated with their use and applications
and knowledge (Section 21 of the BD Act),
transfer of results of any research relating to any
biological resources occurring in or obtained from
India for further research or for commercialization
(Section 4 of BD Act), intellectual property rights
of invention based on any research or information
on a biological resources obtained from India
(Section 6 of the BD Act), biological resources
normally traded as commodities (Section 40 of
the BD Act), and areas of importance as
Biodiversity Heritage sites (Section 37) are in the
process of notification under the Act.
Biological Diversity Act and Access and
Benefit sharing
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 India,
primarily addresses the issues concerning access
to genetic resources and associated knowledge by
foreign individuals, institutions or companies, and
equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the
use of these resources and associated knowledge
by the country and its people (http://
www.nbaindia.org/act/act_english.htm). The Act
governs Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) through
a three tier system, National Biodiversity
Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Board (SBB)
and Biodiversity Management Committees
(BMC). The NBA deals with matters relating to
requests for access to bioresources and associated
traditional knowledge by foreign individuals,
institutions or companies, and all matters relating
to transfer of results of research to any foreigner;
imposition of terms and conditions to secure
equitable sharing of benefits, establish sovereign
rights over the bioresources of India and approval
for seeking any form of Intellectual Property
Rights (IPRs) in or outside India for an invention
based on research or information pertaining to a
biological resource and associated traditional
knowledge obtained from India. The Act, subject
to Section 21 and Rule 20 of the Biodiversity
Rules, insists up on appropriate benefit sharing

provisions in the access agreement and mutually

agreed terms related to access and transfer of
biological resources or knowledge occurring in
or obtained from India for commercial use, biosurvey, bio-utilization or any other monetary
purposes. The Authority shall develop guidelines
and shall notify the specific details of benefit
sharing formula in an official gazette on a caseto-case basis. The suggested benefit sharing
measures may include monetary benefits such
as royalty, joint ventures, technology transfer,
product development, and non monetary
benefits such as education and awareness raising
activities, institutional capacity building, venture
capital fund, etc. Five percent of the benefits shall
be earmarked for the Authority or State
Biodiversity Board towards the administrative
service charges. The current status of the
implementation of access and benefit sharing by
the National Biodiversity Authority will be
discussed in the meeting.
SBBs deal with matters relating to access to
bioresources by Indians for commercial purposes
and restrict any activity which violates the
objectives of conservation, sustainable use and
equitable sharing of benefits. The mandate of the
BMCs is conser vation, sustainable use,
documentation of biodiversity and chronicling of
knowledge relating to biodiversity. BMCs shall be
consulted by the National Biodiversity Authority
and State Biodiversity Boards on matters relating
to use of biological resources and associated
knowledge within their jurisdiction. In order to
safeguard the interests of the local people and to
allow research by Indian citizens within the
country, free access to biological resources for use
within India for any purpose other than
commercial use for Indian people has been given
to vaid and hakims (= traditional physicians) and
other citizens.
Provisions for setting up of Biodiversity
Funds at Central, State and Local levels are
provided (Sections 27, 32 and 42) in the Biological

112

Diversity Act, 2002. The monetary benefits,

received as fees and royalties for approvals by
National Biodiversity Authority is deposited in
National Biodiversity Fund and used for
conservation and development of areas from
where resources have been accessed.
National Biodiversity Authority
The Biological Diversity Act of India,
2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2004,
is implemented by the National Biodiversity
Authority (NBA) established by the
Government of India under Section 8. The
National Biodiversity Authority also performs
functions such as laying down the procedures
and guidelines to govern the activities such as
access and benefit sharing and Intellectual
Property Rights, in accordance with the
Article 8 (j) of the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD). The authority also
coordinates the ABS activities of the State
Biodiversity Boards (SBB) and Biodiversity
Management Committees (BMC) by providing
them with technical assistance and guidance.
NBA advises the government on matters
relating to the conservation of biodiversity,
sustainable use of its components and equitable
sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization
of biological resources, select and notify the
areas of biodiversity importance as biodiversity
heritage sites under this act and perform other
functions as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of the act. The NBA on behalf of
the Government of India takes measures to
protect the biological diversity of the country
as well as oppose the grant of intellectual
property rights to any foreign country on any
biological resource obtained from India or
knowledge associated with such biological
resource.
The establishment of the Access and
Benefit Sharing (ABS) provisions and their
effective implementation in the territorial
jurisdiction of India is dealt with in the
Biological Diversity Act 2002 (Sections 3, 4, 6)

and in the Biological Diversity Rules 2004 (Rule

14-20). This act provides for regulated access to
biological and genetic resources by bonafide endusers for different purposes, including scientific
research, commercial uses, biosurvey, bioutilization, conservation and other sustainable
uses, etc. The overall implementation of the Act
is governed by three functional bodies viz. The
National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the State
Biodiversity Boards (SBB), and the Biodiversity
Management Committee (BMC). NBA is the
national competent authority to discharge all
decisions pertaining to ABS, including prior
informed consent process, approval for access
and transfer of biological resources and
scientific research results and technologies to
foreign citizens, companies and non-resident
Indians (NRIs), prior approval for applying for
IPRs based on biological resources or
traditional knowledge obtained from India,
fixing criteria for benefit sharing, approval of
third party transfer of accessed biological
resources and traditional knowledge, and
several other matters related to ABS.
Access to biological resources and associated
traditional knowledge:

The Act stipulates norms for access to

biological resources and traditional knowledge
based on three ways:
(i)Access to biological resources and
traditional knowledge to foreign citizens,
companies and NRIs based on prior approval
of NBA (Section 3, 4, 6 of the Act and Rule
14-20).
(ii)Access permits to Indian citizens,
companies, associations and other
organizations registered in India on the basis
of prior intimation to the State Biodiversity
Board concerned (Section 7 of the Act).
(iii)Exemption of prior approval or
intimation for local people and communities,
including growers and cultivators of
biodiversity, and vaids and hakims, practicing
indigenous medicines (Section 7 of the Act).

113

The key procedures to be followed for access to

biological resources and traditional knowledge
are dealt with under Rule 14 of the Biodiversity
Rules 2004. These provisions are laid down to
ensure effective, efficient and transparent access
procedures through written agreements and
applications in prescribed formats. Applicants
seeking access to biological resources and
traditional knowledge are required to submit an
application in FORM I (http://
w w w. n b a i n d i a . o r g / a p p l i c a t i o n s /
ruleform14.htm) along with an application fee
of INR 10,000/- (http://www.nbaindia.org/
applications/ application.htm). Once the
application is approved for access, an agreement
has to be signed by the applicant for access of
bioresources.
The NBA is chaired by an eminent person
having adequate knowledge and expertise in the
conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity and in matters relating to equitable
sharing of benefits appointed by Government
of India. The NBA consists of 10 senior officials
from government departments and five
additional specialists as members (http://
www.nbaindia.org/act/act_ch3.htm). The
Authority meets once every three months to
oversee the work of the NBA, the State
Biodiversity Boards and the local Biodiversity
Management Committees and to approve
applications for access to Indias biological
resources.
The NBA through appropriate
consultation mechanisms, approve the
applications and communicates its decision to
grant access or otherwise to the applicant
within a period of six months from the date of
receipt of the application. The Authority is
required to communicate the grant of access
to the applicant in the form of a written
agreement duly signed by an authorized official
of the Authority and the applicant. The rule
14 also stipulates the Authority to provide
reasons in writing in cases of rejection of an
application and give reasonable opportunity

to the applicant to appeal. The Authority shall

publicise the approval granted through print
or electronic media and also shall monitor the
compliance of the conditions agreed to at the
time of accordance of approval of grant for
access, by the applicant (http://
www.nbaindia.org/approvals.htm). The access
procedures are only regulatory in nature, not
prohibitive in any manner to any applicant
irrespective of their nationality, affiliations,
origin, etc. Since inception, NBA has received
260+ applications for Access, Transfer of
Bioresources and Patent. Fee has been paid to
National Biodiversity Fund as per the BD Rule
2004 depending upon the type of applications
(http://www.nbaindia. org/approvals/
status_approvals.htm).
Revocation of access or approval
Revocation of access or approval granted
to an applicant will be done only on the basis
of any complaint or suo moto under the
following conditions: (i) violation of the
provisions of the Act or conditions on which
the approval was granted (ii) non-compliance
of the terms of the agreement (iii) failure to
comply with any of the condition of access
granted (iv) on account of overriding public
interest or for protection of environment and
conservation of biodiversity (Rule 15, Sub rule
1). After having withdrawn the access permit,
the Authority is required to send an order of
revocation to the concerned Biodiversity
Management Committee and the State
Biodiversity Board for prohibiting the access
and to assess the damage, if any, caused and steps
to recover the damages (Rule 15, Sub rule 2)
(http://www.nbaindia.org/rules.htm).
Restrictions for access to biological resources
The Act imposes certain restrictions on
request related to access to biological resources
and traditional knowledge if the request is on:
(i) endangered taxa (ii) endemic and rare taxa
(iii) likely adverse effects on the livelihood of
the local people (iv) adverse and irrecoverable

114

environmental impact (v) cause genetic

erosion or affect ecosystem function (vi)
purpose contrary to national interests and
other related international agreements to
which India is party (Rule 16, Sub rule 1)
(http://www.nbaindia.org/rules.htm).
Procedure for prior approval of Transfer
of research results
The Act does not permit any person to
transfer the results of any research relating to
biological resources obtained form India for
monetary consideration to foreign nationals,
companies or NRIs without the prior approval
of the Authority (Section 4). Approval for such
transfers shall be done on the basis of an
application to authority in FORM II (http://
www.nbaindia.org/applications/
ruleform17.htm) along with the payment of an
application fee of INR 5000/-. The Authority
within a period of three months from the
receipt of an application shall take a decision
on it. As in the case of access permits the
Authority shall communicate the approval for
transfer of research results to the applicant in
the form of a written agreement duly signed
by an authorized official and the applicant. The
authority shall communicate the reasons in
case a request for transfer of research results is
not granted and shall give reasonable
opportunity and time to the applicant for an
appeal, if any (Rule 17, Sub rules 1-6).
Procedure for prior approval before
applying for IPR: (Section 6 of the Act and
Rule 18, Sub rules 1-6)
All the conditions for granting approval
for transfer of research results shall be
applicable to any person desirous of applying
for a patent or any other intellectual property
rights, based on biological resources and
knowledge obtained form India. The format
for making such applications (FORM III)
(http://www.nbaindia.org/applications/
ruleform18.htm) is annexed to the Biodiversity
Rules 2003.

Procedures for third-party transfer of accessed

biological resources or knowledge: (Rule 19,
Sub rules 1-6)
The Act permits transfer of accessed
biological resources or associated knowledge to
a third party on the basis of the prior approval
of the Authority through a process of submitting
an application in FORM IV (http://
w w w. n b a i n d i a . o r g / a p p l i c a t i o n s /
ruleform19.htm) along with the payment of an
application fee of INR 10,000/-. The other
procedures remain the same as those stipulated
for access to biological resources and traditional
knowledge under Rule 14.
Criteria for benefit sharing
The Act, according to Section 21 and
Rule 20 of the Biodiversity Rules, (http://
www.nbaindia.org/rules.htm) insists upon
including appropriate benefit sharing
provisions in the access agreement and
mutually agreed terms related to access and
transfer of biological resources or knowledge
occurring in or obtained from India for
commercial use, bio-survey, bio-utilization or
any other monetary purposes. The National
Biodiversity Authority is in the process of
developing a guideline based on the provision
of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the
same will be notified with the specific details
of benefit sharing formula in an official gazette
on a case-to-case basis. While granting
approvals for access, NBA will impose terms
and conditions so as to secure equitable sharing
of benefits. These benefits interalia include:
a) grant of joint ownership of intellectual
property rights to the National Biodiversity
Authority, or where benefit claimers are
identified, to such benefit claimers;
b) transfer of technology;
c) location of production, research and
development units in such areas which will
facilitate better living standards to the benefit
claimers;

115

d) association of Indian scientists, benefit

claimers and the local people with research
and development in biological resources and
bio- survey and bioutilization;
e) setting up of venture capital fund for
aiding the cause of benefit claimers;
f) payment of monetary compensation
and other non-monetary benefits to the benefit
claimers as the National Biodiversity
Authority may deem fit.
The Biological Diversity Act provides
for setting up of biodiversity funds at national,
state and local levels. Benefits will be given
directly to individuals or group of individuals
only in cases where biological resources or
associated knowledge are accessed directly
through them. In all other cases, monetary
benefits will be deposited in the Biodiversity
Fund which in turn is used for the
conservation and development of biological
resources and socio-economic development of
areas from where resources have been accessed.
The time frame and quantum of benefits to
be shared shall be decided on case-to-case based
on mutually agreed terms between the
applicant, Authority, local bodies, and other
relevant stakeholders, including local and
indigenous communities. One of the suggested
mechanisms for benefit sharing includes direct
payment to persons or group of individuals
through district administration, if the
biological material or knowledge is accessed
from specific individuals or organizations. In
cases where such individuals or organizations
could not be identified, the monetary benefits
shall be paid to the National Biodiversity
Fund. Five percent of the benefits shall be
earmarked for the Authority or State
Biodiversity
Board
towards
the
administrative service charges.
The ABS procedures stipulated under
the Biodiversity Act, 2002 are in line with the
provisions of international laws and policies,
particularly CBD and the Bonn Guidelines.

The entire procedures as described in the Act can

contribute substantially to facilitate an
international regime of ABS on genetic
resources and traditional knowledge.
Peoples Biodiversity Registers (PBR)
The preparation of Peoples Biodiversity
Registers (PBRs) involves the active support
and cooperation of a large number of people
who need to share their common as well as
specialized knowledge. The documentation of
PBR by the Biodiversity Management
Committees includes information on
bioresources and associated knowledge
gathered from individuals through detailed
questionnaire, focused group discussion with
persons having knowledge about an issue and
published
secondary
information.
Establishment of comprehensive PBRs at local
level by the Biodiversity Management
Committees would not only help to
inventorise and document the local biological
and genetic resources, but also to conserve and
sustainably use the biocultural diversity for
rewarding income generation (Madhav Gadgil,
2006). PBR also ensures active involvement of
the local and traditional communities in all
decision-making processes related to biological
diversity and traditional knowledge. BMCs are
entrusted with the preparation of PBRs (http:/
/www.nbaindia.org/docs/comments-thepiblic.pdf) and to assist the SBBs and NBA in
matters on ABS related to local biogenetic
resources and traditional knowledge.
National Biodiversity Authority has been
established by Government of India to
implement the CBD provisions on ABS
through Biological Diversity Act. It is felt that
there is an increasing need for public awareness
about the national and international regime on
ABS as well as the Biological Diversity Act.
With the globalization and increasing influence
of IPRs, there is an urgent need to develop
appropriate national and international
guidelines for implementing the provisions of
Access and Benefit Sharing and thereby

116

preventing misappropriation of traditional knowledge as well as conserving of bioresources

for the future.
REFERENCES
Applications, National Biodiversity Authority: http://www.nbaindia.org/
applications/ ruleform14.htm
Approvals, National Biodiversity Authority: http://www.nbaindia.org/approvals.htm)
Approval of application Status, National Biodiversity: http://www.nbaindia.org/ approvals/status_approvals.htm
Biological Diversity Act: http://www.nbaindia.org/act/act_ch3.htm
Biological Diversity Act: http://www.nbaindia.org/act/act_english.htm
Biological Diversity Act, 2002: http://www.nbaindia.org/act/act_english.htm
Biological Diversity Rules: http://www.nbaindia.org/rules.htm
Botanical Survey of India: http://envfor.nic.in/bsi/books.html
Dhillon B.S. and Agrawal A., (2006) Biodiversity, In : Chadha K.L. and Swaminathan M.S. (eds.) Agriculture and
Environment. Malhotra Publishing House, New Delhi, India, pp. 31-50.
Guidelines for Collaborative Research Projects, Biological Diversity Act - http://www. nbaindia.org/docs/so-1911english.pdf
IPR Application Form, Biological Diversity Rules, National Biodiversity Authority: http://www.nbaindia. org/
applications/ ruleform19.htm
Like Minded Mega diversity Countries: http://www.lmmc.nic.in/prologueLmmc_new. php?Section=two)
Madhav Gadgil, 2006. Methodology Manual for Peoples Biodiversity Register, National Workshop on Peoples
Biodiversity Register 22-23 June 2006. National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai.Ministry of Environment and Forests,
New Delhi. http://envfor.nic.in/
Transfer Research Results Application Form, Biological Diversity Rules, National Biodiversity Authority: http://
www.nbaindia.org/applications/ruleform18.htm
Third Party Transfer Application Form, Biological Diversity Rules, National Biodiversity Authority: http://
www.nbaindia.org/docs/comments-the-piblic.pdf
Venkataraman, K. 2003. Natural Aquatic Ecosystems of India, National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan, Thematic
Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. (Published: Zoological Survey of India) 1-272.
Venkataraman, K. 2006. Biodiversity legislations in Likeminded megadiversity countries (ed. DD Verma, S. Arora
and RK Rai) Ministry of Environment and Forests. 79-92.

117

Technical Session IV
Current Status including regulatory regime of
Medicinal Plants and their products in ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries

118

COUNTRY PAPER OF BANGLADESH

Present Status of Cultivation, Collection, Processing, Marketing of
Medicinal Plants and Plant Products including Traditional Medicine and
Regulatory aspects
A.K.M. Haruner Rashid
Registrar
Bangladesh Board of Unani and Ayurvedic Systems of Medicine

Introduction :
Bangladesh emerged as an independent and
sovereign country in 1971 following a nine
month war of liberation. It is one of the largest
deltas of the world with a total area of 147,570
sq km. With a unique communal harmony,
Bangladesh has a population of about 140
million, making it one of the densely populated
countries of the world. The literacy rate of
Bangladeshi people is 43.1%.The majority
(about 88%) of the people are Muslim. Over
98% of the people speak in Bangla. English,
however is widely spoken.
The country is covered with a network of
rivers and canals forming a maze of
interconnecting channels. Being and active
partner, Bangladesh plays vital role in the
international and regional forum, particularly
in the UN, Commonwealth, South Asian
Association of Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) and BIMSTEC. From the
administrative point of view, Bangladesh is
divided into 6 Divisions, 64 Districts, 6 City
Corporations, 308 Municipalities, 481
Upazillas, 599 Thanas and 4498 Unions.
Bangladesh has an agrarian economy,
although the share of agriculture to GDP has
been decreasing over the last few years. Yet it
dominates the economy accommodating major
rural labour force. From marketing point of
view, Bangladesh has been following a mixed
economy that operates on free market
principles. The GDP of Bangladesh is 6.51%
and per capita income is US$ 520. The principal
industries of the country include readymade
garments, textiles, chemical fertilizers,

pharmaceuticals, tea processing, sugar, leather

goods etc. The principal mineral includes Natural
gas, Coal, white clay, glass sand etc. The standard
time of the country is GMT +6 hrs.
About 80 percent people of the country lives
in the rural area. Agriculture, a major contributor
to the GDP and quite good number of farmers
are engaged in commercial cultivation of
medicinal plants and mostly utilizing idle time.
Medicinal plants play a pivotal role in national
healthcare, with utilizing minimum amount
traditional Ayurvedic and Unani systems of
medicine. Apart from these culturally deep-rooted
medical systems, health care requirement of huge
number of population, mostly living in rural and
remote area, are covered by folkloric
medicaments largely by use of medicinal plants.
The sector caters employment of about one
million in cultivation, collection, processing and
marketing. The medicinal plants including
peripheral sub- sectors (e.g. process industriesUnani and Ayurvedic industries, herbs dealers and
wholesalers, Unani and Ayurvedic practitioners,
traditional healers etc) to some extent contribute
to income generation, women empowerment,
environment and poverty elimination and thus
sector contribution to the national economy is
diversified and appreciable.
There is a great demand for medicinal plants
and plant products including traditional Ayurvedic
and Unani medicines both at home and abroad.
Most of these pharmacopoeial and unofficial
medicinal plants grow here either wild or
cultivated. So cultivation of medicinal plants in
this country is potential and prospective.

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Development, systematic cultivation, and

scientific processing are sure to produce a large
variety of drugs and pharmaceuticals raw
materials so badly needed by the country to make
it self-supporting in drugs and medicine and for
saving and earning foreign exchange.
Cultivation of Medicinal Plants :
Bangladesh processes of rich flora of
medicinal plants, which grow widely distributed
in a forest, jungles and wastelands and roadsides.
Although more than 5 hundred medicinal plant
spices has been reported to occur in Bangladesh,
none of them is grown here under systematic
cultivation especially for medicinal purposes.
Ecological and biotic factors are conducive
in Bangladesh to the cultivation of medicinal
plants.
The quality and growth of the indigenous
medicinal plants can be substantially improved by
bringing them under planned cultivation.
Cultivation is also necessary for regular and largescale production of indigenous medicinal plants
for local use as well as for exports.
Planned cultivation of medicinal plants in
Bangladesh should prove highly profitable and
would substantially reduce its foreign exchange
spending on plant-derived pharmaceuticals raw
materials. The medicinal plants whose cultivation
may be undertaken for commercial production
of drugs in the country, for instance Andrographis
peniculata (kalomegh),Bacopa monierra (Brahmi),
Withania somnifera (Aswagandha),Centella asiatica
(Thankuni),Tinospora cordifolia (Guruci/
Gilo),Asparagus racemosus (Satamuli),Adhatoda vasica
(Basok),Ocimum sanctum (Tulasi), Phyllanthus
niruri
(Bhumi-amlaki),Piper
longum
(Pipul),Phyllanthus emblica( Amaloki),Curcuma
longa (Halud), Zingiber officinale (Adaa) etc

In 1986 one traditional healer, popularly

known as Baidya or Kaviraj named Afaz pagla
had a vision to promote the cultivation of
medicinal plants in Natore, one of the northern
district of Bangladesh. He initially started
cultivation of Aloe vera. He motivated other to
come forward for cultivation of medicinal plants.
Inter Co-operation IC, a Swiss NGO organized
the farmers and growers, trained them up on

modern agronomy and technology of commercial

cultivation of medicinal plants.
For the sake of effective market search and
collective bargaining Community Based
Organizations CBO were formed. These CBOs
are run on Cooperative basis. Commercial
cultivation thus got a huge momentum and new
areas are coming under the collective cultivation
and marketing network. Presently a total number
of 22 plant species are commercially cultivated
by cluster members of Community Based
Organizations.
Collection of Medicinal Plants :
Suppliers of the local Ayurvedic and Unani
drug manufacturers collect the materials from
their wild natural habitats. It is estimated that about
90% of the local supply of herbal raw materials
are from wild collection Their process of
collection sometimes is so indiscriminate and
extensive that most of them are completely
exploited leaving no scope for regeneration.
Post-harvest Processing : There is little
knowledge of best practice regarding postharvest primary processing techniques for
cleaning, drying and sorting plant material. District
and national wholesalers are cautious about buying
local produce due to the poor drying facilities.
Medicinal plants processors tend to favour
imported plant material due to the poor quality
of locally produced plant material. The low
volume of locally produced plants has lead to a
dependence on imported herbs. There is also poor
communication between cultivators and potential
buyers. Secondary processing is oriented towards
liquid extracts of raw herbs. Dry powdered
extracts dried by freeze-drying or spray drying
are not being manufactured in Bangladesh. The
improvement in the quality of the starting
materials, cultivation and primary processing of
locally produced plants will lead to improved
overall quality which could complete against
imported material and lead to direct export.
Finished herbal medicinal products in Bangladesh
would lead to better quality products and increase
usage in Bangladesh and lead the way for exports.
Marketing :
An estimated total medicinal market at

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wholesale prices of $20 million per annum

corresponding to 20,000 tons of medicinal plants
and the demand is met from local supply and
importation. The quantum of imported medicinal
plants accounts for 30% by usages and 40% by
value whereas of locally supplied herbs about 90%
are wild collected and 10% from cultivation.
Total herbal medicine market at present in
Bangladesh is valued at US $60 million and the
market is growing at a very satisfactory rate of
from 13% to 15% each year.
Exportation of medicinal plants from
Bangladesh is almost non-existent. Agar (Aquilaria
agallocha) is the leading export with an estimated
export value of around US$ 1.7 million. However
the possibilities for the medicinal plant sector are
great. This is a sector, which has seen tremendous
growth, often double digit growth, in many
countries worldwide. Bangladesh is in the
fortunate situation of having both Ayurvedic and
Unani systems of medicine available. Many of the
key Ayurvedic herbs grow naturally in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has a large rural population
currently engaged in agricultural pursuits and due
to various reasons; the soil of BD may not be as
heavily contaminated with pesticides and
herbicides as the soil of India and China. The
Govt. of Bangladesh has identified the medicinal
plant sector as a priority sector for development
and many initiatives have been created to explore,
expand and promote the sector in Bangladesh and
abroad.
National Policy on Traditional
Medicine :
There is no separate National Policy on
Traditional Medicine in Bangladesh. After
independence, the Government of Bangladesh
promulgated The Unani and Ayur vedic
Practitioners Ordinance, 1983 and Bangladesh
Homoeopathic Practitioners Ordinance, 1983. In
per-view of the ordinances two board (1)
Bangladesh Board of Unani and Ayurvedic
Systems of Medicine and (2) Bangladesh
Homoeopathy Board were reconstituted. The
main objective of the Boards was multi-lateral

development of Traditional and Homoeopathy

Systems of Medicine in Bangladesh and to bring
the profession under legislative control. In 1982
Drug (Control) Ordinance was enacted and in
addition to Allopathic medicinal preparation
Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic medicines
were came under the control of Directorate of
Drug Administration. In present Health and
Nutrition Policy emphasis has been put forwarded
for best utilization of Traditional and
Homoeopathy Systems of Medicine by stream
lining with the National Healthcare Delivery
System.
The following documents directly and
indirectly support partially the cause of Traditional
Medicine and are followed for its control and
guide:
(1)The Drug Act, 1940
(2)The Drug Regulation, 1946
(3)The Unani and Ayurvedic
Practitioners Ordinance, 1983
(4)Bangladesh Homoeopathic
Practitioners Ordinance,1983
(5)The Drug (Control) ordinance, A
policy is worth 1982
(6)The Health and Nutrition Policy,
2005
(7)The Population Policy of Bangladesh,
2005
(8)The Drug (Control) Amendment Act,
2006
Certification authority for herbal raw materials
and products :
No separate authorization authority
exclusive for certification of importable as well
as exportable herbal raw materials or plants
products including traditional medicines is
established so far in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Board
of Unani and Ayurvedic Systems Medicine is
designated for certification of importable herbal
raw materials. But BUASM, being short of expert
manpower and absence of laboratory facilities,
have to seek help of other institutions and
organizations.

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Where as Directorate of Drug

Administration and Licensing Authority is
empowered for issuance of necessary certificates
required for export of finished Unani and
Ayurvedic drugs licensed with the drug authority
but herbal products in any form are excluded from
their jurisdiction.
Education of Ayurvedic and Unani Systems

and Bangladesh National Ayurvedic Formulary,

the only official formularies have been published
by the Board. A national consultative committee
was formed to over see policy implementation.
But for lack in a National Policy on Traditional
Medicine coordinated works have been hampered,
major stakeholders remained uninvolved and
multi-dimensional development ceased.

The government of Bangladesh established

at Dhaka a 100 bedded hospital attached to
Government Unani and Ayurvedic Degree
College. Five years plus one years internship
graduation, Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine &
Surgery (BAMS) and Bachelor of Unani Medicine
& Surgery (BUMS) courses are run by the college.
Under Alternative Medical Care (AMC)
programme government has already appointed
15 Ayurvedic, 15 Unani and 15 Homoeopathic
medical officers in 45 district hospitals. As
supportive staff 567 compounders and gardeners
have also been appointed. Recruitment process
of another 153 Medical Officers are going on. As
separate unit of Directorate General of Health
Services (DGHS) under Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, The Directorate of Traditional
Medicine and Homoeopathy with its own small
budget and personnel act as a coordinating and
controlling authority of the public sector
institutions and personnel. The Directorate
already published Treatment Guidelines on
Ayurvedic, Unani and Homoeopathic medicine
and two separate pharmacopoeia on Ayurvedic
and Homeopathic Medicine.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Board of
Unani and Ayurvedic Systems of Medicine
(BUASM), a statuary body of Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare controls the private diploma
colleges, presently 19 in numbers and set forth
the standard of education and other related
matters. Four years plus six months internship,
Diploma in Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery
(DAMS) and Diploma in Unani Medicine &
Surgery (DUMS) courses are run by these
colleges.Text books on Unani and Ayurvedic
medicine, Bangladesh National Unani Formulary

Research on medicinal plants :

Research on medicinal plants has been
initiated by the Bangladesh Council of Science and
Industrial Research (BCSIR). Institute of Medicinal
and Aromatic Plant under BCSIR was established
in Chittagong and phar macological,
phytochemical and biological screening of a good
number of indigenous plants has successfully been
done. BCSIR is going on with establishment of
another Institute of Herbal Medicine especially
to gear up research on Unani, Ayurvedic
medicines and herbal products.
Conservation status of medicinal plants :
Local people especially plant collectors are
valuable informants about plants abundance,
distribution and localities of their maximum
availability. Bangladesh National Herbarium
(BNH) collected these information and were
confirmed through field visits and extensive
survey. Personal observations were made in the
field keeping several parameters in consideration.
These observations include, extent and area of
occupancy; exploitation level; plants availability;
habitat alternation; conservation efforts; plant
collection techniques; part collected; invasive
plants and threats (Pollution, Urbanization, Lack
of awareness, Deforestation etc.).The rare species
are identified and published Red Data Book of
Medicinal Plants of Bangladesh. Moreover,
Bangladesh National Herbarium (BNH) compiled
a valuable books on tribal medical practices and
explored the indigenous knowledge of the tribal
peoples of Bangladesh.
It was observed that 83 medicinal plants
species belonging to different families were sold
in local markets and thus these play a role in

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uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the

area. Some of these medicinal plants are traded
to national herb markets. Medicinal plants species
are threatened and became rare due to excessive
collection from the wild. These plants are also
used locally for curing different ailments. In most
cases, the market availability status of these
medicinal plants have increased, showing an
increased inclination of local people towards
medicinal plants collection and increased
dependency of local population on medicinal
plants trade.

to provide the collectors better economic returns

and thus better conservation environment to the
flora.
4. Community mobilization and involvement
to be ensured in conservation. Community based
organizations should be encouraged to play their
due role.
5. Cultivation of the profitable medicinal
plants to be introduced as minor crops on
marginal fields
Conclusion :

Recommendations for sustainable use of

The region is rich with diverse and unique
medicinal plants :
flora. However, over the last two decades the plant
resources has been largely degraded due to
Coordinated efforts are needed for indiscriminate deforestation for acquiring
conservation, documentation and sustainable cultivation lands, over exploitation of plant
use of medicinal plants. The following resources for economic purposes, urbanization
recommendations may help towards this goal. and industrialization trends, population explosion
1.
Education on conservation including and increased tourism. Different measures are
Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), advance needed on the part of Governments of these
collection techniques, post harvest processing countries and NGOs working in, to check
techniques and storage conditions to be extended practices which have resulted in the degradation
to the local communities especially to the plant of the biodiversity. The involvement of local
community in any conservation effort is highly
collectors.
valued as without local community participation
2. Sustainable use of medicinal plants and and mobilization, conservation efforts can not be
accessibility of the community towards national effectively materialized. Community awareness
markets would help to uplift socio-economic projects should be initiated, to educate the
conditions of backward area.
inhabitants of the area about the importance of
natural resources for them and their future
3. Nurseries of some important medicinal generations and how to utilize medicinal plants
plants should be established. Herbal Industries to for their better livelihood on sustainable basis.
be brought in contact with the local communities

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COUNTRY PAPER OF BHUTAN

Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC COUNTIRES,
submitted to International Conclave (December 11 13, 2008)
Imphal, Manipur, India.

Background:

Raling Ngawang Drukdra

Karpochikthup Fritilaria delavaye(Photo Courtesy Mr.Samten (Traditional Medicine PU)

Kingdom of Bhutan stands tiny between the

two giant subcontinent countries, Peoples
Republics of China in the North and India in
the South. It is situated on the southern slopes
of the Eastern Himalayas. It rises from
luxurious sub-tropical forests at foothills
altitude from 150 meters to permanent snowcapped peaks over 7500 meters above mean sea
level. Its physical features are characterized by
Steep gorges with limited flat land valleys but
with lush broad leaved diverse forests and high,
rugged mountains with occasional glacier
lakes, alpine meadows with exposed rocky and
snow capped mountains on the North.
The components of its biotic feature are
as diverse as its geo-physical elements,
broadened further by the consequent climatic
attributes the richness in biodiversity.
Bhutan ranks as a tenth hot spot countries

with the highest species density (species richness

per unit area) in the world, and it has the highest
fraction of land in the protected areas and the
highest proportion of forest cover within Asian
country.
Countrys population as recorded from 2004
census is a little over 630, 000 people, religion
Buddhist dominant is determined to preserve
the kind of environmental degradation by
declaring that 60 percent of its land should remain
under forest cover for all times to come.
Forestry record reveals, possessing 72.5
percent forest cover out of which 26 percent
been designated under protected area system
(PAS) as National parks, Wild Life Sanctuaries,
Nature Reserves etc and 9 percent under
Biological Corridors (linking corridors
between different protected areas systems)
Other Nature Reserves as Botanical and

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Recreational Parks. Existence of high

percentage of forest coverage for the state on
the other hand has been highly attributed by
the leadership of monarchs who revered far
sighted conservation ethical view. Bhutanese
people respects all form of life including the
plants is highly attributable to deep rooted
culture transcended from Buddhist
philosophy. Now a unique philosophy, Gross
National Happiness (GNH) that guides the
development models more holistically
balancing material pursuit and spiritual
happiness is one of the top agenda of national
goal that fourth Druk Gyelpo has given to
nation, where the worlds youngest
Democratic Constitutional Government will
architect on this unique philosophy.
1. Conservation
As of now there is no any separate
conservation policy adopted in Bhutan for
medicinal plants alone however for those of
wild plants it is taken care under the general
Forest Conservation Policy. Gso-ba-Rig-pa
the Traditional Medicinal Practitioners in the
country uses over 300 plant varieties which
mostly are collected from the wild. Other than
long practiced legendary method of collection
from the wild, so far there is no any scientific
based silvicultural methods developed for
collecting these medicinal plants.
Non-wood forest products, at time known
as Minor Forest Produce (MFP) touch nearly
every aspect of the lives of a Bhutanese. The
countrys forests provide food, fodder,
medicine, oils, resins, fibers, dyes, and raw
materials for baskets, traditional paper, houses,
brooms, mats and numerous other items.
Amongst MFP, particularly aromatic and
medicinal plants, has a tremendous potential as
cash crops, and it can often be grown alongside
numerous tree species and other marginal land.
Some exceptional medicinal plants like
Fritillaria delavayi, Sassaurea gossiphora,
Eriophyton spp etc thrive in specific ecological
sites and economic sustenance may be a

question to create adaptability for its mass

cultivation.
1.1. LEGAL FRAME WORK
Some of the existing Policy, legislatives,
Regulatory and administrative measures those
take care in Conservation of Bhutans
biodiversity.
Bhutan has very good legal frame work
that protects the Biodiversity.
Forest and Nature Conservation Acts
- Forest and Nature Conservation Act 1995
- The Biodiveristy Act of Bhutan 2003
1.2. Law Enforcement
- Forest and Nature Conservation Rules
2006.
- Primary enforcers: Department of Forests
Collaborators:
- Bhutan Agri and Food Regulatory
Authority (BAFRA)
- Police and Army Forces
1.3. Forest policy
Bhutans forest policy places conservation
above all other considerations. Harvesting or
commercial use of the forest is only permitted
after conservation goals have been met and only
if management policies ensure sustainable use.
Maintaining 60% forest coverage in perpetuity
is also enshrined under the article 5 of National
Constituency.
1.4. Forest strategy
Bhutan has designated 26 percent of its
national territory as protected areas,
distributed over different ecozones. These are
strictly controlled for the conservation of flora,
fauna and biodiversity. Further 9 percent of
the area has been designated as Biological
Corridor those links all designated Protctd
Areas. Strategy for medicinal plants will be
taken on board under the non-wood forest
produce (NWFP) which is mandatory of Social
Forestry Division under DOF.

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All remaining forests are designated

production forests only to cater timber
requirement for public and no exports allowed
in raw material from. Their management is
also guided by conservation principles. Bhutan
places strong emphasis on peoples
participation in forest management and on the
development of forestry extension services.
1.5. Forest legislation rules and regulations
Rules and regulations are regularly
updated to improve and better enforce forest
conservation policies (the Royal Government
of Bhutans Master Plan for Forestry
Development 1991, Annex Report No. X).
these rules, however, still allow the Bhutanese
people to practice their traditional use of forest
products. Here are a few examples:
Map of Protected area system with linking
Biological corridors.

1.6. Medicinal Plants as resource

The 1974 National Forest Policy categorizes
medicinal plants and herbs as resources yet to be
fully explored. Hence the Policy specifies that
these resources be surveyed for efficient
management and use.
In 1988 the Department of Forests, Royal
Governemnt of Bhutan ban exports of
medicinal plants. National Institute of
Traditional Medicine (NITM) under the
Minidtry of Health and Education is only the

organization allowed to collect the yearly

required quantity of medicinal herbs from the
wild for domestic use only. Further NITMs
mandatory is to enrich and cultivate medicinal
plants species those are rare in the wild.
1.7. Traditional Medicine (Gso-ba Rig-pa)
Traditional medicine is still practiced
throughout Bhutan, with its more than 300
species of medicinal plants. The National
Institute of Traditional Medicine (NITM), for
example, is a well-organized institute staffed
with traditional and western trained doctors.
The Institute regularly collects plants to
produce medicine as per formulae cited in
ancient medical scriptures. NITM combines
traditional medicine with acupuncture to treat
all types of diseases. The Institute is rapidly
gaining in popularity, even though a nearby
modern hospital provides free services.
While NITMs set-up is quite
elaborate, simpler systems of
traditional medicine - provided by
individuals or groups - are practiced
in rural areas. For many Rural lots,
traditions are different. Knowledge of
medicinal plants is passed down from
father to son. Some practitioners
combine spiritualism, and its
accompanying elaborate rituals, with
dispensing medicine. Other than
NITM such traditional trends of
practices passing knowledge from
father to son in the rural areas have
diminished and is almost lost.
As traditional medicine does not have the
side effects associated with modern-day
medicine, it is once again becoming popular.
The countrys modernization almost wiped
out this age-old practice and once-thriving
business. The 14 most prevalent diseases in
Bhutan (Master Plan for Forestry Development
1991) in order of seriousness are:
Respiratory
tract
infections
Diarrhoea/dysentery

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Skin infections
Worm infections
Malaria
Conjunctivitis
Peptic ulcer syndrome
Otitis media
Tooth and gum diseases
Urinary tract infections and nephritis
Childhood diseases
Sexually-transmitted diseases
Diseases of the female genital tract
Complications in pregnancy and
childbirth puerperium

2. Cultivation and Collection

Medicinal Plant Propagation under NITM,
Project assistance by EU. Project is under Phase
=II program. At least three Departments are
involved to run the program. Council of
Renewable Research of Bhutan (CORRB),
Departments of Agriculture under the Ministry
of Agriculture, Research and Pharmaceutical and
Units of Traditional Medicine (Gso-ba-Rig-pa)
Department of Health under the ministry of
Health.
2.1. Address the nations vision 20/20 for
Traditional Medicine
A vision of peace prosperity and happiness,
states the importance of traditional medicine as,
we must continue to provide a place for
traditional medicine in our system of health care.
Traditional medcine embodies knowledge that has
been accumulated over centuries and which draws
upon the Nations rich biodiversity and plants with
proven medical qualities. As these qualities became
substantiated by scientific research, there is
growing need to integrate more effectively
traditional medicine with modern system of health
care. The maintenance of traditional medicine not
only adds dimension to the nations system of
health care, but also provides an alternative for
those who seek one. It should be regarded as a
conscious decision to conserve a part of our rich
and varied cultural heritage.

(responsibilities under relevant Ministry and

Departments)
(i) Health component : Agreement to buy
back all aromatic plants cultivated by the
farmers with the assistance of Agrohorticulture.
Prioritization of species: Basis of selecting
the species, higher quantity requirement of the
particular plant species and scarcity of species
found in the wild.
Presently 16 medicinal plants have been
selected under prioritized program to enable
resource management and for sustainable
utilization.
Mapping the range and population of
selected high altitude medicinal plants species
is being implemented with the objectives of
laying the foundations for development of
sustainable management systems for species of
concern and building a reliable comprehensive
database on essential species.
Ongoing surveys have already generated
a considerable volume of data vis--vis the
distribution, ecology and population densities
of priority species particularly in Lingshi
which has served as the main collecting source
for high-altitude medicinal plants for the ITMS
for over 35 years. These will help draw
recommendations for management plans for
sustainable collection of medicinal plants and
will also strive to form a rational correlation
between various collection parameters & their
corresponding market prices besides serving as
a baseline resource for further studies.

Prioritized species
Aconitum orochryseum (Ranunculaceae)
Chrysosplenium forrestii (Saxifragaceae)
Corydalis flabellata (Fumariaceae)
Corydalis stracheyi (Fumariaceae)
Dactylorhiza hatagirea (Orchidaceae)
Delphinium brunonianum (Ranunculaceae)
2.2. Programme carried under 2 components
Fritillaria delavayi (Liliaceae)
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Gentiana urnula (Gentianaceae)

Meconopsis horridula (Papaveraceae)
Meconopsis simplicifolia (Papaveraceae)
Nardostachys jatamansi (Valerianaceae)
Onosma hookeri (Boraginaceae)
Picrorhiza kurroa (Scrophulariaceae)
Rhodiola himalensis (Crassulaceae)
Saussurea gossypiphora (Compositae)
Veronica himalensis (Scrophulariaceae)
(ii) Agro component: Department of
Agriculture to expand propagation of targeted
medicinal plants involving farmers and rural
communities through various appropriate
methods by enrichment in the wild,
domestication through research.
Existing sites for collection of medicinal
plants from the wild natural zones are: Lingshi
zone North West of the country for high
altitude herbal plants (Ngo-meon) and
Langthel zone central of country for low
altitude (Thro-meon). Enrichment in the
natural sites and propagation areas are also
selected in the same zone for both high altitude
and low altitude medicinal/aromatic plants.
Ongoing activities of Pharmaceutical
research unit, as obligation and responsibility
is to carry on with identification of medicinal
plant areas, surveying and mapping, that could
help to generate data base in the long run.
Program in exploration of alternative
available areas for naturally growing medicinal
plants are also under the process so that
alternative natural areas if available would
enable to give a chance of break to those already
over strained areas due to continues collection
since few past decades.
Program also encourages farmers to grow
more medicinal plants. They are delivered field
training to improve quality in cultivation,
harvesting methods, post harvest handlings etc.
ultimately targeting to sustainable commercial
cultivation.

Commercial growing of medicinal plants is

to cross subsidize and sustain the medicinal plants
growing in the wild.
3. Processing of Medicinal Plants
There is only micro level processing of
medicinal plants in Bhutan which is done by the
Institute of Gso-ba-rig-pa) the Traditional
Medicine only for local consumption and
treatment required to deliver under the Health
Units system. Local methods of drying and
seasoning the collected herbal plants are done
mostly at the wild collection sites. There after
transported on pack ponies to Traditional
Pharmaceutical Unit in Thimphu capital
which takes normally 4 -5 days walking
distance. Most cases the plants are naturally
seasoned and at times small units of electric
heating devices are used to remove moisture.
All the crudes are stored in gunny bags and
canes specially made for such purpose. Sova
Rigpa which is similar to Ayurvedic medicine
is processed by the Dungtshos (Gso-ba-Rig-pa
pharmacists) according to existing formulas for
treatment. The prepared medicines are either
in powder form, pills or capsules. The Sova
Rigpa Doctors and local Pharmacognosists
annually collect the medicinal plants from the
wild normally up to required quantity for a
year. Based on Government policy the
prepared pills are issued for treatment of
patients on free of cost.
According to information, there is
increase in yearly requirement of some
medicinal plants for the unit and to substantiate
some cultivation program has been initiated
since less than a decade and is still in infant
stage.
4. Marketing medicinal plant and market
authorization of products.
Agriculture Marketing Services (AMS)
Explore, develop and promote intraregional and niche export markets for RNR
products (fresh and processed).
Promote
value addition and

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agribusiness enterprises.
Develop market institutions and
linkages between buyers and suppliers.
Mandates of AMS is to promote marketing
of all agro-products including medicinal plant
produces specially the rural farmers and
farming cooperatives.
The Institute of Traditional Medicine
(ITMS) has their own marketing section which
deals specifically their own traditional
pharmaceutical products.
Pharmaceutical Unit makes best use of the
surplus buy back medicinal plants stock to
manufacture commercial products as:
Products: Cody Plus Health peals
Incenses, Tsheringma tea
Incense -6 category item
All above products are aimed to capture
the local market and on need basis, however to
encourage the collectors and farmers, it is very
essential to firstly standardize the products and
make proper marketing strategy.
Bhutan Agro-food Regularity Authority
(BAFRA)
BAFRA under the Ministry of
Agriculture is the authority issuing
phytosenitory certificate for all food safety and
other natural products of Bhutan.
5. Research and Development.
Research for new products, design formula
is a need that is arising now.
The Institute of Traditional Medicine
Services is hopping to establish a two-tiered
pricing scheme for medicinal plants- it will pay
a higher price to producers who can certify that
their material comes from cultivation.

prominent species are cultivated on an increased

scale by farmers in 9 Dzongkhags viz. Carthamus
tinctorius, Saussurea lappa, Inula racemosa,
Dracoccephalum tanguiticum, Asparagus racemosus,
Hypecoum leptocarpum, Abelmoschus moschatus.
Extension packages have been developed to select
species and are being regularly updated,
substantiated by on-farm and on-station research
results. Presently the ITMSs annual demand for 4
species is met from the cultivation, and the
corresponding increase in the income of the
farmers has been substantial.
Agronomic data on priority species has been
developed and work on improving the existing
manuals will also be taken up in addition to
production of crop protection packages. The
program also focuses on expanding the number
of species for cultivation and their corresponding
acreage.
Accordingly, intensive research is being
carried out for the following crop in pipeline
for large scale cultivation.

Lycium bararum ( Gogi berry)

Panax Ginseng (Ginseng)
Picrorhiza kurroa
Nardostachys jatamansi

Propagation methods including tissue

culture techniques are also being investigated.
Establishment of medicinal plants
cultivators group/association as a viable means
of enhancing the long-term sustainability of
this emerging medicinal plants sector is already
underway in selected Dzongkhags. As of now
four association is formed (Bumthang, Haa and
Gasa) and due emphasis on capacity building
of relevant personnel will be emphasized in
order to formally institutionalize these
stakeholder groups.
Source of information: Pharmaceutical
Unit and NITM Thimphu and RNRRC
Yusepang.

Domestication/Cultivation Research &

Extension
Medicinal plants cultivation has 6.Traditional knowledge.
progressed to become a successful alternate
In general the Traditional Knowledge on
farming venture for rural communities. Seven medicinal plants have diminished ever since the
129

modern facilities of medicine came. In fear

of equitable benefit sharing in one hand and
the diminished trust assurance owed by
scions to grand parents have even attributed
the circumstantial conditions delinking of
traditional knowledge transmissions which
in most case were not in the form of
writings. However, protection of
traditional knowledge is taken care under
the Biodiversity Act of Bhutan (BAB).
6.1. Threats to Bhutans Biodiversity
and risk associated in conservation in
relation to medicinal and aromatic plants:
In Bhutan, biodiversity is a matter of
everyday necessity. All Bhutanese people
especially in the rural areas, depend on
biological resources in one way or other on a
daily basis. Threat to the ecological integrity
of habitats and the species within them
including medicinal plants stem from several
sources.
Land conversion causing habitat
destruction and fragmentation resulting in the
loss of biomes, ecosystems in all habitat zones.
Economic development projects such
as road and transmission line construction,
Expansion of agro-farm land etc.
Poaching of Medicinal plants across
the borders.

Very rare species Sassaurea gossipiphora, one of the

vernable species for poaching

Natural process of ecological changes taking

place in the alpine and sub alpine zones such as
the die back phenomena as evidence photo of a
patch of Rhododendron tsariense in Bhutan alpine
area. Would it replace by more medicinal herbs
or what species of plant community after x
number of years? What centaury this
Rhododendron lived? Other visible threats
affecting the alpine eco-zones are recession of
glacier mass due to global warming and change
of climate.
Importance of grazers in Bhutan from
biodiversity richness point of wiew. Migration
of Yak herds to Alpine meadows in summer
and to temperate zones during winter and
cattle from temperate to sub-tropical is the
usual trend in Bhutan. As far as within the
permissible carrying capacity the grazers
appeared to have played potential role in
keeping with richness of floral diversity. As
with the reduction trend of animal population
to graze the alpine meadows now see the
shrubby nature of plants like Rhododendron
and Potentilla plants in the western zone and
Yushania bamboo in the Central zone over take
the ground coverage which some herbs can not
thrive any more. Therefore the lush growth of
diverse medicinal herbs in Lingshi zone seems
to have the symbiotic relationship of Yak and
Blueship grazing for centuries was most
probable reason that Bhutan as per legendary
was known by Lho-Menjong meaning the
country and the land of medicinal plants. Cattle

130

migration in most places especially in the central the Framework Convention on Climate Change
Bhutan (in Bumthang Rodungla area) has reduced at the Earth Summit, and the national assembly
since over a decade therefore growth of shrub ratified the convention in 1995.
species including Yushania mircophylla has taken
Bhutan is also part of the cooperation
over the herbal grass meadow areas. Should the agreement under the Sustainable Development
North Western Bhutan Lingshi zone local yak Agreement (SDA) with Benin, Costarica and the
herders reduce their yak population including wild Netherlands, based on the principle of equality,
Blue sheep seems to loose the main home as alpine reciprocity and participation. One of the priority
medicinal herbal meadows. The symbiosis of Yak areas of cooperation identified between the
plus Blue sheep grazing in Laya Lingshi Alpine countries is the conservation and sustainable use
meadow for richness of medicinal herbs growth of biodiversity.
in the area required to be understood in depth.
7.2. Convention CITES - 2002.
6.2. Constraints:
Bhutan became a party to CITES on 13th
-No complete silviculture data available for November 2002. Based on the CITES mandatory,
sustainable harvesting of Medicinal plants from the Nature Conservation Division (NCD),
the wild.
Department of Forests (DOF) under the Ministry
-Lake of scientific, technical capacity and of Agriculture (MoA) is functioning as
professionals in the field of aromatic and Management and as the Scientific authority.
medicinal plants, information and data base, 7.3.General recommendations:
Taxonomic literature on medicinal plants.
Exchange of program in development and
7. Conclution.
propagation of aromatic and medicinal plant,
For the sake of biodiversity related Bhutan would benefit tremendously being an
conservation program Bhutan would always active member country among BIMSTEC and will
like to be a member in the international further its opportunities by joining this forum
forums as BIMSTEC AND ASEAN and we International Conclave, Imphal Manipur.
are already member of the following
Source of information:
Conventions.
From the office records of Deparements of
7.1. Convention on Biological Diversity Forests
(CBD) - 1992.
Pharmaceutical Unit, Traditional Medicine,
The RGoB recognizes the importance of NITM.
co-operating with nations at the International
level to bring about biodiversity conservation RN RRC, Council of Renewable Research, Bhutan
and sustainable use. In keeping with the policy, Book references: BAP-I 1998; BAP-II 2002, MoA
Bhutan signed the Convention on Biological Photo Courtesy:
Diversity at the United Nations Conference Fritillaria delavaye- Mr.Samten (Research Officer,
on Environment and Development, Earth PU,TM)
Summit. In signing the convention on
Map of PAS & BC Mr.Kinley Gyeltshen, GIS
Biological Diversity in Rio de Jeneiro in 1992
Analyst, NCD
and the ratification of this convention by the
Habitat of Fritillaria sp.- Raling N.Drukdra
national assembly at the 73rd session, Bhutan
has accepted its global commitment to preserve
Rhodo. tsariense (hibred) dieback
the countrys wealth of biodiversity. Bhutan phenomena - Raling N.Drukdra
also recognizes the importance of the part of
Abbreviation Used
the convention that assigns sovereign countries
- Biological Corridors
right to genetic resources. Bhutan has also signed BC
131

BAFRA

Bhutan Agro-food
Regularity Authority

CBD

Convention on
Biological diversity

CITES

Convention on
International Trade of
Endangered Species of
Flora & Fauna

DoA

Department of
Agriculture

DoF

Department of Forests

EU

European Union

GIS

Geographycal
Information System

MoA

Ministry of Agriculture,

NCD

Nature Conservation
Division

NES

National Environment
Commission

NITM

PUTM

PAS
RGoB

CORRB

National Institude of
Traditional Medicine
Pharmaceutical Unit of
Traditional Medicine
Protected Area System
Royal Government of
Bhutan
Council of Renewable
Research,Bhutan

132

COUNTRY PAPER OF BRUNEI

The Challenges Ahead of Traditional/Complementary &
Alternative Medicine, Brunei Darussalam

Dr. Chua Kui Hong, Ministry of Health,

Brunei Darussalam
(kuihongchua@hotmail.com,
drchuakuihong@gmail.com)

Traditional medicine (TM) is a widely

accepted term referring to both the traditional
systems such as Traditional Malay Medicine
(TMM), Traditional Indian Medicine,
Ayurvedic, Unani medicine, Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM), Traditional
Indonesian Medicine, Traditional Thai
Medicine and various forms of indigenous
medicine practiced worldwide. Traditional
medicine is defined officially by the World
Health Organization (WHO) as the diverse
health practices, approaches, knowledge and
beliefs incorporating plant, animal, and/or
mineral-based medicines, spiritual therapies,
manual techniques and exercises applied
singularly or in combination to maintain wellbeing, as well as to treat, diagnose or to prevent
illness (World Health Organisation Traditional
Medicine Global Strategy, 2002-2005). It is also
more commonly referred to as Traditional/
Complementary & Alternative Medicine (T/
CAM) in most developed regions of the world
and the terms TM/CAM & T/CAM are used
interchangeably & widely accepted.
Today, TM continues to be an important
facet of healthcare systems with over 80% of
world population living in the rural areas of
developing countries depends on TM for their
primary healthcare needs due to its accessibility
and affordability which are of healthcare
benefits, socio-economic and commercial
importance.
The World Health Organization advocates

the harmonization and integration of practice and

use of TM in the preventive, promotive and
curative aspects of healthcare systems by focusing
& adopting healthy life style practices with
responsible individual and the participating
community. Therefore, recognizing the
importance and widespread use of TM, there are
currently concerted worldwide efforts by many
governments to encourage the formalization and
harmonization of TM with the aim of achieving
optimal integrated healthcare systems (i.e.
integrated medicine). This can be summarized
into a number of major challenges of TM which
covers important key areas of practices,
education & training, raw material & products,
research and development for further
collaboration and cooperation globally.
Developing countries such as ASEAN
Member countries including Brunei
Darussalam, BIMSTEC, China and many other
countries are endowed with a rich biodiversity
of reliable and sustainable source of natural
products -the Gift of Mother Nature. The
Asian traditional healthcare systems
incorporating natural products (raw material
and products) are gaining their global
momentum and recognition; governments
worldwide are now realizing their healthcare
benefits as well as addressing its socio-economic
and commercial potential.
There is an estimated 5,000 native species
found in the tropical rain forests of Brunei

133

Darussalam. Many medicinal plant species/

varieties have been long used by the local
communities for the treatment of various
disease conditions. However, so far little
research has been done on the constituents or
bioactivities of the native tropical medicinal
plants of Brunei Darussalam. It is likely that
certain medicinal plants in Brunei Darussalam
may have unique characteristics of secondary
metabolites which are potential sources of
therapeutic drugs. Therefore, prioritized
research into these valuable medicinal plants
in order to obtain valuable scientific profile
about these medicinal plants is necessary as they
usually consist of many chemical constituents
with highly complex pharmacological effects
on the body.
An interdisciplinary and systematic
scientific, medical and health research approach
needs to be undertaken to investigate the
genetic diversity, phytochemical profile,
bioactivities and pharmacological actions of the
tropical native medicinal plants. Research and
development of the potential therapeutic effects
of traditional medicines (natural products) need
to be explored further and more vigorously in
order to obtain further and better
understanding of their clinical benefits and also
safety profiles in the long term use of these
natural products.

Over 750,000 plant species on Earth, an

estimated 50,000 to 70,000 botanical species are
used in traditional and modern medicine
worldwide with the emergence of more
bioprospecting species which are undergoing
research and development. These valuable
bioprospecting species, not only provide a
significant contribution to healthcare needs but
are also of agronomical potential in providing
an important source of income to rural
population in developing countries which rely
on cottage herbal industry. Over the years, the
herbal industry in the Asian region has shifted
from the traditional small-scale production
based on indigenous knowledge and has
expanded exponentially into the medium and
large scale industry to cater for the growing
demands of the local and export markets.
With the growing global market for
natural products valued at over US$250 billion
annually, it presents an avenue for our national
economic diversification programme and the
need to venture into extensive research, not
only for the healthcare benefits but also for the
socio-economic significance and commercial
importance. Therefore, there is a need to
spearhead the harmonization, collaboration
and cooperation between global key players to
identify the infrastructure needs in the research
and development of the four major challenges
of T/CAM in Brunei Darussalam.

134

COUNTRY PAPER OF CAMBODIA

Mrs. Nouv PHALLA

BACKGROUND
Cambodia , is a country situated in the
Southeast Asia region, which is bordering with
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the east,
the Kingdom of Thailand in the west, the Lao
Peoples Democratic Republic in the north and
has 440km of coastal border facing the Gulf of
Thailand in the south,
The total population is 14.080.653 millions
Cambodias land area is 181,035 square
kilometers. It measures 580 km from the east
to the west and 450km from the north to the
south. Cambodia has the Mekong River, which
flow from Tibet across Lao Thailand,
Cambodia, and Vietnam. Tonle Sab is a greatly
famous lake in the middle of this country.
Cambodia is influenced by Monsoon.
Every year, the Monsoon winds blow from the
North-East bringing cold weather with some
rain from November to March and from May

to October the Monsoon blow from SouthWest bringing along with lots of rains and
humid weather .
The Cambodia has a warm and humid
climate with annual average temperature of
25.5 o C or 83.37 o F.
Objective of National Drug Policy
- NDP developed by MOH has two main
objectives :
To ensure the availability of drug which
are safe, effective and of good quality to the
whole population at an affordable price.
To rationalize the supply and use of the
drugs throughout the country.
Vision of DDF :

135

To ensure the safety, efficacy and quality

of processed foods, drugs,diagnostic reagents,

medical devices, cosmetics, and truthfulness of
product information for the protection of public
and to promote the safety of consumers.

Maintaining the highest level of moral

and professional integrity

Implementation of drug policies and

others regulations relating to pharmaceutical
affairs.

PRESENT SITUATION AND FUTURE

PLAN

-Traditional Medicine:
A- The objective of the National Center
for Traditional Medicines are:
- To increase the importance of
Cambodias traditional Medicines and to
encourage traditional practices as a
complement to modern medicine.
History of traditional Medicines in
- Cambodia has the potential to make
Cambodia:
use of natural raw materials(more than 500
Traditional Medicines were present in
plants having the therapeutic vales).
Cambodia for a long time before the
- Traditional Medicines produced or
application of Modern Science on health care
imported can not be sold unless they are
and made a great contribution in maintaining
registered with the Ministry of Health.
Cambodias health.
- Fundamental and applied research of
In the years under the French
traditional Medicines will be pursed.
Protectorate, Modern Medicines were used
- Some diseases which are able to be
for treatments diseases, how ever the rich
treated effectively with Traditional
people could have access to them and
Medicines will be identified.
traditional Medicines were used all over t h e
- An effort will be made to establish
country.
necessary methods and technology to
Since 1979, the Government officially
identify and develop Traditional
integrated Traditional Medicines into the
Medicines.
National Health System and evolved a policy
- A means of regulation and control
of support that promoted them at different
adapted to the specific characteristics of
levels but in an uncoordinated manner, a
Traditional Medicines will be established
disparate number of activities most of which
under the authority of the Ministry of
are still going on at present.
Health.
In 1982, the Center for Research on

Local production of Drugs

Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy, was
opened.

Drug distribution and Good storage

The traditional Medicine Law was passed
Practice
in 1998, this has more practical and detailed

Drug quality Control System

information for the roles and regulations of the

Financing of drugs and Pricing Policy

traditional Medicines.

Rational use of drugs

The main point of this law is to register:

Traditional Medicines
- Local traditional drugs Manufacturers

Monitoring and Evaluation(Which will

and their products in order to maintain real
enable progress and adjustment of strategies).
Traditional Medicines and their effectiveness.
- Local drugs stores and
B -Department of Drugs and Food has one
- Imported Traditional Medicines.
section for Registration of Traditional
Medicine.
136

COUNTRY PAPER OF INDIA

Medicinal Plants Scenario in India-Government initiatives

towards resource security and quality assurance for increased
trade and commerce

Bikram Singh Sajwan

National Medicinal Plants Board, Chandralok Building,

Introduction
The resurgence of interest in alternative and
complementary therapies world over is leading
to commercialization of trade in medicinal plants
and plant based drugs with significant implications
for conservation and sustainable use of medicinal
plants. With forests being the main repositories
of medicinal plants, this growing demand has in
turn implications for forest conservation and the
livelihood of the forest dependent communities.
The growing consumption of herbal products and
phyto-medicines has led to excessive removals
from forest, often through unregulated and
exploitative harvesting, jeopardizing the very
survival of a large number of species and in the
process putting a serious question mark over
the very sustainability of the consumption in
the absence of a viable ex-situ conservation
effort. The commercial pressures have also led
to the indigenous management practices
adopted by local communities for the
conservation of medicinal plants being
overlooked with the passage to time.
Approximately 6000-7000 species of
medicinal plants out of about 17000-18000
flowering plants are known to be in use in folk
and officially recognized systems of medicine
in India, namely, Ayurveda, Sidha, Unani and
Homeopathy. Such a large number of medicinal
plants is the highest percentage of flowering
plants in any country of the world for the
existing flora of that country (Kala et al., 2006).
The wide range of medicinal plants occurring
in India due to a large range of agro-climatic
variability is responsible for increased demand of
Indian medicinal plants in the international market

36-Janpath, New Delhi- 110001, INDIA

in recent years. World Health Organization

(WHO) has estimated the world herbal market to
be of the order of US$120 billion which is
growing @ 7-10% every year and is likely to
increase to more than US $5 trillion in 2050.
Ayurveda, Unani, Sidha and Homeopathy
along with Yoga and Naturopathy are the six
officially recognized system of medicine besides
Allopathy in India and are also a part of
national health care programme. These systems
are regulated through The Central Council of
Indian Medicines Act 1970. The quality
standards of the medicines are regulated
through the Pharmacopoeias being compiled
and published for each system of medicines
under the Drug and Cosmetics Act 1940.
Medicinal Plant Trade and Industry
India has 9343 registered units
manufacturing Ayurvedic, Sidhha, Unanai, and
Homeopathic medicines. Out of theses only 14
units are with annual turnover more than Rs
500 million and about 8000 units have turnover
less than Rs 10 million. Presence of such a large
number of small units is a major challenge from
the point of view of quality certification and
enforcement of central drug laws. The total
turnover of the industry is of the order of Rs
80 90 billion and the exports of the order of
Rs 8 billion bulk of which are in the form food
supplements and extracts.
As per the estimates by Foundation for
Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions
(FRLHT) under a National Medicinal Plants
Board (NMPB) funded study 960 species of

137

medicinal plants are reported historically to be in

trade though the species in active trade may be in
the range of about 600. Out of these 176 species
are reported to be in high trade (more than 100
Metric tones per year)( NMPB 2007 Annexure
I). The pattern of sourcing of these suggests
that about 82% of the medicinal plant species are
collected from the forests or the wastelands with
only about 19% being sourced from the cultivation
and 3% from the imports. There are about 35-40
species under cultivation. The main species being
Isabgol, Senna, Henna, Aswagandha, Coleus,
Kalihari, with Isabgol alone accounting for about
50,000 hectares. However, bulk of the cultivated
medicinal pants form part of the export basket
of medicinal plants and therefore if the export
volumes are excluded, the domestic consumption
by Ayurveda, Sidha and Unani (ASU) and herbal
extracts industry gets more than 95% of its raw
material requirement from the forests and the
waste lands. Survival of the domestic ASU and
herbal Industry is, therefore, critically dependent
upon forests for its raw material requirement,
which in turn is linked to the forest policies, laws
and the forest related developmental policies.
Ever increasing demand for herbal products
and the inability of forests to sustain the supply
of species in high demand in trade necessitates
ex-situ conservation and cultivation of selected
medicinal plants. It however presumes that agro
techniques for such species are available.
Unfortunately very limited number of species is
actually being cultivated not because the agrotechniques are not available but because most of
such species face price competition from the wild
collected material making cultivation unviable.
Cultivation if tied to markets can conserve the
wild genetic diversity. Cultivation can also result
in production of raw drugs of standardized
alkaloid content thereby enhancing quality and
market acceptability. It can also permit better
species identification, improved quality control,
and increased prospects for genetic improvements.
Constraints in Medicinal Plants Management
In spite of a large number of regulatory laws
and management interventions the resource

depletion of medicinal plants is a stark reality.

Some of the factors responsible for the resource
depletion are:

Non-sustainable harvests by
collectors often without any regulatory controls
being actually being put in to practice. This leads
to destructive harvesting of even plants where
normally a non-destructive harvesting (of leaves,
flowers, fruits) could have been practiced.

A shift from subsistence to

commercial collection and sale resulting in large
volumes being extracted than would otherwise
have been permitted. This is particularly relevant
to forest dependant communities where
commercialization also results in tenure and user
rights being adversely impacted with long term
implications for livelihoods

Medicinal plants trade often operates

through a large number of intermediaries and
traders. The long marketing chains result in
severely depressing the price realization for the
primary collector who actually gets only a fraction
of the market price of the material collected.
Longer the chain, smaller is the returns to the
collector. There are instances when the collector
gets only as low as 10% of the market price of
the produce. Low realization forces him to over
harvest to eke out a living.

Absence of awareness about the right

season, age of maturity, good collection, handling
and storage practices often leads to high level of
rejection at the factory yards. Often the medicinal
plants are not subjected to proper cleaning,
grading and drying and are stored in containers,
which may deteriorate the quality. The industry
estimates that the level of rejection is as high as
30%. Such high level of rejection on the one hand
results in poor realization to the collectors, on the
other it results in resource depletion at the source
of collection.

Most of the medicinal plants continue

to be collected from forests, as their floral biology
and propagation techniques are not well
understood. Even when these are well understood,
cultivation of species for which the market prices

138

are low, is not remunerative leading to sourcing

from forest.
National Medicinal Plants Board
It is a common knowledge that more than
90% of the ASU formulations are plant based.
The sustainability and outreach of the ASU
systems therefore requires ensuring availability of
raw material of quality raw material on a sustained
basis. It is for this reason that the National
Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) was set up under
a Government Resolution notified on 24 th
November 2000. The Board is headed by the
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister as its
Chairman and the Chief Executive officer as its
Member Secretary with members from various
Ministries, Department, State Governments and
experts in various fields like Pharmaceutical
industry, Ethno botany, Research Councils and
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The Board is
responsible for co-ordination of all matters
related to the medicinal plants, including drawing
up policies and strategies for conservation. It is,
however, recognized that the activities relating to
different aspects of medicinal plants would
continue to be handled by the different Ministries/
Departments like Environment & Forests,
Agriculture, Council Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR), Department of Science and
Technology (DST) and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) but the Board would provide
focus and give directions to the activities (Sajwan,
2006).
The Board has schemes to support in-situ
conservation, ex-situ conservation, cultivation,
post harvest management, research and
development, capacity building and training,
supporting studies for trade and market
information as well as creating marketing
infrastructure wherever such gaps exist. During
the 10th Plan alone the Board provided financial
support for in-situ conservation including setting
up of herbal gardens over an area of 28,000
hectares. Likewise, financial support was extended
for coverage of about 40,000 hectares under
cultivation. The evaluation study carried out by
the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal

brought out that on an average 1075 kgs/acre of

additional medicinal plants material was produced
as a result of the schemes implemented by the
Board.
One of the prime functions of NMPB is to
act as a storehouse of information on medicinal
plants which could then be disseminated to
different stake holders. It is a major challenge to
compile and synthesize the information available
with different organizations and make it available
through single window. Equally significant is the
need to develop agro techniques and set up germ
plasm banks in different regions by collecting,
characterizing and multiplying the germ plasm for
mass cultivation programme. The Board has been
supporting R & D studies through the Council
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
Industrial Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), and Indian Council of Forestry Research
and Education (ICFRE) institutions and has
supported projects under the promotional scheme
worth Rs 129.50 million. The projects are mainly
related to the multiplication, assessment, survey,
micro-propagation, intercropping, organic
farming and developing technology park.
Key Achievements of NMPB

In-situ conservation including setting

up of herbal gardens-28,000 hectares

Cultivation over 40,000 hectares

Development of Monographs of
Agro techniques of 120 species of medicinal
Plants. Out of these 50 monographs are under
print and the balance will be taken up for printing
in due course

Development of in-vitro techniques

for about 15 species some of which are of critical
conservation concern. The species include Swertia
chirata, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Tinospora cordifolia,
Hedychium spicatum and Aconitum heterophyllum.

Development of multistoreyed
cultivation technology for Aegle marmelos and
Commiphora mukul

Germination trials of species like

Aconitum heterophyllum, Aconitum balfourii,and
Picrorhiza kurrooa

139

Studies on Morphological and genetic

variabilities in species like Aegle marmelos, Rauwolfia
serpentina, Phyllanthus emblica, Andrographis paniculata

Development of Good Harvesting

Practices for Aegle marmelos and Phyllanthus emblica

Training of farmers and primary

collectors through CSIR, ICAR, ICFRE
institutions and the State Agriculture Universities

Organization of workshops, seminars

and buyer-seller meets and participation in
national and international expos.

Launching of school herbal gardens

and home herbal gardens to sensitize people at
large and school children in particular about the
role that a large number of plants can play to cure
some of the common ailments

Development of an e-portal for

market information for facilitating e-commerce

Due to promotional activities during

the last 5-6 years medicinal plants has come to the
centre stage of development in the field of
agriculture, horticulture and health care. There is
greater acceptance of medicinal plants as a viable
cropping option. Increased coverage under
medicinal plants like Psyllium, Cassia aungustifoila,
Coleus, Aspharagus, Phyllanthus is to a large
measure due to the awareness and training
workshops done by NMPB since its inception.
Proposed activities of NMPB
Followings are the major proposed activities
of the NMPB for development of medicinal
plants and the related matters.
Sur vey, Inventorisation and In-situ
conservation
Undertaking state-wise rapid threat
assessment of medicinal plants through an
internationally accepted mechanism of CAMP
(Conservation Assessment and Management
Prioritization) Workshops developed by IUCN
to arrive at the following:
Threat status of various medicinal plant
species traditionally obtained from the wild based
on IUCN criteria

-Major causes of threat to the populations

of threatened species, prioritization of the same
and methods to mitigate the threats
-Action plan for conservation and
sustainable utilization of threatened medicinal
plant species
It is well established that in situ conservation
is the best, the quickest and the cheapest method
of conserving the diverse genetic base of various
plant species. It only requires identifying natural
vegetation zones of high medicinal plant diversity
(approx. 200 hectare area in each vegetation type)
and setting aside these as MPCAs (Medicinal Plant
Conservation Areas). An adaptive model for
establishing MPCAs based on experience gained
from a pilot project in southern Indian states is
available and needs replication in other states. An
effective MPCA network across the country
would ensure that the gene pool of a vast majority
of threatened medicinal plant species is
inventorised, documented and conserved in their
natural and evolving ecosystem.
The work involves identification of sites of
medicinal plant richness across various forest
types and their intra-type variations to capture
hand viable populations of all the threatened
medicinal plant species in the country and
establishing these sites as MPCAs. The sites are
then be subjected to rigorous floristic surveys to
document the medicinal plant diversity and to
assess population status of prioritized species.
Management of these sites would require
orientation of forests staff the resource
managers and involvement of the local
communities.
Specially designed herbaria of medicinal
plants and raw drug repositories are essential
primary tools to learn about the variations in
medicinal plant species, to know about their
population status and to authenticate the market
samples with the identified samples housed in the
repository. As of now the herbaria maintained by
the BSI is general purpose and oriented more
towards taxonomic issues with little emphasis on
medicinal plants. Moreover, most of these

140

herbaria deal with regional flora. What is required

is to identify and assist an organization with clear
long-term mandate and capacity for establishing
a national herbarium of medicinal plants and raw
drug repository. It is also essential to set up
regional herbaria for ready reference.
Value Addition and Enterprise Development
The forest dwellers and tribals living near
forest have been given full rights to non-timber
forest produce (NTFPs). Under the Panchayat
(Extension to Scheduled Areas-PESA) Act also
contol over NTFPs has been passed on to the
panchayats. The Ministry of Environment has a
large program of forest regeneration through joint
forest management (JFM). The existing
regeneration program however focuses on
production aspects only and does not support
activities for creating storage, primary processing
infrastructure and marketing support.
Regeneration of NTFPs through JFM requires to
be supported with processing and marketing, to
enable the forest dwellers and tribals get higher
incomes for the NTFPs collected by them on
account of improved quality and longer shelf life.
There is need to identify JFMCs all over the
country for assistance for warehousing, value
addition, capacity building and marketing support
and support medicinal pants base enterprise at
the local level.
Ex situ Conservation of Rare and Endangered
Species:
Ex situ conservation of medicinal plant
species is a complementary action to conserve the
genetic diversity of prioritized medicinal plant
species. It is especially desirable in case of species
where wild populations have dwindled to critical
levels and viable populations for some of these
species are not available for initiating in situ
conservation action. For this, it is necessary to
support species specific projects of species of
high conservation concern and those that are in
high demand in view if their criticality to the ASU
systems of medicines (Annexure II). The species
like Saraca asoca, Commiphora whightii which
have annual consumption in excess of 1000 MT

need to be taken up in a big way through the

Forest Departments.
Research and Development:
Development of medicinal plant sector in
the country is suffering from scattered and
inadequate research on various crucial aspects.
The research results need to be consolidated, gaps
identified and new initiatives taken to address
research needs in respect of various crucial aspects
including those related to management of
medicinal plants and their handling. Research is
especially needed in relation to the following
Good harvesting practices, post harvest
handling and storage techniques so as to retain
the efficacy, texture and aroma of the produce.
Good agricultural practices with
emphasis on organic cultivation.
Collection,
compilation
and
documentation (digitization) of published
scientific information on various aspects of
selected Indian Medicinal Plants and ASU
products and preparations of comprehensive
monographs thereof and CTDs.
Identification of substitutes / adulterants
for traded medicinal plants for their subsequent
inclusion in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of
India.
Finding substitutes for RET listed
medicinal plants and finding use of sustainable
plant parts like leaves, fruits etc in place of barks,
roots, heart wood etc.
Research aimed at improving the
technologies and lowering cost of production of
extracts, phytochemicals, natural colors, flavors
and fragrances by using latest technologies.
Bio-Activity Guided Fractionation for
linking the phyto-constituents with the desired
biological activities, with an aim to achieve
standardization of herbal substances with
biologically active marker compounds.
Development of HPLC methods for
known phyto-constituents (preferably the bioactives / marker compounds) and validation of

141

these methods as per international norms.

For medicinal plants in which

commercially pursued phyto-constituents are
known, study of seasonal variations, study of
phyto-chemical variations within available
genotypes, chemotypes, ecotypes etc.,
development of post harvest treatments, search
for elite quality germplasm and development of
quality planting material for mass scale
propagation.
It would need identifying national and
regional R&D organizations to take up specific
research agenda as envisaged under the program.
For setting up of national and regional herbaria
and raw drug repositories of medicinal plants, one
or more organizations would need to be
identified. The work would involve extensive
field/ laboratory work and its consolidation.
Establishing Quality Standards and
Certification Mechanism:
It is a matter of great concern that the
botanicals brought to the market in our country
do not fetch good prices/ export orders due to
their poor quality and lack of standardization/
certification. It is for this reason that Indias share
in the large international trade of medicinal plants
is very low. There is an imminent need to develop
quality standards and put in place certification
mechanisms to put this sector firmly on a global
scale. The following issues need especial attention

Put in place an appropriate pricing

regime in respect of produce sourced from wild
vs. cultivation so as to encourage cultivation and
reduce pressure on the natural resource.

To establish quality standards in respect

of norms related to toxicity and heavy metal
content to increase acceptability of botanicals in
the international markets, especially in case of 50
top traded/ exported species.

To identify and strengthen an

independent national agency for quality assurance
and certification of seeds, planting material and
raw drugs. Certification protocols need to be

developed for sustainable harvest of medicinal

plants from the wild.
Education and Capacity Building of
Stakeholders:
Most of our research and administrative
initiatives fail to get implemented in the field due
to lack of extension and capacity building of the
users and stakeholders. Medicinal plant sector
involves an array of stakeholders varying from
resource managers, cultivators, gatherers, local
traders, local healers, researchers to manufacturers
and exporters, etc. Moreover, a number of
organizations are involved in work related to the
sector. The stakeholders often find it difficult to
know about the advances in the sector as the
various programs seldom have adequate
education and extension provisions built in the
program.
The following activities are essential
-Consolidation of information on various
aspects of medicinal plants and dissemination of
the same through training programs/ exposure
visits
-Publishing of the information in the form
of booklets, leaflets, brochures
-National/ international study visits to
understand various issues and put in place
necessary mechanisms to develop the sector.
Cultivation of Medicinal Plants:
Whereas the cultivation program has
generally resulted in encouraging domestication
of many species of conservation concern and
those in high demand by the ASU industry, a
number of other species used in ASU medicine
continued to be sourced from the wild. It is
proposed to support cultivation of more and
more species critical to ASU systems. This is
proposed to be done by better targeting of
subsidy towards cultivation of the species
required by AYUSH systems and those of
conservation concern or those that are presently
being imported.

142

Also the cultivation is proposed to be done

in conjunction with the processing facilities and
markets available for medicinal plants. This will
require cultivation being done through individuals,
Self Help Groups, Cooperative Societies of
medicinal plants growers in clusters identified by
State Governments. Organizing small and
marginal farmers into Self Help Groups and
cooperative societies of medicinal plants growers
will ensure small and marginal farmers taking up
medicinal plants cultivation, which presently they
are unable to do.
Project for cultivation need to be formulated
to clearly spell out the source of planting material/
seed. Identified seed source or nurseries supplying
certified planting material ought to be encouraged
to supply germ plasm to growers seeking
assistance under the scheme.
The dosage of subsidy available at present is
also proposed to be staggered from 30% at
present to 20%- 75% depending upon the
gestation, demand by ASU industry, conservation
status and whether or not it is presently imported.
Most of the cultivation is proposed to be taken
up in states where clusters for cultivation through
growers, SHGs and Cooperative Societies of
medicinal plants growers are identified with
proper linkages with manufacturers/markets.
Establishment of Seed Centres and nurseries
for Supply of Certified Planting Material:
Cultivation of medicinal plants and eventual
returns from such cultivation is largely dependent
upon the quality of planting material used.
However, as of now, there is no mechanism of
providing certified germplasm or producing
certified planting stock on commercial scale.
Cultivation of medicinal plants requires a
back up of seed centres and nurseries within the
Research Wings of State Forest Departments/
Research Organisations/State Agriculture
Universities to stock and supply certified
germplasm of priority medicinal plant species for
cultivation. Production and supply of seeds and
quality planting material through NGOs and
Corporates can also be permitted provided the

quality can be certified through an accredited

certification agency.
Establishment of Medicinal Plant Clusters/
Zones):
It is estimated that as high as 30% of the raw
material reaching the manufacturers is of poor
quality and is therefore rejected. Cultivation of
medicinal plants therefore needs to be supported
with infrastructure for ware housing, drying,
grading, storage and transportation. These
facilities area essential for increasing the
marketability of the medicinal plants, adding value
to the produce, increasing profitability and
reducing losses. Agricultural Produce Export
Development Agency (APEDA) has set up Agri
Export Zones for medicinal and aromatic plants
in the states of Kerala and Uttaranchal. While
the AEZs scheme implemented by APEDA has
primary focus on exports, the present scheme
seeks to add value to the medicinal plants
cultivated/collected and meet large domestic
requirement of the ASU industry. Additionally,
the species having export market can also be
covered with a view to increasing share of value
added items in the exports of herbal/ASU
products. The species targeted for export would
have to be finalized after assessing the export
market for such species. The illustrative list of
facilities required to be created in the postharvesting infrastructure is as follows:

Drying yards to accomplish the primary

task of drying the products in hygienic conditions.
Since herbs have to be dried in shades, drying
yards with shade net provision or facilities for low
temperature drying will be necessary.

Storage godowns The storage

godowns is expected to received produce from
nearby drying yards. The storage godowns as a
link between drying yards and common
processing units. Storage godown has to be
adequately ventilated and set up at strategic
locations. The storage godowns and drying yards
have to be located in such a manner that they are
not very far from the farm lands and cater to the
identified clusters of cultivation.

143

Grading and packing halls. These

facilities need to be created for the intermediate
product after drying as well as for finished
products for exports and must be strategically
located to minimize transportation costs.

Common processing facility based on

the medicinal plants grown in the clusters would
have to be set up, some of which will be plant
specific. The common processing facilities are
required to be set up within the existing industrial
estates, which have the necessary infrastructure of
power, road network and linkages with rail head/
sea ports.

Quality and standardization will necessarily

require developing and disseminating Good
Agricultural Practices and Good Collection
Practices. These need to be important part of the
supply chain so that together with Good
Manufacturing Practices the quality aspects are
addressed holistically. This alone will bring back
the confidence of people back the our traditional
systems and help us achieve the leadership role in
the international trade.References NMPB, 2007.
Demand and Supply of medicinal plants in India(
Unpublished Report)
Kala, C.P. 2005. Indigenous uses,
population density and conservation of threatened
medicinal plants in protected areas of the
Indian Himalayas. Conservation Biology, 19:
368-378.

Laboratories for testing of raw material

and value added items and their certification for
domestic consumption as well as exports would
be an important input in to quality assurance
through the existing accredited laboratories.

Kala, C.P., Dhyani, P.P. and Sajwan,

Wherever such laboratories do not exist, these will B.S. 2006. Developing the medicinal plants sector
have to be set up, preferably in PPP Mode.
in Northern India: challenges and
opportunities. Journal of Ethnobiology and
Conclusion
Conservation needs to be understood in the Ethnomedicine, 2: 1-15.

wider context of not only the enabling laws, and

policies and thereby restricting access of the
people but in the larger context of development
approaches of regeneration and meeting the
livelihood and health care needs of the people.
Management interventions have to be focused
based on what can be grown in forests and what
can be cultivated. Cultivation, however, not only
requires a farming systems approach through a
well spread out extension infrastructure for inputs
of quality seeds and technical services but also a
credible marketing and post harvest management
infrastructure. AYUSH systems of medicine can
flourish only if there is a reliable production base
for cultivation and afforestation of medicinal
plants created both on agricultural and
forestlands. However cultivation will require
revisiting some of the existing forest and wild life
laws so that while meeting challenge of
conservation these laws do not hinder cultivation.

Ramakrishnan, P.S. 2002. What is

traditional ecological knowledge (TEK)? In:
Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Managing
Biosphere Reserves in South and Central
Asia, eds. P.S. Ramakrishnan, R.K. Rai, R.P.S.
Katwal & S. Mehndiratta, pp. 17-48.
New Delhi, India: Oxford & IBH Publishing
Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Rodgers, W.A., Panwar, H.S. and

Mathur, V.B. 2002. Planning a Wildlife Protected
Area Network in India: A Review. Wildlife Institute
of India, Dehradun, India.

Sajwan, B.S. 2006. National Medicinal

Plants Board: Initiatives taken and possible
areas of collaboration. African Digest, 2: 29-30.

Vashishta, K,and Karan, M. 2003. The

Status of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in
India and Nepal: Medicnal Plants and their
utilization,pp55-86,ICS,UNIDO

144

Table 2 : Medicinal Plants in high trade

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49

Abelmoschus moschatus Medik.

[=Hibiscus abelmoschus L.]
Abies spectabilis (D.Don) Spach
Abrus precatorius L.
Acacia catechu (L.f.) Willd.
Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Del. [=]
Acacia sinuata (Lour.) Merr.
[=A. concinna (Willd.) DC.]
Achyranthes aspera L.
Aconitum ferox Wall. ex Seringe
Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. ex Royle1
Acorus calamus L.
Adhatoda zeylanica Medic.
[=A. vasica Nees; Justicia adhatoda L.]
Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. ex Schultz
Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. ex Schult.
Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boivin
Aloe barbadensis Mill.[=A. vera L.]
Alpinia calcarata Roscoe
Alstonia scholaris R.Br.
Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. ex Nees
Anogeissus latifolia Wall. ex Guill. & Perr.
Aquilaria agallocha Roxb.
Asparagus racemosus Willd.
Azadirachta indica A.Juss.
Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell
Baliospermum montanum (Willd.) Muell.-Arg.
[=B.solanifolium (J.Burm.) Suresh]
Berberis aristata DC. 2
Bergenia ciliata (How.) Stern.
Boerhavia diffusa L.
Bombax ceiba L.[=B. malabaricum DC.]
Boswellia serrata Roxb.
Buchanania lanzan Spr.
Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. [=B. frondosa Koen.]
Caesalpinia sappan L.
Cardiospermum halicacabum L.
Careya arborea Roxb.
Cassia absus L.
Cassia angustifolia Vahl[=C. senna L.;
Senna alexandrina Gars. ex Mill.]
Cassia fistula L.
Cassia tora L. [=Senna tora (L.) Roxb.]
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don[=Vinca rosea L.]
Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) Loud.
Celastrus paniculatus Willd.
Centella asiatica (L.) Urban
Centratherum anthelminticum (L.) O.Kuntze
[=Vernonia anthelmintica (L.) Willd.]
Chlorophytum tuberosum Baker
Cichorium intybus L.
Cinnamomum sulphuratum Nees3
Cinnamomum tamala Nees & Eberm. 4
Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrader
Clerodendrum phlomides L.f.

50 Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari

[= C. mukul (Hook. ex Stocks) Engl.]
51 Convolvulus microphyllus Sieb. ex Spreng. 5
[=C. prostratus Forssk.; C. pluricaulis Chois.]
52 Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Coleb.
13 Croton tiglium L.
54 Curculigo orchioides Gaertn.
55 Curcuma angustifolia Roxb.
56 Curcuma zerumbet Roxb. [=C. zedoaria (Christm.)
Rosc.]
57 Cyclea peltata (Lam.) Hook.f. & Thoms.
58 Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.
59 Cyperus esculentus L.
60 Cyperus rotundus L.
61 Datura metel L.
62 Decalepis hamiltonii Wight & Arn.
63 Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC.
64 Eclipta prostrata (L.) L.
65 Embelia tsjeriam-cottam A.DC. 6[=E. basaal sensu
(Roem. & Schult.) A.DC., non Mez
66 Emblica officinalis Gaertn. [=Phyllanthus emblica L.]
67 Ephedra gerardiana Wall.
68 Ficus benghalensis L.
69 Ficus religiosa L.
70 Fumaria indica Pugsley
71 Garcinia indica (Dup.) Choisy
72 Gardenia resinifera Roth
73 Gloriosa superba L.
74 Glycyrrhiza glabra L.
75 Gmelina arborea L.
76 Gymnema sylvestre R.Br.
77 Hedyotis corymbosa (L.) Lam.[=Oldenlandia
corymbosa L.]
78 Helicteres isora L.
79 Hemidesmus indicus (L.) Schult.
80 Holarrhena pubescens (Buch.-Ham.) Wall. ex
G.Don[=H. antidysenterica (Roxb. ex Fleming) Wall.]
81 Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch.
82 Holostemma ada-kodien Schult. [=H. annulare
(Roxb.) K.Schum.; H. rheedii Wall.]
83 Hygrophila schulli (Buch.-Ham.) M.R. &
S.M.Almeida[=H. auriculata (Schum.) Heine; H.
spinosa T.And.]
84 Indigofera tinctoria L.
85 Inula racemosa Hook.f.
86 Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq.
87 Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth
88 Ixora coccinea L.
89 Jatropha curcas L.
90 Juniperus communis L.
91 Jurinea macrocephala (Royle) C.B.Clarke [=J.
dolomiaea Boiss.]
92 Kaempferia galanga L.
93 Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr.
94 Lawsonia inermis L.
95 Lepidium sativum L.
96 Litsea glutinosa (Lour.) Robinson

145

97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106

Lobelia nicotianaefolia Roth ex Roem. & Schult.

Madhuca indica Gmel.[=Bassia latifolia Roxb.]
Merremia tridentata (L.) Hall.
Mesua ferrea L.[=M. nagassarium (Burm.f.) Kosterm.]
Mimusops elengi L.
Morinda pubescens J.E.Sm.
Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.
Myristica fragrans Houtt.
Nardostachys grandiflora DC.
Nilgirianthus ciliatus (Nees) Bremek.[=Strobilanthes
ciliatus Nees]
107 Ocimum americanum L.
108 Ocimum basilicum L.
109 Ocimum tenuiflorum L. [=O. sanctum L.]
110 Onosma hispidum Wall. ex G.Don
111 Operculina turpethum (L.) S.Manso[=Merremia
turpethum (L.) Shah & Bhat]
112 Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent.
113 Parmelia perlata (Huds.) Ach.
114 Peganum harmala L.
115 Phyllanthus amarus Schum. & Thenn. 7
116 Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. 8
117 Piper chaba Hunter
118 Piper longum L.
119 Plantago ovata Forssk.
120 Plectranthus barbatus Andr. [=Coleus forskohlii
(Willd.) Briq.]
121 Pluchea lanceolata Oliver & Hiern.
122 Plumbago zeylanica L.
123 Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre[=P. glabra Vent.; Derris
indica (Lam.) Bennett]
124 Premna integrifolia L.
125 Prunus armeniaca L.
126 Pseudarthria viscida Wight & Arn.
127 Psoralea corylifolia L.
128 Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.
129 Pterocarpus santalinus L.f.
130 Quercus infectoria Oliv.
131 Rauvolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz
132 Rheum australe D.Don9[=R. emodi Wall. ex Meissn.]
133 Rhododendron anthopogon D.Don
134 Rubia cordifolia L.
135 Santalum album L.
136 Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. 10
137 Saraca asoca (Roxb.) de Wilde
138 Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. [=S. lappa
C.B.Clarke]
139 Schrebera swietenioides Roxb.
140 Semecarpus anacardium L.f.
141 Shorea robusta Gaertn.f.
142 Sida rhombifolia L. 11
143 Sisymbrium irio L.
144 Smilax glabra Roxb.
145 Solanum anguivi Lam.[=S. indicum auct. non L.; S.
violaceum Ortega]
146 Solanum nigrum L.

147 Solanum virginianum L.[=S. surattense Burm.f.; S.

xanthocarpum Schr. & Wendl.]
148 Soymida febrifuga (Roxb.) A.Juss.
149 Sphaeranthus indicus L.
150 Sterculia urens Roxb.
151 Stereospermum chelonoides (L.f.) DC.[=S. suaveolens
(Roxb.) DC.]
152 Strychnos nux-vomica L.
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176

Strychnos potatorum L.
Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) Karst. 12
Symplocos racemosa Roxb.
Taxus wallichiana Zucc.
Tephrosia purpurea Pers.
Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.
Terminalia bellirica Roxb.
Terminalia chebula Retz. & Willd.
Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook.f. & Thoms.
Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague
Tragia involucrata L.
Tribulus terrestris L. 13
Trichosanthes cucumerina L.
Valeriana hardwickii Wall. 14
Vateria indica L.
Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash
Viola pilosa Bi. 15
Vitex negundo L.
Withania coagulens Dunal
Withania somnifera Dunal
Woodfordia fruticosa (L.) Kurz
Wrightia tinctoria R.Br.
Ziziphus jujuba Lam.[=Z. mauritiana Lam.]
Ziziphus xylopyrus (Retz.) Willd.

Annexure II
Table I - List of prioritized plants for development
and cultivation under scheme of NMPB
Sl. No. Botanical Name
Common
Name
1
Aconitum ferox
Vatsnabh
2
Aconitum heterophyllum
Atees
3
Aconitum palmatum
Prativisa
4
Acorus calamus
Vach
5
Aegle marmelos
Bael
6
Albizzia lebbeck
Shirish
7
Aloe vera
Ghritkumari
8
Alstonia scholaris
Satvin,
Saptaparna
9
Altingia excelsa
Silarasa
10
Andrographis paniculata
Kalmegh
11
Aquilaria agollacha
Agar
12
Artemisia annua
Artemisia
13
Asparagus adscendes
Musali
safed

146

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61

Asparagus racemosus
Shatavari
Azadirachta indica
Nimba
Bacopa monnieri
Brahmi
Berberis aristata
Daruhaldi
Boerhaavia diffusa
Punarnava
Carum carvi
Kala jeera
Cassia angustifolia
Senna
Centella asiatica
Mandoo-kparni
Chlorophytum borivillianum Safaid Musali
Cinnamomum (Darchini, Tejpat,
(C.zeylanicum, C. tamala and
C.camphora)
Tejpat
Coleus barbatus
Pather Chur
Coleus vettiveroides
Hrivera
Commiphora wightii
Guggal
Crataeva nurvala
Varun
Crocus sativus
Kesar
Cryptolepis buchanani
Krsna sariva
Digitalis purpurea
Foxglove
Dioscorea floribunda
Dioscorea
Embelia ribes
Vai Vidang
Emblica officinalis
Amla
Evolvulus alsinoides
Shakhapushphi
Garcinia indica
Kokum
Gentiana kurroo
Trayamana
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo
Gloriosa superba
Kalihari
Glycyrrhiza glabra
Mulethi
Gmelina arborea
Gambhari
Gymnema sylvestre
Gudmar
Headychium spicatum
Kapur kachri
Ferula foetida
Hing
Hippophae spp.
Seabuckthorn
Holarrhena antidysenterica Kutaj
Ipomea turpethum
Trivrit
Ipomoea petaloidea
Vrddhadaruka
Jatropha curcas
Jatropha
(Ratanjot)
Litsea sinensis
Litsea
Mesua ferrea
Nagkeshar
Mucuna prurita
Konch
Nardostachys jatamansi
Jatamansi
Ocimum sanctum
Tulsi
Orchis latifolia
Salampanja
Oroxylum indicum
Syonaka
Panax ginseng
Ginseng
Parmelia perlata
Saileya
Phyllanthus amarus
Bhumi amlaki
Picrorhiza kurrooa
Kutki
Piper longum
Pippali
Plantago ovata
Isabgol

62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82

Podophyllum hexandrum
Premna integrifolia
Pterocarpus santalinus
Rauwolfia serpentina
Sailasia reticulata,
Saptachakra (Saptarangi)
Santalum album
Saraca asoca
Saraca indica
Saussurea lappa

Bankakri
Agnimanth
Raktachandan
Sarpgandha
Sailasia
oblongata
Chandan
Ashok
Ashok
Kushtha,
Kuth
Smilex china
Hrddhatri
(Madhu Snuhi)
Solanum nigrum
Makoy
Stereospermum suaveolens Patala
Stevia rebaudiana
Madhukari
Swertia chirata
Chirata
Taxus baccata
Talispatra
Thuner,
Terminalia arjuna
Arjuna
Terminalia bellerica
Bahera
Terminalia chebula
Harad
Tinospora cordifolia
Giloe
Withania somnifera
Ashwagandha
Woodfordia fruticosa
Dhataki

Notes:
1. Includes Aconitum kashmericum, Delphinium
himalayai , Chaerophyllum villosum, the probable
adulterants of patis.
2. Includes other species of Berberis viz. B.
lycium, B. asiatica, B. chitria also, being traded as
daruhaldi.
3. Leaves of other species of Cinnamomum viz.
C. zeylanica, C. malabathrum are also traded as
tejpatta.
4. Bark of other species of Cinnamomum viz.
C. cassia, C. zeylanica, C. malabathrum is also
traded as dalchini
5. Includes Evolvulus alsinoides, Clitoria
ternatea, Canscora decussate, Convolvulus
microphyllus traded as shankhapushpi in different
parts of the country.
6. Includes the fruits of Embelia ribes, the most
accepted candidate for Vaividang.
7. Includes other species of Phyllanthus viz. P.
urinaria & P. madraspatensis also.
8.

147

Also includes Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora.

9. Includes other species of Rheum viz. R.

moorcroftianum & R. webbianum also, being
traded as revandchini.

13. Includes other species of Tribulus viz. T.

lanuginosus, T. subramanyamii, T. alatus also,
being traded as gokhru.

10. Includes Sapindus emarginatus also as both

these species are freely traded as ritha

14. Includes Valeriana jatamansii.

11. Includes Sida acuta, Sida cordifolia, Sida

cordata, etc., being traded as bala

15. Includes other species of Viola viz. V. odorata,

V. canescens, V. biflora, V. betonicifolia, etc. traded
as banafsha.

12. Also includes other species of Swertia viz. S.

angustifolia, S. alata, etc.

148

COUNTRY PAPER OF INDONESIA

MEDICINAL PLANT IN INDONESIA : from
plant to patients
Sri Indrawaty ( NADFC), Nani Sukasediati (WHO),
Nasirah Bahaudin (MoH)
Introduction
The Indonesian Country Study on
Biodiversity (ICSBD, 1993) puts the number of
species of flowering plants in Indonesia at
between 25,000 and 30,000. Some 10% of the
total flora of Indonesia is thought to have
medicinal value. Indonesian communities make
use of around 6,000 plant species, only around
500 species out of the total 6,000 known
medicinal plants available used by Herbal
medicine
Nowadays, there are around 1036
Traditional Medicine ( TM ) enterprises in
Indonesia. 997 of 1036 are small scale enterprises.
The market for medicinal herb is still
promising. Both processed and natural medicinal
herbs are still a prospective market in Indonesia
as an agricultural country. The domestic
industries of medicinal herb processing are also
growing from time to time.Back to nature is not
merely a slogan in java and Indonesia. TM had
been used since the ancient, it is largely consumed
by people of different level; lower, middle and
upper, in the villages and in the big city.
TM in Indonesia is no doubt become very
important, in the last 2-3 decades. Its importance
is not only for the benefit of health, but also from
economical point of view. It is quite
understandable that many players/parties/
stakeholders have taken part in developing TM,
as it reflected at the long list of institutions
involved, beside the industrial sector.
Most of the parties would like to promote
TM scientifically and commercially to achieve
modern TM. On the other hand the main

Sri Indrawaty ( NADFC)

constraint is the coordination of all activities

among parties.
At the beginning of this year, Indonesia has
been declared JAMU as a Brand of
Indonesian,Coordinated by Ministry of
Economic.
Policy and regulation on TM in Indonesia
TM stated in the Health Law since 1992,
it is a part of health care system especially for
self medication and exist as folk medicines since
centuries ago. The law mandated that TM have
to be developed, guided, promoted to be
effective, safe and good quality of products and
practices in order to be used at community
health care
In order to have quality products and to
guard the community/user from unsafe
products, technical regulation of Safety of
Pharmaceutical Product have established since
1998 as Governments Regulation 72/1998. This
regulation clearly stated that all pharmaceutical
products including TM products, are subject to
compulsory registration of TM product in order
to ensure the Quality Safety and Efficacy (QSE)
when appropriate.
Indonesia has developed National policy on
TM, and has been published in 2007. National
Policy of TM (NP-TM) mentioned the
comprehensive stages and actions to achieve the
ultimate goal : the better quality and use of TM
by the community. One of the significant action
was the development of Indonesian Herbal
Pharmacopoeia. Previously there were guidelines

149

Jamu is herbal products, having brand

and information available to achieve better quality
of herbs and herbal medicine, such as Indonesian names, consist of one or more of powder of
Materia Medica , preparing herb extract, dried herbs, the formula of which are widely
used by the community since many generation.
empirical formulas,
The QSE evaluation can be approved by the
Cultivation and collection
empirical experience of the formula.
The most extensive cultivation studies have
Standardized herbal is herbal products,
been conducted by research institutions, for
several rhizomes. Many rhizomes used for TM having brand names, mostly consist of
have also been used for spices, flavor, standardized extract alone or in combination
corrigentia. Rhizomes cultivation guided by with other extracts, or one/more of powder
SOP have been widely put into practice by of dried herbs. Claims of the product should
many medicinal plants (MP) farmers. MP be based on evidence of pre clinical studies.
Phytopharmaca is modern herbal
farmers work in groups at particular area.
products,
having brand names, consist of
They have been receiving regular training and
supervision from agriculture supervisors. The standardized extracts alone and combination.
intensive control on cultivation of MP mainly The therapeutic use of this product require
conducted at upstream area, namely at the MP evidence of clinical studies
plantation.
Appropriate use TM
Post harvest technology
The use of TM varied from folk medicines
MP farmers usually start from common to prescribed medicines. Based on regulation
farmers. After the collection at harvest time, above, the prescribed TM should have valid
the farmer has to face the difficulties and clinical evidence obtaining from clinical trials.
constraints of the uncertain area of post harvest
Information of empirical use (as folk
technology, pricing and selling of their
product. TM industries usually apply the medicines) for the community can be obtained
whole process of post harvest start from in many published books, marketed widely. It
sorting, cleaning, washing, etc in order to usually based on individual experiences.
Official guidelines or training modules of TM
obtain the better quality of herb.
use for the community are also available,
published by MoH. currently is under process
Market authorization of TM products
TM product in Indonesia mostly consist of revision supported by WHO SEARO.
Some clinics practicing TM can also be found
of herbal products, only very few animal
product or mineral. Market authorization in big cities. Some hospital has integrated TM in
conducted by NADFC. All herbal products their health Services. For the time being MoH,
that are marketed in Indonesia are compulsory has been developing standard for health services
for evaluation and should be registered prior using TM for health provider. Integration of TM
to be marketed. Regulation for market in formal health services basically is still in the
authorization has been implemented in line position of the research and development. The
use of TM, -mostly in health sector and health
with regulation the GMP requirement.
In order to force development of professionals - are still debating on how to use
Indonesian TM, Government develop appropriately, since the valid evidence of safety
regulation on categories of Indonesian TM as and efficacy as required by health professional to
follow, (1) jamu, (2) standardized herbal and meet an appropriate code of conduct, are still
needed to be systematically reviewed and
(3) phytopharmaca
established. The integration require the evidence
150

- Initiate systematic review or meta

of QSE of the TM, and the standard of
analysis of all R and D results in QSE and set
services/practices and education, before
the priority of for further development
adopted to evidence based medicine
- Standardize clinical trial methodology
Research and Development
for further trial and clinical observation
Research have been conducted in the area
- Encourage cultivation, conservation,
of cultivation, conservation of plants, post
post harvest technology studies to attain
harvest
technology,
chemistry/
standardized medicinal plants
phytochemistry,. Pharmaceutical, preclinical
Strategic Policy to develop TM are as
trials (animal model) and small amount of
clinical trials. Biggest % were the research of follows:
phytochemistry, preliminary preclinical 1. Exploration, research and Cultivation
studies to confirm the empirical use, and since
To force exploration & research of
a decade ago, agriculture sectors has been
cultivation of medicinal plant
conducting studies on cultivation.
Establish network & forum
Mostly researches have been conducted on
communication
chemistry/phytochemistry aspect and
Selection of prime varietas
cultivation are in good quality. The very scarce
Optimally IPR System
and less quality was of research was on the
aspect of post harvest technology. This is the
Integrated Information system
reason why the established raw material supply
2. Standardization and Industrial development
chain has not yet established and the quality of
Reposition the Indonesian herbal
herbs always arguable.
medicine product become competitive
A lot of researches have been conducted
globally
since three decades ago. The huge number of
Create market opportunity
researches have not yet been reviewed in
appropriate method. According of the WS Implementation of GMP &
TM, the initial step was developing national Stratification
policy on TM to national health system and
Establish center of study and training
strengthening evidence of QSE, which has been
on production of plant materials.
implemented recently.
3. Organizations :
In general the evidence of QSE of TM can
There are some organizations that very
be obtained in two pathways, for commercial
use and community care use. However, the use active involve in promoting and developing of
of TM for community care still have a MP and TM. Some of them are in the below
possibility to be developed as commercial use, list
1. National Working Group on
if they meet scientific requirements
One problem in TM research, particularly Indonesian Medicinal Plants (NWG-IMP)
in proving the safety and efficacy is the established since 1991. The secretary general is
standardized method. Developing TM for the Director of Research and Development
commercial use, should applied clinical trial Institute of Medicinal Plant and Traditional
approach. Clinical trial is a complicated issue Medicines, NIHRD, MoH Indonesia
2. Association of herbal researchers
in Indonesia.
3. Associations of TM practitioners
The priority action in R and D are as
follow:
4. Association of TM industries
151

COUNTRY PAPER OF LAOS

Traditional Medicine situation in Lao People's
Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)

The Food and Drug Department (FDD) is

one of seven Departments of the Ministry of
Health of Lao PDR. The FDD is the National
Drug Regulatory Authority which is in charge of
ensuring the availability, accessibility, affordability
and rational use of medicines. In administration
purpose, the vertical line is composed with (1)
Food and Drug Quality Control Center (
FDQCC) which is ensure the quality control and
quality assurance of the medicines before and after
circulating in the Lao market;(2) The Traditional
Medicine Research Center (TMRC) which is in
charge of research, make national traditional
medicine list and develop the master formulation,
giving instruction for putting the traditional
medicine into practice for preventing and treating
diseases; (3) Medical Product Supply Center
(MPSC) is in charge of logistic management,
including good procurement practice, good
warehouse management practice, good
distribution practice and making availability of
medicines. (4) Beside the three centers, there are
two government pharmaceutical factories e.g.
Pharmaceutical Factory No 2 and Pharmaceutical
Factory No 3, which are in charge of
manufacturing mainly essential medicines and a
couple of dozen items of traditional medicines.
Beside the two government pharmaceutical
factories and the Traditional Medicine Research
Center, there are some private pharmaceutical
manufacturers such as KANOUKHAM
Traditional Medicine Manufacturer ( Golden
Mouse Brand), PHAYANAK Traditional
Medicine Manufacturer (Naga Brand) and One
Tiger Brand Traditional Medicine Manufacturer.
These two government factory and three privates
factory are producing traditional medicines.

Mr. Vilaysack Xayasan

Mainly for domestic use and some items were

exported to other countries in Europe and United
State.
In making availability of traditional medicine
as well as modernized medicines the National
Strategy on Public Health (NSPH) of the Lao
People's Democratic Republic ( Lao PDR) was
developed and revised every 5 Years to make the
NSPH more appropriate with each 5 Years
Development Plan of the Government. In the 6th
5 Year Development Plan of the Lao PDR, the
NSPH was endorsed by the Lao Government
which included 12 components. One of the twelve
components is the promotion on Traditional
Medicine Use as well as in the content of the Lao
National Drug Policy.
The Lao National Drug Policy (Lao NDP)
was endorsed by the Lao Government in March
1993 and was revised for more appropriate in
the real situation of the country in the August
2005. The 3 main goals of the Revised National
Drug Policy are: 1. to ensure the availability
of essential medicines with reasonable price in
the whole country, mainly in remote areas
which the vulnerable population are living and
focusing for treating the common diseases; 2.
all item of medicines should have good quality,
safety and efficacy which are rational used by
both group of people health staffs and
consumers; 3. to promote and enhance the
widely use of traditional medicine.
For putting the NDP into practice,
especially for controlling and using the
medicines including the traditional medicine,
the Law of Medicine and Medical Product was

152

endorsed in the Year 2000. The Law has clearly

described the definition of the Traditional
Medicine such as Traditional Medicine is drug
derived from plants, trees, minerals or animals
which is prepared, packaged and labeled, the
characteristics and active effect of which are not
scientifically proved but shall be approved by the
Ministry of Health of Lao PDR. The health sector
must organize a plant, minerals and animals which
are traditional medicine in order to manage them.
For putting the Law into enforcement, the
Prime Minister Decree on Pharmaceutical Natural
Resources No 155/PM was officially endorsed
by the Lao Government in June 2003 and putting
into practice since the date of signature. The
content of this mentioned Decree on

Pharmaceutical Natural Resources are divided

into parts such as general content; management
part which covered reservation, plantation,
cultivation and utilization; the organization part
which included concerned responsible institution
for control, manage and arrange the reservation
of the pharmaceutical natural resources; the policy
and enforcement strategy is also included in the
Decree for showing a clear picture of taking the
Decree into applicable.
The Directive Ordinance of the Minister
of Health was issued in 2007 for given direction
to the concerned organizations to control,
manage and take into enforcement the Decree
above mentioned.

153

COUNRTY PAPER OF MALAYSIA

REVIEW OF MEDICINAL PLANTS STATUS IN
MALAYSIA

Dr. Sulaikah V.K Moideen

1)

Where it begins
Herbs are the earliest source of medicines.
Throughout the world, medicinal plants have been
used to treat all kinds of common ailments and
have evolved to become recognized as traditional
medicines and has since been woven into the
cultures and civilization of people.
In Malaysia herbal medicines then include teas
(infusion and decoctions), tinctures, poultices and
salves. The usual practice was very much a patientherbal practitioner basis, as was practiced in most
countries at that time.
The earliest documentation on herbal
medicines in Malaysia dated back to 1886 by
Munshi Ismail. His work was translated, edited
and published by Gimletter and Burkill in 1930.
This documentation describe a total of 543
prescriptions using about 260 identifiable plant
species used in the treatment of various illness
and disorders. In the same year Malay Village
Medicine was published which documented 650
native plants.
2) Present Status
2.1 Cultivation and collection
The World Health Organization has listed
over 21,000 plant species used around the world
for medicinal purposes. Malaysia is blessed with
an abundance of medicinal plants which places
the country among the worlds biodiversity rich
countries in terms of the number of plant species.
It is estimated that 1,200 species in Peninsula
Malaysia and 2000 species in Sabah and Sarawak
154

are identified for medicinal or herbal purposes.

Malaysia's herbal industry is considered to
be one of the most dynamic enterprises. Species
that have been identified in terms of current
priority are Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali),
Labisia pumila (Kacip Fatimah), Andrographis
paniculata (Hempedu Bumi), Morinda citrifolia
(Mengkudu), Centella asiatica (Pegaga),
Orthosiphon aristatus (Misai Kucing), and Punica
granatum (Buah Delima).
Raw material sourcing and planting for
quantity, quality and reliability of the plant
material is of paramount importance. This
process starts from the identification of the
right plant species, varities or hybrids which
possesss desired chemical content or meant for
desired therapeutics application. In Malaysia
most of the plants are primarily found in the
wild and a small number are cultivated. Some
of these species (Pegaga, Kacip Fatimah,
Hempedu Bumi and others) have tremendous
potentials to be cultivated and developed into
various value added natural products thus
providing ample opportunities for the local
companies to embark on plant-based production
and commercialization.
The demand for Tongkat Ali roots and
extracts has increased over the past years. The
harvesting of the plants from their natural habitat
has caused the plants to become so scarce that a
wild specimen may be sold at a very high price.
In recent years Tongkat Ali plants are cultivated
in local farms which conventionally propagated

through seeds or some vegetative means such as

cuttings of stems and root grafting or layering.
Field production is a long and laborious process,
taking anywhere from 5 to 7 years. This causes the
cultivated roots to be an expensive commodity.
Propagation through seeds is inadequate to
meet the demand due to low viability, low
germination rate, delayed rooting of seedlings
and long life cycle. Thus, plant production
through conventional breeding cannot be
relied on as the main source of raw materials
for the herbal industry. In recent years, plant
cell culture technology has been successfully
applied for the production of many useful
secondary metabolites. Tongkat Alis active
substances have also been derived through cell
culture technology but its processes need to
be optimized before the product can be
commercialized.
Horticulture research in the growing of
herbal plants will emphasis organic farming in
view of consumer demand. Additionally as a
effort towards effective conservation of the
medicinal plants collection centers in various
states of Malaysia are established.
2.2
Processing and marketing of
medicinal plants
New approach was adopted in the
production and marketing of traditional
medicines product. With the modern approach
of packaging, together with governmental
control (the new move to register the
traditional medicine products with the
Ministry of Health), access to traditional
medicines become more readily available. More
importantly this inspired more confidence in users
in the quality and safety of the products.
The increasing demand for medicinal plant-based
products has resulted in the shortage of supply
of raw materials. One of the major difficulties
being experienced by the industry is obtaining a
sufficient quantity of raw materials of the desired
quality. There is also an urgent need to improve
post harvest processing, storage and an effective
quality control in order to improve marketing of

the product. The sustainable supply of raw

materials is really an important issue that influences
the security of product supply to consumers.
Quality of the product is built-in through the
adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice
(GMP) principles. Unfortunately the
development of upscale market uses is hindered
by the lack of information on high technologies
and skills available in Malaysia. There is now
a need to cater the dissemination of information
on various technologies of phytochemical
processing to include herbal medicines
industries.
2.3
Regulatory regime and market
authorization
The Drug Control Authority (DCA) of
Malaysia embarked on the registration of
traditional medicines in 1992 under the
Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulation
1984. The regulation emphases quality, safety
and to a limited extent the efficacy in all
pharmaceutical dosage forms of the traditional
medicine preparations. The local interest in
traditional medicine is reflected in the large
number (exceeding 10,000) products registered
in Malaysia.
As at 30 November 2008, there are 172
companies registered with DCA Malaysia,
producing traditional medicines. The majority
of the companies in the industry comprise
small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This
growth also indicate the number of importers (147
companies) dealing with traditional medicines.
Governmental encouragement in developing
GMP and Good Storage Practice certificates on
traditional medicine products increase the
acceptance of the products on the international
market and indirectly boost the export value of
the traditional Malaysian medicines products as a
whole.
Membership of Malaysia in the
Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and the
Pharmaceutical Inspection Cooperation Scheme
reflects that the local industry has established high

155

pharmaceutical manufacturing standards. This

offers potential for increased exports to the more
developed countries.
Malaysia recognizes the need to conduct
efficacy studies on plants to support the claims
made on the products. At the moment the claims
are fairly limited and there is a guidance document
not permitting the over-claiming of the indication
for traditional medicine product unless otherwise
proven by scientific studies.
The enforcement and surveillance activity
which provide control at entry points, surveillance
and raids, inspections of distribution and retail
outlets as well as prosecution, confiscations and
penalties provide strength to the regulatory
control of the products in the country. The
prohibition of importation of premixes for
traditional medicines is Malaysias initiative
towards combating adulteration in traditional
medicines produced locally thus ensuring quality
and public confidence for the product.
Through its role in the Traditional Medicines
and Health Supplements Product Working Group,
Malaysia together with its ASEAN counterparts
has shown its commitment towards harmonizing
regulatory requirements in order to facilitate trade
in the region.
3) The incentives and the future
Several knowledge-incentive industries and
selected services have been identified as having
potential and competitive advantage for the
development and future growth of SMEs. In
recent years the production of traditional and
herbal medicines products expanded, as result of
increased R&D activities undertaken, involving
the development, testing and standardization of
local extracts. Production of traditional or herbal
formulations included Tongkat Ali, Dukung
Anak, Pegaga, Misai Kucing and Selasih.
Joint R&D collaborations and
commercialization of research projects have
been established between the industry,
universities and research institutions. Public
research institutes, such as the Forest Research
Institute of Malaysia, Institute of Medical

Research and SIRIM Berhad, have also undertaken

R&D, involving activities mainly related to
extraction, purification of natural extracts,
toxicology, efficacy studies and clinical trials.
Increasing R&D activities were undertaken by
manufacturers of herbal medicines using local
herbs, such as Eclipta prostrate (urang aring),
Portulaca oleracea (beremi gelang pasir) and
Hempedu Bumi.
Various initiatives were introduced by the
Government to ensure that only appropriate,
safe and effective pharmaceuticals of consistent
quality, including herbal medicines, were
developed and made available to the public. The
initiatives included:
3.1 establishment of the National
Committee for Herbal Medicines in 2002 which
coordinate all R&D activities for herbal
medicines, including approving standards and
providing guidelines for the development and
manufacture of such medicines.
3.2 establishment of the national
Institute of natural Products and Vaccinology
in 2003 to undertake research, develop and
produce its own vaccines and natural health
products. By 2008, RM220 million will have
been allocated to this institute for R&D on
vaccines and other projects.
3.3 publication of the Compendium of
Medicinal Plants Used in Malaysia in 2002 by
the Herbal Medicine Research Centre of the
institute for Medical Research.
The
compendium contains a comprehensive
documentation of traditional knowledge on
more than 2,000 medicinal plants used in
Malaysia
Increasing competition is the big
challenging hurdle ahead. To facilitate and
enable Malaysian manufacturers to compete on
fair grounds internationally, efforts are needed
to reduce and eliminate non-tariff barriers,
which impose complex or ambiguous
requirements on certification labeling,
packaging and testing.
The expectations of practitioners and the

156

public must be met through the provision of

excellence in healthcare. Researchers, the industry
and regulators must work together if Malaysia and
other countries in this region are to move forward
and continue to ensure that traditional medicines
products are of quality, proven to be efficacious,
safe for use and are accessible to the users.
Several knowledge-incentive industries and
selected services have been identified as having
potential and competitive advantage for the
development and future growth of SMEs. In
recent years the production of traditional and
herbal medicines products expanded, as result of
increased R&D activities undertaken, involving
the development, testing and standardization of
local extracts. Production of traditional or herbal
formulations included Tongkat Ali, Dukung
Anak, Pegaga, Misai Kucing and Selasih.
Joint R&D collaborations and
commercialization of research projects have been
established between the industry, universities and
research institutions. Public research institutes,
such as the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia,
Institute of Medical Research and SIRIM Berhad,
have also undertaken R&D, involving activities
mainly related to extraction, purification of
natural extracts, toxicology, efficacy studies and
clinical trials. Increasing R&D activities were
undertaken by manufacturers of herbal medicines
using local herbs, such as Eclipta prostrate (urang
aring), Portulaca oleracea (beremi gelang pasir)
and Hempedu Bumi.
Various initiatives were introduced by the
Government to ensure that only appropriate, safe
and effective pharmaceuticals of consistent quality,
including herbal medicines, were developed and
made available to the public. The initiatives
included:

3.1 establishment of the National

Committee for Herbal Medicines in 2002 which
coordinate all R&D activities for herbal medicines,
including approving standards and providing
guidelines for the development and manufacture
of such medicines.
3.2 establishment of the national Institute
of natural Products and Vaccinology in 2003 to
undertake research, develop and produce its own
vaccines and natural health products. By 2008,
RM220 million will have been allocated to this
institute for R&D on vaccines and other projects.
3.3 publication of the Compendium of
Medicinal Plants Used in Malaysia in 2002 by
the Herbal Medicine Research Centre of the
institute for Medical Research.
The
compendium contains a comprehensive
documentation of traditional knowledge on
more than 2,000 medicinal plants used in
Malaysia
Increasing competition is the big
challenging hurdle ahead. To facilitate and
enable Malaysian manufacturers to compete on
fair grounds internationally, efforts are needed
to reduce and eliminate non-tariff barriers,
which impose complex or ambiguous
requirements on certification labeling,
packaging and testing.
The expectations of practitioners and the
public must be met through the provision of
excellence in healthcare. Researchers, the
industry and regulators must work together if
Malaysia and other countries in this region are
to move forward and continue to ensure that
traditional medicines products are of quality,
proven to be efficacious, safe for use and are
accessible to the users.

157

COUNTRY PAPER OF NEPAL

Resources of Nepalese Medicinal and
Aromatic Plants: Status and Development
Dharmatma Lal Srivastava
Scientific Officer
Department of Plant Resources
Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract
A brief account of Plant biodiversity of
Nepal is described. Status of collection,
cultivation and Processing of Medicinal and
Aromatic Plant resources of Nepal is presented
with special emphasis of major traded
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. The
regulatory provision for collection and trade
are also stated along with present activity of
Department of Plant Resources regarding the
development of Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants.
1. Introduction
Nepal, the Himalayan country occupies
the central area of Himalayan Chain. Country
is almost rectangular in shape and covers the
area of about 147,181 square km. It has a big
climatic and vegetation diversity in a small
distance of around 193 km. south to north. The
altitude ranges from 65 meter to the top of Mt.
Everest. The country has around 54% of land
covered by vegetation, out of which 37% is
Group (Life form)
Algae
Fungi
Bryophytes
Lichens
Pteridophytes
Flowering plants
Total

forested land that account of 10% crown over

12% grass land and 5% as shrub land or degraded
forest (MPFS 1988).
Floral diversity of Nepal is unproportionate
to its land size. Only around 0.1% of total world
land surface is occupied by the country while floral
contribution of Nepal is around 2.25% flowering
plants, 6.81% of Bryophytes, 2.77% of lichens and
4.45% of Pteridophytes of the world. Nepal is
being importantly recognized for the value and
diversity of its plant wealth. In relation to length
of Himalaya Nepal occupy only one third in
middle but it represents more than half of the
Himalayan flora. In continental scale of richness
in plant wealth, Nepal stands 11th position and in
global context, the country occupies 25th
position. Of the total flowering plants species
only 5% are endemic to Nepal and about 30%
are endemic to Himalaya.
Table 1: Total Plant Species World & Nepal

Total No. of sp.

World
Nepal
> 40,000
687
>70,000
1882
>14,000
954
>17,000
471
>12,000
534
>250,000
5636
>403000
10164

Source: World conservation monitoring centre as Global Biodiversity (1992) and Fact Sheet

158

Nepal % of Total
1.72
2.7
6.81
2.77
4.45
2.25
2.52

Unique geoclimatic condition of Nepal has

made it an appropriate habitat for a diverse
species of plants and animals. Some of them
are endemic. Although some processing
facilities are available in the country, they are
either inadequate or incapable to handle much
of the available raw material. The bulk of
this is exported to India in crude form. In
most cases processing of any kind including
grading does not take place within the
country. The end users of these products are
Ayurvedic and the essential oil industries.
Some are used to produce compounds /
extracts for the modern medicine as well. It
is desirable to change the status so that higher
return is given to the inhabitants of the
resource area, specifically the actual collectors
through diversification of export areas and
domestic value addition activities.
2. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants from
Forest Resource
Mostly medicinal and aromatic plants
are collected from wild source. Very few

SN
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

medicinal and aromatic plants are in cultivation

and the Department of Plant Resources is also
carrying research for conservation,
domestication, cultivation and sustainable use
of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Resources.
Department of Plant Resources, Ministry
of Forests and Soil Conservation listed 701
species of medicinal and aromatic plants so far
out of expected 7000 species of vascular plants
(DPR 2007). It is estimated that the medicinal
and aromatic plants constitute, more or less
10% of the vascular flora of Nepal.
Account of 1792 species of medicinal and
aromatic plants are reported by Baral and
Kurmi, whether they are endemic, indigenous,
wild, cultivated or naturalised in Nepal
More than 150 plant species are found in
trade as medicinal and aromatic plants from
wild resources (Table 2). These plants are
collected wildly. Almost naturally grown or
naturally collected herbs are traded to India
and abroad as raw herb. Very few medicinal
and aromatic plant species are in cultivation.

Table 2. Meditional and Aromatic plants in trade from wild resource

Botanical name
Nepali name
Abies spectabilis
Gobresalla/Talispatra
Abrus precatorius
Rati gedi
Acacia conicinna /Acacia rugata
Sikakai
Achyranthes aspera/ Achyranthes bidentata
Datiwan
Aconitum palmatum /Aconitum bisma
Bikhama
Aconitum ferox
Bikha
Aconitum gammiei
Nirmashi
Aconitum hetrophyllum
Atis
Aconitum laciniatum
Kalo-Bikh
Aconitum spicatum
Bikha
Acorus calamus
Bojho
Adhatoda vasica/ Justicia adhatoda
Asuro
Aegle marmelos
Bel
Allium hypsistum/ Allium przewalskianum
Jimbu
Allium wallichii
Ban lahasun
Alnus nepalensis
Utis
159

17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.

Aloe vera
Alstonia scholaris
Amomum subulatum
Annona reticulata
Annona squamosa
Artemisia spp.
Asible rivularis
Asparagus racimosus
Azadirachta indica
Bassia latifolia /Madhuca latifolia
Bauhinia purpuria
Bauhinia variegate
Berberis aristata
Bergania ciliate / B. ligulata
Betula utilis
Bombax ceiba
Boehnteria rugulosa
Boerhaavia diffusa
Brachycorythis obcordata
Butea minor
Butea monosperma
Calotropis gigantea
Camellia kissi
Cannabis sativa
Cassia fistula
Castanopsis indica
Cedrus deodara
Centila asiatica
Centratherum anthelminticum
Cinnamomum glaucescens
Cinnamomum tamala
Cissampelos pareira
Citrullus colosynthis/ Trichosanthes palmate
Coptis teeta
Cordyceps sinensis
Costus speciousus
Curculigo orchioides
Curcuma angustifolia
Curcuma zedoria
Crateva unilocularis
Cyperus esculentus
Cyperus rotundus
Cyperus scariosus
Dactylorhiza hatagirea
Datura metal / Datura stramonium
160

Ghuikumari
Chhatiwan
Alainchi
Ramphal
Sitapphal
Tite pati
Thulo Okhati
Kurilo, Satawari
Neem
Mahua
Tanki
Koiralo/ Kachanar
Chutro/ Daru haldi
Pashanved
Bhoj patra
Siltimur
Dar
Punarnava
Gamdol
Bhujetro
Palans
Aank, Madar
Hingua
Bhang
Rajbriksha
Dale katus
Deodar
Ghodtapre
Jangali jira
Sugandhakokila
Tejpat/Dalchini
Gujargano
Indrayani
Mamira
Yarsagumb
Kusth, Betalauri
Musli
Haledo
Kachur
Silpigan
Kansur
Mothe
Nagarmothe
Panchunle
Dhatura

62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.

Delphinium denudatum
Didymocarpus leucocalyx
Diploknema butyracea /Bassia butyracea
Dipsacus inermis
Discorea spp.
Dryopteris filix-mas
Eclipta prostrate
Edgeworthia gardneri
Elaeocarpus sphaericus
Embelia ribes/ E. tsjeria/E. robusta
Engelhardia spicata
Entada phaseoloides / Aesculus indica
Ephedra geradiana
Ephemerantha macraei
Eulophia spp
Fritillaria cirrhosa
Gaultheria fragrantissima
Glorisa superba
Gnaphalium spp. /Anaphalis spp.
Helminthostachys zeylanica
Hemidesmus indicus
Herpetospermum pedunculosum
Holarrhena antidysenterica/ H. pubescens
Hygrophila auriculata
Insect gall on Pistacia integerrima
Iris nepalensis
Ichnocarpus frutescens
Inula cappa
Inula recemosa
Iris decora
Jatropha curcas
Juglans regia var. kumaonia
Juniperus recurva/ J. communis
Leucas cephalotus
Lichen
Lilium nepalense
161

Nirmasi/ Nirbisi
Kumkum
Chiuri
Banmula
Vyakur, Ban tarul, Kukur tarul
Unyou
Bhringaraj
Argeli
Rudrakchya
Vayuvidanga
Maua (Pahadi)
Pangra
Somlata
Jiwanti
Kaladana
Kakoli
Dhasingare
Kalihari
Buki
Kamaraj
Anantamul
Ban karela
Indrajau
Talmakhan
Kakarsinghi
Padamapushkar
Kalo shariva
Rasana
Puskarmul
Padam puskar
Sajiwan
Okhar
Dhupi
Dronapuspi
Jhyau, Budhani
Ban lasun

98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.

Lindera neesiana
Litsea glutinosa
Lobelia pyramidalis
Lycopodium clavatum
Macaranga spp
Maesa chisia
Maharanga emodi
Mahonia napaulensis
Mallotus philippinensis
Melia azedarach
Mesua ferrea
Morchella esculenta
Murraya koenigii
Mucuna prurita/M.pruriens
Myrica esculenta
Nardostachys grandiflora
Nephrolepis cordifolia
Ocimum spp.
Operculina turpethum
Oroxylum indicum
Osyris lanceolata/ Osyris wightiana
Paederia foetida
Paris polyphylla
Pavetta indica
Parmelia nepalensis
Parmelia nilgherrensis
Parmelia tinctorum
Parmelia cirrhata
Persea spp.
Phyllanthus emblica (Emblica offcinalis)
Phyllanthus urinaria
Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora
Pinus roxburghii
Piper chaba
Piper longum
Plumbago zeylanica
Podophyllum hexandrum
Polypodium vulgare
Potentilla fulgens
Prunus cerasoides
Pueraria tuberosa
Rauwolfia serpentina
Rheum australe/ R. nobile

141.

Rhododendron anthopogon
162

Siltimur
Kalchuri, Meda
Eklebir
Nagbeli, Lycopodium
Malata
Bilouni
Maharangi
Jamane Mandro, Daru haldi
Sindhure, Rohini
Bakaino
Nagkesar
Ghuchi chyau
Painleti/ deshineem
Kauso
Kaphal
Jatamansi
Pani amala
Tulsi
Nisoth
Tatelo
Nun dhiki
Padbiri
Satuwa
Kaiyo phool
Jhyau
Jhyau
Jhyau
Jhyau
Pawan, Kaulo
Amala
Bhui Amala
Kutki
Salla khoto
Chabo
Pipala, Murjhyang
Chitu
Laghupatra
Bisfez
Bajradanti
Paiyu
Baralikand
Sarpagandhga
Padam chal, Amalbed,
Karachulthi, chulthi amilo
Sunpati

142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.
150.
151.
152.
153.
154.
155.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
176.
177.
178.

Rhododendron lepidotum
Bhale-Sunpati
Ricinus communis
Arandi
Rock exudate
Silajit
Rubia manjith
Majitho
Rumex nepalensis
Halahale
Sapindus mukorossi
Rittha
Schima wallichii
Chilaune geda
Schleichera oleosa
Kusum
Selaginella spp
Silajinell
Selinum tenuifoilium/ S.candollii
Bhutkesh
Semecarpus anacardium
Bhalayo
Sida rhombifolia
Sano chilya
Sida cordifolia
Balu
Smilax aspera
Chopchini
Smilax ovalifolia.
Setak chini, kukurdaino
Solanum xanthocarpum/ S. nigrum/ S. khasianum
Kantkari
Stephania spp. / Cissampelos pareira
Gajoorgano
Swertia chirayita
Chiraito
Swertia alata, S. augustifolia,
Chiraito
S. bimaculata, S. ciliata, S. multicaulis,
S.paniculata
Symplocos paniculata
Lodh
Syzygium cumini
Jamun
Taraxacum officinale
Tukiphool
Taxus baccata
Lauthsalla
Terminalia bellirica
Barro
Terminalia chebula
Harro
Tinospora sinensis/ T. cordifolia
Gurjo
Tribulus terrestris
Gokhur
Tsuga dumosa
Thingure salla
Usnea thomsonii
Jhyau
Valeriana jatamansi
Sugandhawal
Vetiveria zizanioides
Khas Khas
Viscum album / V. articulatum
Hadchur
Vitex negundo
Simali
Woodfordia fruticosa
Dhainyaro
Wrightia arborea
Khirro
Zanthoxylum armatum
Timur
Zingiber officinale
Sutho
163

3. Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant

from wild resource
Around 10 to 15 thousand metric ton (MT)
Non Timber Forest Products (NTFT) are
collected every year from natural forest (Edwards,
1995). In last FY 2006/07 around 8323 MT of

medicinal and aromatic herbs was collected from

natural forest, while 9485, 8070, 7429, 8279 and
8691metric tones of herbs was collected from
natural forest FY 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04,
2004/05 and 2005/06 (Hamro Ban 2002-2007).
The major collected MAPs are tabulated here
(Table 3).

Table 3: List of the Major collected medicinal herbs

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Emblica officinalis
Terminallia chebula
Terminallia belerica
Asparagus recimosus
Rubia manjith
Swertia chirayita
Nardostachys grandiflora
Valeriana jatamansi
Aconitum heterophyllum
Picrorhiza scrophulariphlora
Aegle marmelos
Curculigo orchiodes
Cinnamomum tamala (leaf)
Piper chabo
Sapindus mukorossi
Acacia concinna
Rheum australae
Taxus wallichi
Zanthoxylem armatum
Aconitum sps
Elaeocarpus sphaericus
Rhododendron anthopogon
Juniperus indica
Abies spectabilis

Approximate qty collected

50 tons
100 tons
200 tons
25 tons
50 tons
300 -500 tons
500 - 1000 tons
200 tons
2 to 5 tons
20 to 50 tons
400 tons
20 to 50 tons
100 tons
5-6 tons
1000 tons
200 tons
100 tons
350 tons
300 - 500 tons
5 to 20 tons
100 -300 tons
30 tons
30-50 tons
10 -20 tons

4. Cultivation of Medicinal and Aromatic

Plants
Commercial cultivation practice of
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) was
established by Herbs Production and
Processing Company Limited (HPPCL) a
Govt. undertaking company. Cultivation of
some indigenous MAPs in many areas has been
going on an unorganised manner. Some of the
traded MAPs now derived from cultivation in
164

private lands are : Elaeocarpus sphaericus,

Zanthozylem armatum, Cinnamomum tamala,
C. glaucescens, Sapindus mukurossi, Tinospora
sinensis.
In the organised sector cultivation has
started with the establishment of Herbs
Production and Processing Co Ltd. Some other
private companies are also in existence for the
cultivation of MAPs.

industry are also engaged in processing of plant

Main MAPs in cultivation are
for basic materials/ plant extract (Table 5)
Citronella
Table 3: Aromatic plants prcessing Enterprises
Palmarosa
Lemongrass

Herbs Production and Processing Co.

Mentha arvensis
Ltd., Head Office: Koteswar, Kathmandu
French Basil

Dabur Nepal Ltd., Head Office:

Holy Basil
Tinkune, Kathmandu
Chammomile

Shambhala Herbal & Aromatic

Asparagus recimosus
Industry P Ltd., Durbar Marg, Kathmandu
Withania somanifera

Bahubali Herbal Essence & Extracts Pvt.

Swetia chirayita
Ltd., Surkhet Road, Nepalgunj
Recently in the initiation of the Department

Natural Products Industries, Chanauta,

of Plant Resources, contract forming in the
Krishnanagar.
country is started for Timur (Zanthozylem

Himalayan Ginger Co., Khairanitar,

armatum). In this contract an agreement was made
Tanahu District.
between The farmer community of Rim VDC,

Humla Oil Co, Humla

District Salyan and The Fleur Himalayan Industry

Karnali Herbal Company, Jumla

(an industry for producing traditional medicine
Rinmochchya Essential Oil Co, Lumha
and cosmetic product based on herbs) for
VDC, Chaudhabishe, Jumla
production and buying of Timur (Zanthozylem

Nepal Mentha Products Pvt. Ltd

armatum ), and in this contract, the Dept. of Plant
Khichapokhari Kathmandu.
Resources is playing the part of quality assurance.

Pathivera Essential Oil Co., Parbat

Gurung, Chankhu VDC, Ward No.1,
5. Processing of Medicinal and Aromatic
Dolakha.
Plants

Thilen Sherpa, Chilankha VDC,

Almost all collected medicinal herbs are
Khartal, Dolakaha
exported to India and very few to other country.

Karma Sherpa, Bigu VDC, Laklate,

Small but significant proportions have started to
Dolakha
be process domestically.

Gnaw Raj Khadka, Garjan, Chushure

VDC, Ramaechhap
5.1 Essential oil and Extracts

Thakur Das Shrestha, Chuchure VDC,

Many enterprises have been established all
Shivalaya, Ramaechhap
over the country for the processing of aromatic

Nir Bahadur Khadga, Chuchure VDC,

plant for essential oils. Some are listed bellow
Garjan, Ramechhap
(Table 3). These aromatic plants from natural

Ramchandra Joshi, Chapagaon VDC

forest and from cultivation as well (Table 4). Some
Lalitpur

165

Table 4. List of Aromatic plants and product

SN
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Plant
Nardostachys grandiflora
(Jatamansi)
Rhododendron
anthopogon (Sunpati)
Juniperus recurva
/ J. communis (Dhupi)
Cinnamomum tamala
(Tejpat)
Abies spectabilis
(Gogresalla/Talispatra)
Valeriana jatamansi
(Sugandhawal)
Gaultheria fragrantissima (Dhasingare)
Zanthoxylum armatum
(Timur)
Acorus calamus
(Bojho)
Artemisia spp (Titepati)
Curcuma zedoria (Kachur)
Zedoria oil / Kachoor oil
Cinnamomum
glaucescens (Sugandhakokila)
Pinus roxburghii
(Khote salla)
Taxus baccata (Lauth salla)
Cymbopogon wentrianus
Cymbopogon citratus
Cymbopogon martinii
Cymbopogon martinii
Zingiber officinale
Mentha arvensis
Ocimum spp
Matricaria chamomila
Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Process Product
Source
Jatamansi oil / Spike-nard oil Natural Forest
Rhododendron oil
/ Anthopogon oil
Juniper oil

Natural Forest
Natural Forest

Cinnamon oil

Natural Forest

Abies oil

Natural Forest

Sugandhawala oil
/ Valarian oil
Wintergreen oil
/ Gaultharia oil
Timur oil /
Zanthoxylum oil
Calamus oil / Bhojho oil

Natural Forest

Natural Forest

Artemisia oil

Natural Forest

Natural Forest
Sugandh kokila oil

Natural Forest

Turpentine

Natural Forest

Texin resin, 10DAB

Citronella oil
Lemongrass oil
Palmarosa oil
Gingergrass oil
Ginger oil
Mentha oil
Basil oil
Chamomile oil
Eucalyptus oil

Natural Forest
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated
Cultivated

Natural Forest
Natural Forest

Table 5: Enterprise producing Basic materials/ Extract

o Herbs Production & Processing Co Ltd.
o Dabur Nepal
o Himalayan Ginger Products Pvt. Ltd
o Bahubali Herbal Essence and Extracts
Pvt. Ltd
o Machhapuchhre Herbal Industry
o Natural flower and Essence Industries
166

5.2 Traditional Medicines

In remote area of country, the traditional
medicine is popular due to lack of modern
medical service. Even in the cities where
modern medical facilities are available the
traditional medicines are gaining popularity.
The main traditional medicine produced in
Nepal is Ayurveda. Yunani and Tibetan
traditional systems are followed by their
related ethnic groups.
Major demand of traditional medicine is
fulfilled by import of medicine of Indian
Companies such as Dabur, Zandu
Pharmaceuticals, Baidhyanath, Hamdard,
Himalayan Drugs, Charak Pharmaceuticals,
etc. Beside this domestic enterprises have also
taken a small share of the market. Some
manufactures are as Table 6.
Table 6: Traditional Medicine Manufacture
Dabur Nepal Ltd, Tinkune, Kathmandu
Singha Durbar Viadhyakhana Vikash Samiti,
Anamnagar, Kathmandu
Krishna Aushadhalaya, Bagbazar, Kathmandu
Piyushbarshi Aushadhalaya, Mahaboudh,
Kathmandu
Arogya Bhawan Works, Kalikasthan,
Dillibazar, Kathmandu
Gorkha Ayurveda Co Ltd, Chhetrepati,
Kathamndu
Himalayan Herbs, Ghattekulo, Kathamndu
Himalayan Herbal Preparation Jorpati,
Kathmandu

Belganga Ayurved Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., Ravi

Bhawan, Kathmandu.
Tibetan Kumphen Clinic, Paknajol, Kathmandu
Green Energy Mission Nepal, Anamnagar,
Kathamndu.
Amco laboratories, Janakpur
Pashupati Ayurved, Rauthat
Siddha Ayurved, Bhairawa
Vishwanath Ayurved Bhawan, NavalParasi
Parmendra Herbal Company, Chitwan
Pashupati Ayurveda Aushadhalaya, Janakpur
Fleure Himalayan, Bara
6. Trade of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Around 95% of collected medicinal plants
(Table 2 and 3) are exported to India and abroad.
The national income frm MAPs based on the
estimate of its export across the Indian Border
comes to approximately equivalent of US$ 8.6
million annually (Amatya 2000). The
government revenue from the collection of
Medicinal and Aromatic plants in 2006/07 was
NRs 43.1 million equivalent to US $ 0.59 million
(Hamro Ban 2007).
7. Regulations
Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants from Natural Forest Resource is govern
by Forest act 1993. On behalf of this Act Govt.
has made ban on collection and trade on some
plant species and it is summarised in table 7. An
accout of protected Nepalese flora is summrised
in table 8.

Table 7a: Ban for collection, trade and transport

Scientific Name
Dactylorhize hatagirea
Juglans regia

Local Name
Panch aunle
Okhar ko Bokra

167

Family
Orchidaceae
Juglandaceae

Table 7b: ban on export as raw herbs (Processed products can be export)
Scientific Name
Nardostachys grandiflora
Rauwolfia serpentina
Cinnamomum glaucescens
Valeriana jatamansi
Lichen spp.
Taxus baccata
Abies spectabilis

English Name
Spiknard
Rauwolfia
Salep
Indian valeriana
Lichen
Taxus
Fir

Local Name
Jatamansi
Sarpaganda
Suganda kokila
Sugadawala
Jhyau
Lauth salla
Talis patra

Family
Valerinaceae
Apocynaceae
Lauraceae
Valerianaceae
Lichen
Taxaceae
Pinaceae

Table 8: Protected Flora of Nepal

S.N.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Scientific
Name
Abies spectabilis
Acacia catechu
All orchid
species
Bombax ceiba

Nepali Name

English Name

Talispatra
Khayer
Sungava, Snakhari
, Chandigava
Simal

Fir
Cutch Tree
Orchids

CITES
appendix
2

IUCN
Red list
Listed
Endange
red
-

Forest
Act 199
Protected
protected
-

Silk Cotton
Tree
Milkweed

Protected

Protected

Unyu

Nepali
sassafras
Caterpillar
fungus
Tree Fern

Ceropegia pu
bescens
Cinnamom
umn glaucescens
Cordyceps
sinensis
Cyathea s
pinulosa
Cyas pectinata

Mirke Lahara

Kalbal

Cycas

Dactylorhiza
hatagirea
Dalbergia
latifolia
Dioscorea
deltoidea
Gnetum
montanum
Juglans
regia var.
kamaonia
Meconopsis
regia

Panch Ounle,
Karila, Arila
Satisal
Rosewood
Ban Tarul, Bhyakur

Dactylorhiza,
Salep
Indian

Endange
red
Protected

Listed

Bhote Lahara

Dioscorea,
Deltoid Yam
Gnetum

Okhar

Walnut

Kyasar

Himalayan
3
Yellow Poppy

Sugandha kokila
Yarsa Gomba

168

Protected
-

Protected

Protected

16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.

Michelia
Chanp
champaca
Michelia kisopa Ban Chanp,
Chopsi
Nardostachys
Jatamansi, Bhutle
grandiflora
Neopicrorhiza Kutki
scrophulariifolia
Parmelia sp.
Jhyau
& others spp.
Podocarpus
Gunsi
neriifolus
Podophyllum Laghu Patra,
hexandrum
Golapani,
Hate Kaudo
Pterocarpus
Vijayasal
Rauvolfia serpentine Serpentine
Shorea robusta
Talauma
hodgsonii
Taxus baccata
Thunar
Teracentron
sinense
Valeriana
jatamansi

Magnolia

Protected

Magnolia

Protected

Spikenard

Protected

Gentian

Protected

Lichen

Protected

Podocarpus

May Apple
Indian Kino
Tree
Serpentine

Protected

Protected

Sal
Bhote Chanp

Sal
Magnolia

Protected
-

Launth Salla,

Himalayan Yew 2

Protected

Jharikote

Tetracentron

Sugandhawal

Indian Valerian -

Sarpagandha,
Chandamaruwa

Protected

(Source: Nepalka Samrachhit vanaspatiharuko Parichaya, 2005 (2062 BS)

8. Department of Plant Resources in

Development of MAPs
Department of Plant Resource, Formerly
Dept. of Medicinal Plants is working in this
field. Since last 5 decades. Research and
Development of Medicinal and aromatic plant
resource is one among the major activity of the
department.
The main mission of the Department of
Plant Resource (DPR) is "to promote
sustainable management, use of plant resource
and processed plant product for the socioeconomic development and maintenance of
healthy environment.

In order to achieve the main goal, the

department has adopted the following major
strategies for the conservation of plant diversity
and development and depletion of biotechnologies.
(a)
Promote awareness among
people and mobilize human resources for the
exploration of plant resources, their scientific
study and reporting.
(b)
Expand research facilities for the
development of bio-technology, research of
development in phytochemical product
development.

169

opportunity to participate the Conclave. I wish

to express my especial gratitude to Shree Bala
Prasad the Chief Conservator of Forests, Forest
Department, Sanjenthong, Imphal, India, Dr. L.
R. Sharma D.G., Mr. P. R. Shresth D.D.G. and
Mr. S. K. Dhungana S.O., Department of Plant
Acknowledgments
Resources, Kathmandu Nepal for arranging all
I am grateful to Embassy India, Kathmandu the requirement to make possible my participation
Nepal, and the Organizing body of International in this august conclave.
Conclave on Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries for providing the
(c)
Develop appropriate scientific
manpower to carry out research and development
activity.
(d) Develop the appropriate cultivation
and Processing technology for MAPs

Reference
Amatya, K. R. (2000) Utilization of Himalayan Medicinal Plant Resources: Status, Prblems & Prospects in Proceedings of
Nepal-Japan Joint Symposium on Conservation and Utilization of Himalayan Medicinal Resources Nov 6-11, 2000,
Kathmandu Nepal, Organised by Society for the Conservation and Himalayan Medicinal Resoures(SCDHMR), JAPAN, and
Ministry of forest and Soil Conservation, HMG/Nepal, Department of Plant Resources, Kathmandu, NEPAL
Anonymous (2005) Nepalka Samrachhit vanaspatiharuko Parichaya, 2005 (2062 BS), HMG/N, Ministry of Forests &
Soil Conservation, Depatment of Plant Resources, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Anonymous (2007) Medicinal Plants of Nepal (Rvised edition) 2007: Pub: GON, Ministry of Forests & Soil Conservation,
Department of Plant Resources, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Baral, S. R. and Kurmi, P. P. (2006) A Compendium of Medicinal Plants in Nepal, Pub: R. Sharma, 281 MaijuBahal,
Chabahil, Kathmandu-7, Nepal
Edwards, D. M. (1995) Non- Timber Forest Products From Nepal: The Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Trade; Forest
Research and Survey Centre, Ministry of Forests & Soil Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Hamro Ban, (2002) Annual Report, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation Dept. of Forest.
Hamro Ban, (2003) Annual Report, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation Dept. of Forest.
Hamro Ban, (2004) Annual Report, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation Dept. of Forest.
Hamro Ban, (2005) Annual Report, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation Dept. of Forest.
Hamro Ban, (2006) Annual Report, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation Dept. of Forest.
Hamro Ban, (2007) Annual Report, Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation Dept. of Forest.
Master Plan for the Forestry Sector Nepal (MPFS), HMG of Nepal, Ministry of Forest Soil Conversion (1998). - Main
Report HMG/ADB/FINIDA, Kathmandu Nepal.
Worlds Conservation Monitoring Center (1992) Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's Living Resources, Chapman
& Hall, London.

170

COUNTRY PAPER OF SRI LANKA

Medicinal Plant Industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract
More than 500 species have been and are used
in traditional medicine in Sri Lanka. In addition
to that, over 900 non-indigenous medicinal plants
are being used in native medicine. Over 10% of
all the medicinal plants used in the country are
endemic to Sri Lanka and of these 79 species are
threatened. The first Ayurvedic hospital, the
Indigenous Medical College and Gampaha
Siddhayurveda College were established in 1929.
The main institutions coming under the Ministry
if Indigenous Medicine are; Department of
Ayurveda, Bandaranayake Memorial Ayurveda
Research Institute, Ayurveda Drugs Corporation,
National Institute of Traditional Medicine and
Ayurveda Medical Council. There are 104
Ayurveda drug production units in the
country, using herbal materials valued at SL
Rs. 176 mn. in the year 2000 and about 68% of
the national demand for medicinal plants is met
by local supply. About 80% of locally supplied
medicinal plants are collected from the forest
habitats.
Manufacturing of herbal medicinal
beverages is emerging as an important small
and medium scale industry in Sri Lanka. In the
recent past these products have captured the
local as well as the international markets due
to their therapeutic value and as general health
foods. In most of the Asian countries including
Sri Lanka, herbal medicinal drinks play a
complementary role with the traditional
indigenous and Ayurvedic systems of medicine.

Frank Niranjan

The change of the living styles in stressed

environments, particularly among the urban
dwellers has created a demand for a variety of
non-traditional consumer items of which herbal
beverages and similar products assume
predominant place. There is an attitudinal change
in the people turning towards natural organic
foods and the growers and the manufactures have
to take note of this fact in developing their
industries. Due to the expansion of the herbal
beverage industry the demand for raw materials
have increased tremendously. As the local supply,
which is collected mainly from the forest areas
and home gardens, is inadequate, large volumes
are imported to meet the deficit. The expansion
of this industry will assist in earning foreign
exchange and also generating employment at
the rural level. Hence, every effort has to be
made to develop this industry to a sustainable
status by supporting various activities in the
producer-consumer chain. This paper was
undertaken to address some of the issues, and
in particular to understand the present status
of the industry, stakeholders involved with the
production and marketing these products,
consumer preferences for herbal products,
marketing aspects, constraints that hinder
further development and how some of the
problems could be overcome on short and longterm basis.
Introduction
In Sri Lanka, there are more than 500 species

Senior Research Officer, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy, 114/9, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. E mail:
niranjanfr_03@yahoo.com. The Paper is presented at the International Conclave on Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and BIMSTEC Countries on 11-13
December, 2008, Organized by the Forest Department, Government of Manipur, India.

171

that have been and are used in traditional

medicine. In addition to that, over 900 nonindigenous medicinal plants are being used in
native medicine. Over 10% of all the medicinal
plants used in Sri Lanka are endemic to Sri Lanka
and of these 79 species are threatened. The
populations of medicinal plants are adversely
affected by over-harvesting and lack of care to
their habitat when collecting plants from the wild.
Over-harvesting of plants is mainly due to the high
demand for Ayurvedic medicines. Since most of
the domestic supply for plants is from the wild,
this has led to over harvesting of wild populations
of species. In addition, increased demand for
agricultural land and unsustainable cultivation
practices such as shifting cultivation and Chena
or slash and burn cultivation destroy habitats of
medicinal plants.
Scarcity of comprehensive and authoritative
information on medicinal plants hinders an
assessment of their status, implementation of
activities necessary for preserving their habitat and
monitoring the effect of rehabilitative efforts.
Dearth of skills on ethno-botany has also hindered
effective conservation strategies. Sri Lanka is
fortunate to have a rich reserve of indigenous
knowledge on medicinal plants due to a large
number of practitioners of traditional medicine.
However, this important source of knowledge is
currently under threat as little effort has been made
to understand and document their knowledge. As
a result, the death of a practitioner signifies a net
loss to the pool of this important source of
information. Unless a concerted effort is made to
record the knowledge of plants used by
practitioners of indigenous medicine, it is very
likely that vital information on plant uses, their
characteristics and habitats will be lost.
Herbal industry is emerging as a successful
commercial venture in Sri Lanka. Herbal
industry plays a complementary role with the
indigenous and Ayurvedic systems of medicine,
which has a long history in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka
has a reasonable area under natural forest cover,
rich in medicinal plant biodiversity such as the
Nilagala forest in Monaragala district and Ritigala

forest in Anuradhapura district. Medicinal plant

cultivation as a home garden crop or mono crop
has existed among Sri Lankan people from the
ancient times. The people living in rural areas
have much valued traditional knowledge on
medicinal plants, their values and uses. The
traditional practitioners of herbal medicine
specially the Auryvedic physicians are familiar
with these species. However, cultivation of
medicinal plants for commercial purposes has
not gained much recognition until recently. At
present this industry is organized on a
commercial scale and includes cultivation,
supply of medicinal herbs, manufacturing,
marketing and exporting of herbal products.
The stakeholders directly involved in the
industry are the growers, suppliers,
manufacturers, marketing agents, exporters
and consumers.
Institutional set up
Sri Lanka has a long history of statesupported indigenous medicine. The first
Ayurvedic Hospital, Borella with four wards,
and the Indigenous Medical College were
established in 1929. Gampaha Siddhayurveda
College was also established in 1929.
Subsequently, the Ayurvedic Medical Council
Ordinance No 10 of 1935 and the Indigenous
Medical Ordinance No 47 of 1941 were enacted
s a foundation for the legal framework required
for the advancement of Ayurveda.
Parliamentary Act No. 49 of 1949 amended the
Indigenous Medical Ordinance and
"Indigenous Medical Department" was
established in 1957. Bandaranaike Memorial
Ayurvedic Research Institute (BMARI) at
Navinna was opened in 1962. Sri Lanka now
has 34 Ayurvedic hospitals including a teaching
hospital in Colombo and a research hospital
at Navinna.
There are about 10,000 certified Ayurvedic
Practitioners in Sri Lanka.
The following are the main institutions
coming under the Ministry of indigenous

172

of medicinal plants as an industrial raw material.

The local supply of raw materials is not adequate
to meet the demand; hence a large volume is
imported to compensate for the deficit. The
national demand for herbal materials was
3,864,760 kg in 2000. Approximately 1,509,201
kg of this amount was imported to meet the
national demand at a cost of about Rs.13 million
(Mudalige, 2003). Total requirement of certain
Usage of medicinal Plants in Sri Lanka
Medicinal Plants are completely imported. With
The manufacturing sector of herbal the expansion of herbal beverage manufacturing
beverages creates a heavy demand on a number industry the trend on importing raw materials is
further increasing. Results of a
Table 1:The National demand for herbal material in 2001
survey carried out in 2000 showed
Source
Quantity (kg)
Value (SLRs)
%
that there were 104 Ayurvedic
Imports
1,509,201
125,091,177.96 32
Drug Production Units in the
Local supply
2,355,559
261,634,461.65 68
National Demand
3,864,760
386,725,639.61 100 country, using herbal materials
valued at SL Rs. 176 million.
According to Abeywardena &
Source: Abeywardena & Hettiaratchi (2001)
Hettiaratchi (2001), 68% of the national demand
However, about 80% of locally supplied medicinal for medicinal plants is currently met by local supply
plants are collected from the wild. According to an (Table 1).
IUCN survey (IUCN, 1996) 30 out of 50 most heavily
Table 1. The national demand for
used species are collected primarily from forest habitats. herbal material (in 2000)
medicine.. They are; Department of Ayurveda,
Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research
Institute (BMARI), Ayurveda Drugs Corporation,
National Institute of Traditional Medicine and
Ayurveda Medical Council. Botanic Gardens in
the Department of Agriculture are involved in
ex-situ conservation of medicinal plant germplasm.

The values and quantities of 10 largest imported herbal

materials in 2000 by species are listed in Table 2.

LARGEST IMPORTED HERBAL MATERIALS IN 2000

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Species
Katuvalbatu
Solarium virginianum
Pathpadagam Mollugo cerviana
Inguru (Dry)
Zingiber qfficinale
Sathakuppa
Anethem graveolens
Devadara
Cedrus deodara
Wei mee
Glycyrrhiza glabra
Nelli (Dry)
Phyllanthus emblica
Asamodagam
Trachyspermum

Source
India

Quantity (Kg)
253,416

Value (SL Rs)

10247506.40

India
Dubai/China

151,539
126,500

10909611.00
8321600.00

Pakistan

2518364.00

India

83,341.6
.
74,737.5

Pakistan

55,609

.1878654.40

India

55,100

4772611.20

Pakistan/Dubai 53,222.2
173

2452939.20

3202500.00

Roxburghianum
Amukkara
Withania somnifera
10. Thippili
Piper longum
9.

India

42,347.1

2840449.60

India

42,163

20084158.80

Source : Abeywardena & Hettiaratchi (2001)

Conservation of medicinal plants

In the recent past different programmes have
been initiated focusing on strengthening
cultivation and conservation of medicinal
plants in Sri Lanka. RETICOE is another
project that has functioned since 1990s in
Ritigala in the Anuradhapura district. Sri Lanka
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal
Plant Project sponsored by the World Bank
and Global Environment Facility (GEF) has
been the most active programme, which has
mobilized activities in four different areas;
Naula, Bibile, Rajawaka and Kanneliya located
respectively in Matale, Monargala, Rathnapura
and Galle districts. A significant community
participation in conservation of medicinal
plants could be noticed in Naula, Rajawaka,
Kanneliya and Ritigala areas due to the
influence of these projects (Pallegedara, 2003;
Joseph and Mahindapala, 2003). In Naula area
related activities include cultivation of
Katuwelbatu (Solanum verginianum L.) on a
commercial scale and conservation of natural
vegetation comprising of medicinal plants. In
Rajawaka the medicinal plant conservation area
(MPCA) has created opportunities for the local
communities for income generation by
supplying planting materials, especially Aralu
(Terminalia chebula Retz.), Bulu (Terminalia
berelica), Nelli (Phyllanthus embelica L.),
Amukkara (Withania somnifera (L) Dunal). In
Kanneliya and Ritigala besides the conservation
activities, production of value added herbal
products is popular among the local
communities.
Sri Lanka Conservation & Sustainable Use
of Medicinal Plants Project, funded by the
World Bank, launched in mid 1998 intended
to conserve medicinal plants, their habitats,
species and genomes. The outputs of the
project were:
174

1. A participatory management system for

conservation of medicinal plants.
2. Increased production of medicinal plant
species on farms and in homesteads
3. Enhanced knowledge base and increased
institutional capacities
The project was instrumental in
establishing village level institutional
structures for project management viz. Village
Project Management Committees (VPMCs) in
Naula, Rajawaka, Bibile and Kanneliya
Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas (MPCAs).
In Ritigala MPCA, specific project activities
have been integrated into the existing village
organizations for the above purpose, through
a process of institutional assessment and
review. Each MCPA consisted of (1) core
forestlands managed for conservation (e.g.
forest reserves, strict nature reserves, and
sanctuaries) or for timber extraction purposes,
and (2) surrounded by domestic land defined
by the boundaries of about 10 Grama
Niladhari Divisions adjoining the core forest
area. The extent of natural vegetation at
respective MPCAs is listed in Table 3. Status
reports of all MPCAs were available with the
Ministry of Indigenous Medicine and a socioeconomic status on production and marketing
of medicinal plants for sustainable rural
livelihoods in the Naula area of Sri Lanka was
an important baseline study (Niranjan and
Gunasena, 2006). A extensive project on
medicinal plants have been undertaken to
develop the medicinal plant industry in Sri
Lanka from 2004-2008 with the assistance of
the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Programme
in Asia (MAPPA), International Centre for
Integrated
Mountain
Development
(ICIMOD). This project has been

implemented by the Sri Lanka Council for

Agricultural Research Policy (CARP) and
Gami Seva Sevena (Gunasena et.al, 2008). In a
part of the above project, establishment of the
herbal gardens has been carried out in selected
schools, farm schools, temples, Pirivenas,
commercial grower societies and ancient tribal
communities (Fig. 1) and identified 15
economical medicinal plants (Box 1) based on
several criteria for Sri Lanka (Niranjan et.al,
2008).
Table 3 Extent of natural vegetation
habitats at each MCPA
MPCA
Extent of natural vegetation
(km2)
Bibile
114.6
Kanneliya
61.7
Naula
42.7
Rajawaka
65.2
Ritigala
149.6
Many species of medicinal plants have
become rare due to over exploitation. Already,
species such as Rauvolfia serpentina, Strychnos
nux-vomica, Cappans moonii, Woodfordia
fruticosa and a series of other plants have
become rare in the wild. Medicinally important
wild orchid Anoectochilus setaceus and the
stem of the liana Weniwel (Coscinium
fenestratum) are used widely in the traditional
system of medicine.
There are several ex-situ collections of
medicinal plants in Sri Lanka. Most of these
are gardens maintained by the Department of
Ayurveda and Botanic Gardens of the
Department of Agriculture. However, there
are numerous medicinal plant gardens
maintained by provincial councils, schools and
private institutions and indivuduals. Some of
the main medicinal plant gardens maintained
by the Department of Ayurveda are; Bibile,
Girandurukotte, Haldumrnulla, Kanneliya,
Meegahakiula, Meegoda, Naula, Pallekelle,
Pinnaduwa, Rajawaka,and Ritigala, The

medicinal plant collections at the Royal Botanic

Gardens, Peradeniya, Botanic Gardens Hakgala
and Gampaha, and Medicinal Plant Garden,
Ganewatte are administered by the Department
of Agriculture.
In Sri Lanka, there has not been a large-scale
systematic search for therapeutics from its flora
so far. Thus the therapeutic potential of Sri Lankan
endemics remains completely unknown. The nonendemics on the other hand, are more accessible
(due to abundance and the relatively small area
of the island) compared to most countries in the
South Asian region. In general, little emphasis has
been placed on the scientific basis of the medicinal
properties of Sri Lankan plants.
Sri Lanka inherits ideal agro-ecological
diversity for cultivation of medicinal plants.
Also traditional knowledge on cultural
practices exists among the rural communities
and Medicinal Plants in home gardens are
abundantly found. Hence great potential exists
to organize the cultivation on commercial scale
(Joseph and Abeysekera, 2004; Gunasena et al.,
2004; Gunasena and Pushpakumara, 2004) to
increase the domestic supply of raw materials,
which would save foreign exchange and
contribute to income generation and rural
poverty alleviation.
Herbal beverages produced in Sri Lanka
could be categorized as herbal beverages, herbal
medicinal beverages and other herbal products
like pills, and capsules etc. Herbal beverage is a
drink that can be consumed at any time
without any prescription from a physician.
However, consumption of herbal medicinal
beverages ought to be done according to a
prescription of a qualified physician. Although
the people are conscious about the harmful
effects of consumption of artificial beverages
and other synthetic foods, preparation of herbal
beverages at home is time consuming. The
people residing in urban areas are also not able
to collect herbal plants from their
surroundings. Therefore, a high demand for
instant and semi processed herbal beverages is

175

evident. This has created opportunities for

introducing natural herbal drinks to the
market. At present there are about 30 herbal
beverage manufacturers in Sri Lanka. This
industry has the potential to develop and
expand the range of items, improve marketing
strategies both in the local and international
markets.
Herbal beverages are not essential food
Adathoda
Bulu

Justicia adhatoda L.
Terminalia bellirica

Malitha

commodities. However, for health reasons a

significant number of consumers use herbal
beverages both locally and internationally
(Modder and Amarakoon, 2003). Information
flow in production- consumption chain is
essential to provide a proper service to the
consumer. The objective of this paper was to
review the status of Medicinal plant industry
in Sri Lanka.
Wadakaha
Ashoka

Woodfordia fruticosaNika
(L.) Kurz
Nelli
Phyllanthus emblica L.
Sudu- handun Santalum album L.
Heen Araththa Alpinia calcarata Roscoe
Asgondu
Withania somnifera
(L.) Dunal.
Gotukola
Centella asiatica (L.)Urban.

Acorus calamus L.
Saraca asoka (Roxb.) de
Wild.

Vitex negundo L
Beli
Tippili
Rasandun
Bin Kohomba

Aegle marmelos Correa

Piper longum L.
Berberis ceylanica Schneider
Munronia pinnata
(Wall.)Theob

Source, Niranjan et.al., 2008

Box 1. Fifteen Important Medicinal Plants of Sri Lanka

HERBAL GARDENS
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Programme
in Asia (MAPPA), International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD),
Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research
Policy (CARP) and Gami Seva Sevena

Fig 1: Herbal Gardens Established by CARP

with the Assistance of the ICIMOD , Nepal,
2008

176

Medicinal Plant Growers and Cultivation

Aspects
Following description was based on a
sample study undertaken by Niranjan and
Gunasena in 2005 by interviewing 100
medicinal plant growers dispersed in 10
administrative districts in Sri Lanka. This
provides the understanding on cultivation and
marketing aspects of the medicinal plant
growers in the country.
Except in the forest areas, the extent of
medicinal plant cultivations ranged from 0.5
ha 3.5 ha. The majority (45%) had farmlands
below 0.5 ha. A significant number of growers
(28%) had farmlands of 0.5-1.0 ha. Only 2% of
the growers had moderate size (2.5-3.5 ha)
farmlands. The Majority (81%) of the medicinal
plants growers who own small land allotments
operated on part time basis and had less than
10 years of experience in cultivating medicinal
plants. The types of land used for cultivation
of medicinal plants varied as owned land,
rented land and leased land. Some medicinal
plants/parts were collected from crown lands,
mainly nearby forests.
Type of cultivation - Medicinal plants are
naturally grown in forest reserves in Sri Lanka.
As explained, recently these plants are
commercially grown in small home gardens
and in large extents of land. Nelli (Phyllanthus
emblica L) was the most abundantly grown
medicinal plant, cultivated by 27% of the
growers. The second most abundant was ginger
(Zingiber officinale Roscoe), cultivated by 22%
of the growers. Bulu (Terminalia belerica
Roxb.) and katuwelbatu (Solanum
verginianum L ) were the third most
commonly grown medicinal plants among 11%
of the medicinal plant growers. The fourth was
aralu (Terminalia chebula Retz), grown by 7%
of the growers. Lime (citrus aurantifolia
Cahristn, Panz & Swimgle), pawatta (Justisia
adhatoda L) and ranawara (Cassia auriculata L)
were also grown by 7% of the growers. Other
medicinal plants grown were: aloe (Aloe

barbedensis Mill), arattha (Alpinia calcarata

Roscoe), amukkara (Withania somnifera (L)
Dunal), beli (Aegle marmelos (L) Correa),
hathawariya (Asparagus vacemssus Will),
neeramulliya and rasakinda (Tinospora
cordifolia (Will) Miers ex Hook. f.). Major
reason for selecting a particular medicinal plant
was their commercial value. They have selected
medicinal plant cultivation due to self
motivation (64%) or promoted by different
projects (25%). Some have grown them due to
demand of Ayurvedic physicians (9%).
Cultivation of katuwelbatu (Solanum
verginianum L) is highly promoted by such
projects in collaboration with the Ayurvedic
Department. Ginger (Zingiber officinale
Roscoe) is popular due to its high commercial
value and ease of cultivation.
Methods of cultivation - Production of
planting materials in own nursery was common
among 39% of the growers. The other means
were buying from local individual growers
(30%), collect from forest (9%), Department
of Ayurveda (3%) and other sources such as
out-grower schemes (19%). About 16% of the
growers had obtained planting materials from
Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas. The
common cultivation methods were monocropping, mixed home gardening and
intercropping. Of these, the largest category
was mono-cropping, as indicated by 27% of the
growers. Home gardening was also practiced
by 24% of the growers. Intercropping and
mixed cropping was practiced by 11% and a
13% of the growers respectively.
Transplanting and direct establishment
were the two planting methods practiced by
the growers. Among these, 39% of the growers
have practiced direct establishment while 33%
have practiced transplanting. Only 29% of the
growers maintained nursery beds or nursery
pots before field establishment. Nursery beds
were maintained mainly for ginger (Zingiber
officinale Roscoe) for multiplication and
nursery pots were maintained for amukkara

177

(Withania somnifera L Dunal), katuvelbatu

(Solanum verginianum L.) and wenivelgeta
(Coscinum fenestratum (Gaeth) Colebr).
However, the majority (70%) have used
nursery pots, while nursery beds were popular
among only 30% of the growers. Most of the
medicinal plant growers prefer to practice
minimum field operations; hence species
suitable for direct establishment and those that
require minimum supervision are selected for
cultivation. Thirty nine percent of the growers
have not followed any specific land preparation
practices to establish medicinal plants.
However, fine land preparation was practiced
by 34% of the growers, while 27% have
practiced rough land preparation. Organic
farming was most popular (50%) among
medicinal plant growers. Only 12% have
practiced inorganic farming. About 38% of the
growers did not use any chemical fertilizers as
medicinal plants do not require the addition
of special fertilizers unless cultivation is highly
commercially oriented. Rain-fed cultivation
was most commonly practiced by 65% of the
growers. Streams and lakes/ponds were the
next most popular sources of irrigation water
used by 22% of the growers. Some growers
have used agro wells (6%) and only 5% have
used sprinklers and drip irrigation systems.
Marketing of medicinal plants - The
majority (82%) of the growers have indicated
that there is a good potential for marketing of
herbal products through various means. Several
growers have cultivated crops to supply for
orders from various private companies and
government institutions. The most widely used
method of marketing was selling products to
the collectors who functioned as marketing
agents. This was practised by 49% of the
growers but it has created several unfavourable
situations for the growers due to lack of a
guaranteed price scheme and poor institutional
support for trade agreements between
collectors and growers. Direct selling to the
retailers was the second most widely used
178

method of marketing, practised by 29% of the

growers. Selling to wholesalers was also done
by 18% of the growers. A significant
percentage of the growers, (13%) have been
assisted by projects find markets (Table 4).
Table 4. Marketing Channels for Herbal
Medicinal Plants
Type of marketing channel
%
Sell to collectors
49.0
Sell to retailers
29.0
Sell to wholesalers
18.0
Sell to the projects
13.0
Collect for exports
6.0
Note: Total percentage did not add upto
100 due to multiple responses.
Demand for medicinal plants - Medicinal
plants were sold for various purposes. The
majority (49%) have sold their medicinal
plants for direct consumptions as a vegetable
such as Gotukola, Asamodagam and
Mukunuwenna etc. About 44% of the
growers have sold to manufacturers of herbal
products. About 22% growers have sold
their planting materials while a few, 17%
have dried and exported. In general, selling
of these medicinal plants was done through
collectors, retailers, whole sellers, various
development projects and exporters.
Maintaining regular supply of products
- Manufacturers of herbal products are
interested in trade agreements with growers
to ensure a regular supply of raw materials.
It is therefore important for the growers to
take necessary measures to organise their
cultivations to meet the demands of the
manufacturers. The majority (72%) of the
growers are willing to maintain continuous
supply of their products to the market based
on trade agreements. Among several
constraints, irrigation facilities had been a
major problem for the growers in dry and
intermediate zones in synchronizing
cultivation for regular harvesting.

Finding new buyers -Those growers who are

willing to receive higher market prices, increase
sales and income actively look for new
opportunities for their products. The growers
have taken different approaches for securing
new market opportunities. About 37% of the
growers have attempted to find new market
opportunities through direct contacts with
Ayurvedic herbal shops related organizations,
boutiques and farm organizations. However,
majority (55%) have not made attempts to find
new buyers mainly due to lack of motivation
to develop this as a profit oriented venture.
Some growers were not aware of mechanisms
of exploring new markets.
Status of financial support Credit
facilities for the medicinal plant growers are
hardly available. This is not identified as a
priority area by most of the commercial banks
in their credit schemes. About 92% of the
growers had not obtained any loans for the
cultivation of medicinal plants, as the
cultivation is mainly restricted to home
gardens. Only a few commercial growers have
taken loans for purchasing of planting
materials, equipment and for construction of
wells. A few government and private
institutions were involved with provision of
financial support to the medicinal plant
growers. These were Samurdhi Bank,
Department of Ayurvedic, Agromart,
Kandurata Development Bank and some nongovernmental organizations.
Income and Gross Margin of Medicinal
Plant Cultivators

Growing medicinal plants has not developed

as commercial ventures. Many of the growers
(89%) had not earned from medicinal plants as
these are used mainly for home consumption.
About 6% of the growers have received a monthly
income upto Rs. 1000 while only 3% of the
growers have received a monthly income of Rs.
3001-6000. Another 2% of the growers have
received Rs. 9,001-12,000/ month from medicinal
plants.
Gross margin is one of the main
determinants, which encourages growers to
adopt planting of medicinal plants. Gross
margin was calculated in terms of Rs/kg (of
medicinal plants/parts under dry/wet
condition) for two scenarios, excluding and
including family labour. Gross margin in these
scenarios are equal when there is no
involvement of family labour in the production
process. After excluding family labour, the
highest gross margin of Rs.1, 375/kg was
recorded for Binkohomba (Munronia pinnata
(Wall) Harm), the second highest, Rs.92/kg was
recorded for ginger (Zingiber officinale
Roscoe) and the third highest Rs. 85/kg for
Walagasahal (Embelia ribes Burm.f.). It was
noticed that for certain herbal plants negative
gross margins were recorded. Gross margin was
also calculated in terms of extent. The highest
gross margin of Rs.21,394/100m2/year was
recorded for Alovera (Aloe barbandensis Mill),
the second highest of Rs.13,530/100m2/year
for Binkohomba (Munronia pinnata (Wall)
Harm) and the third highest of Rs. 6,350/
100m2/year
for
Mukunuwenna
(Alternanthera sessilis (L) Dc) (Table 5).

Table 5. Gross Margin of Medicinal Plant Growers

Name of medicinal plant
Alovera
Amukkara
Aralu
Araththa
Beli

Unit price Gross margin Gross margin Gross margin IFL Gross marginEFL
(Rs/Kg)
IFL(Rs/Kg)
(Rs/Kg)
(Rs/100m2/Year) (Rs/100m2/Year)
28
27
27
21,394
21,394
120
-28
66
-110
259
9
5
9
63
114
40
40
40
213
213
16
7
11
369
615

179

Binkohomba
Bitter gourd
Bulu
Delum
Elabatu
Ethdemata
Ginger
Gotukolla
Hatawariya
Katuwelbatu
Kethidemata
Kokummahara
Lime
Mukunuwenna
Neeramulliya
Nelli
Nika
Nilawariya
Pawatta
Polpala
Sera
Sour Orange
Termeric
Waladasahal
Weniwelgeta

2,000
17
6
13
29
50
102
41
6
53
50
50
15
28
35
34
25
12
16
20
10
18
24
85
10

IFL-Including Family Labour

1,275
3
4
6
18
-175
81
3
1
26
-175
-175
1
26
31
29
-8
-7
8
-76
6
11
19
40
-26

1,375
9
6
11
27
-115
92
31
6
43
-115
-115
14
27
34
33
12
8
12
20
10
18
22
85
9

12,546
539
118
795
1,440
-65
2,586
90
33
1,054
-65
-65
19
6,350
3,611
908
-25
-138
269
-374
1,109
553
929
394
-403

13,530
1,486
162
1,439
2,125
-42
2,927
972
197
1,763
-42
-42
269
6,593
4,044
1,005
34
166
374
98
1,709
928
1,116
836
138

EFL-Excluding Family Labour

Medicinal Plant Collectors from the Forest

Survey identified collectors of medicinal
plants/parts making a significant contribution
to the supply of raw materials for the herbal
industry. These collectors do not grow
medicinal plants, but collect medicinal herbs
or fruits, leaves, bark, etc from the forest. They
were motivated by local agents to supply in
bulk for large to small-scale manufacturers and
to Ayurvedic Centres island-wide. Unit price,
gross margin and profit were estimated for 16
types of medicinal crops extracted by the
collectors. Majority have been collecting
polpala (Aerve lanata (L) Juss.ex Schult). Only
a few farmers have collected welpenela
(Cardiospermum halicacabum L.), iriveriya
(Plectranthus zeylanicus (Bentha). Cramer),

elabatu (Solanum melongina L.) and aswenna

(Alysscarpus vaginalis (L) Dc.) due to scarcity
of these medicinal plants in the forest. Among
these different types of medicinal plants, the
highest amount collected (9630 kg/year) was
reported for iramusu (Hemidesmus indicus
Br.) as this crop is abundantly grown. The
second highest (5445 kg/year) and the third
highest (2580 kg/year) amounts collected were
recorded for polpala (Aerve lanata (L) Juss.ex
Schult) and rasakinda (Tinospora cordifolia
(Wild) miers ex Hook.f.). The highest selling
price Rs. 100/kg was recorded for aswenne
(Alysscarpus vaginalis (L) Dc.), which is a
highly demanded medicinal herb. The second
and third highest selling prices respectively Rs.
55/kg and Rs. 48/kg was recorded for ranawara

180

plant. The second most expensive medicinal

plant was recorded as amukkara (Withania
somnifera (L) Dunal) of Rs. 20/seedling
polybag and third was recorded for beli (Aegle
marmelos (L) Correa) of Rs. 17.5/seedling
polybag. The highest gross margin was
recorded for aralu(Terminalia chebula Retz )
of Rs. 23.30/seedling polybag. The second
highest gross margin was recorded for
amukkara (Withania somnifera (L) Dunal) of
Rs. 18/seedling polybag. Third highest gross
margin was recorded for be (Aegle marmelos
Gross Margin of Medicinal Plant Nursery (L) Correa) as Rs. 17/ seedling polybag. Above
Growers
gross margins were calculated after excluding
The production of seedling of medicinal family labour.
plants in polybags for commercial purposes Constraints, suggestions for future
was a special feature in Ratnapura and expansion of medicinal plant cultivation
Anuradhapura districts. These growers were
Several constraints were identified by
motivated by availability of planting materials
and buy back agreements are set with growers who are involved in this industry.
organisations involved in conservation of Although the growers have indicated that there
medicinal plants to purchase them in these is a good potential for medicinal plants, poor
areas. The highest annual supply of nursery marketing and difficulty in competing with
seedlings was recorded for Nelli (Phyllanthus imported raw materials were identified as
emblica L.). Fourteen rare nursery species constraints by many of them (59%). Poor
were reported such as amukkara(Withania coordination between manufactures and
somnifera (L) Dunal), (aralu Terminalia chebula growers was identified by about half of the
Retz ), beli( Aegle marmelos (L) Correa ), growers (50%). Inadequate water for irrigation
binkohomba (Munronia pinnata (Wall) Harm), was another problem for 28% of the growers.
Bulu (Terminalia belerica), pomegranate Lack of input supply, specially planting
(Punica granatum), gammalu (Pterocarpus material, poor quality inputs and their high
marsupium Roxb), katuvelbatu ( Solanum prices; poor extension support (for pest and
verginianum L.), neem (Azadirecta indica), nelli diseases, fire, harvesting and processing) and
(Phyllanthus emblica L.), nilavariya (digofera limited sources of credit were identified as
tinctoria L), ranawara( Cassia auriculata L.), main constraints associated with this industry.
Several suggestions were made by growers
sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus) , tippili
(Piper longum L.). Some nursery growers have to overcome the above constraints.
produced nelli (Phyllanthus emblica L.) Restrictions of raw material imports, proper
seedlings. The highest number of seedlings coordination between growers and
(18,100/year) was nelli (Phyllanthus emblica manufactures to improve guaranteed market,
L.), the second highest of 7,000/year was provisions of needy and quality inputs at
ranawara (Cassia auriculata L) and third highest reasonable prices, effective extension services
of 6,000/year was bulu seedlings (Terminalia specially to avoid fire, processing, pest and
belerica). The most expensive medicinal plant diseases. Credit facilities were also suggested
seedling was aralu(Terminalia chebula Retz ) by growers as important issues (Table 6).
which fetched an average unit price of Rs. 25/
(Cassia auriculata L.) and kotalahimbutu
(Salasia reticulata Yight.). Similarly, the highest
gross margin Rs. 100/kg was recorded for
aswenna (Alysscarpus vaginalis (L) Dc.). The
second highest gross margin of Rs.55/kg was
recorded for ranawara (Cassia auriculata L.)
and the third highest of Rs. 48/kg was recorded
for kothalahimbutu (Salasia reticulata Yight.).
Above gross margins were calculated after
excluding family labour.

181

Table 6. Constraints and Suggestions made by Medicinal Plant Growers

Type of constraints
Suggestions
Difficult to compete with imported raw materials
Poor market facilities / Price fluctuations
Poor coordination between manufacturers
& growers
Inadequate water for irrigation
Lack of inputs / Poor quality inputs / High prices
Poor extension support (Cultivation / diseases
/ Pest/ Fire)
Limited sources of credit
Herbal/Medicinal Product Manufacturers
Description of manufacturers - At present,
there are a significant number of herbal/
medicinal beverage manufacturing enterprises
distributed in various parts of the country. This
industry is gradually growing mainly due to
health reasons. Manufacturers involved in this
industry can be categorized as herbal/
medicinal beverage manufacturers, herbal/
medicinal Ayurvedic products manufactures
and other herbal/medicinal product
manufacturers. The Ayurvedic products
manufacturing industry has a long history in
Sri Lanka but manufacturing of herbal/
medicinal beverages is of recent origin. Based
on Export Development Board records, about
30 herbal/medicinal beverage manufacturers
were identified at the end of 2003 and this list
was considered as the sample frame of the
manufacturers.
However,
only
22
manufacturers were interviewed in this survey
as a few have discontinued the business.
Type of business - Several types of business
enterprises could be identified based on legal
status of the business. The most common types
of business were private limited liability and
ownership companies (38%) followed by
partnership (19%) and Government
corporation/companies (5%).

182

Restrict importations / Improve market /

facilities
Proper coordination must be assured
Establish irrigation facilities
Provide needy & quality inputs at
reasonable price
Improve extension support
Expand sources of credit

Registration of manufacturers - Herbal/

medicinal beverages under the product
category of Food and Beverages have to
registration under various authorities.
Majority (52%) has registered with the
Department of Ayurveda. About 43% of the
manufacturers had businesses registration with
the Department of Commerce. A significant
number (38%) and (33%) of the manufacturers
have registered with respectively the Export
Development Board (EDB) and the Ministry
of Indigenous Medicine and Disaster Relief.
Under special circumstances herbal/medicinal
beverage manufacturers have registered with
other authorities like the Ministry of Health,
Nutrition and Welfare, Board of Investment
(BOI), Sri Lanka Tea Board, Ministry of
Industries, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and
National Agribusiness Council. A few 5% of
the manufacturers had not registered with any
of the authorities. The authority of
registration, as evident, is diverse. However,
the government should specifically state the
authority of registration as these items are
orally consumed.
Requirement
of
Research
and
Development (R&D) - R & D in product
development is essential to cater to the various
needs of the consumers of herbal/medicinal
beverages. R & D on herbal/medicinal
beverages are mainly focused on testing curative

effects, and chemical and physical properties.

Among the manufacturers, the majority (62%)
required R & D to diversify into new products.
The rest 38% of the manufacturers did not require
further R & D as they had already done clinical
trials and marketing surveys at the beginning of
the industry. It is noted that continues R&D is
necessary to develop the herbal/medicinal
beverage industry to global standards.
Availability and raw material supply
More than 90% of the medicinal beverages
are manufactured using locally available raw
materials. Whole plant, fruits, leaves, stems,
roots and flowers of medicinal plants are used
as raw materials in the herbal/medicinal
beverage manufacturing industry. Commonly
used medicinal plants were beli (Aegle
marmelos (L) correa), iramusu (Hemidesmus
indicus Br.), gotukola (Centella asiatica (L)
urban) each by 11% of the manufacturers.
Katuwelbatu (Solanum verginianum), pawatta
(Justisia adhatoda L.) and welpenela
(Cardiospermum halicacabum L.) by 33% of
the manufacturers. Basically, local supply of
raw materials (medicinal plants) was
insufficient to meet the demand. Hence,
shortage was supplemented by imported raw
materials from India (71%). Others (29%)
manufacturers who did not receive adequate
amount of raw materials have adopted several
means of collecting raw materials. Most of the
manufacturers (76%) buy both local and
imported raw materials from wholesalers
mainly situated in Gabos lane. The second was
the direct import of raw materials (76%). The
next most common way of collecting raw
materials was through collectors (suppliers)
(67%). Furthermore, collecting raw materials
directly from the contract farmers was also
significant (33%). The other methods adopted
by the manufactures include, collecting directly
from own plantations and retail market. As the
industry expands, the availability of raw
materials will be a serious problem. Therefore,
concerned institutions should develop

production programmes to support this

industry by supplying quality raw materials.
It is also well-known that the imported raw
materials are lower quality compared with
those produced locally. The best option would
be to develop a production programme to
develop the domestic industry.
Manufacturing procedure of herbal/
medicinal beverages
From the ancient times, traditional
methods of manufacturing of herbal/medicinal
beverages developed through indigenous
knowledge have been popular. Traditional
methods are highly labour intensive and time
consuming, hence the cost of production is
high. Therefore, to increase efficiency and
profit margin some manufacturers have used
modern equipments for processing raw
materials. Of the manufacturers interviewed,
33 % have used only traditional technology and
38% have used only modern technology. The
others have used a mixture of both traditional
and modern technology. However, most of the
manufacturers were of the belief that
traditional methods as the best for
manufacturing of herbal/medicinal beverages.
Majority of the manufacturers have
benefited by producing quality products by
using of modern technology for the production
of herbal/medicinal beverages. The main steps
commonly practiced under modern technology
are; dehydration, crushing, blending, mixing,
homogenizing and packaging. The main steps
practiced under traditional technology are;
sorting, washing, sun drying, crushing,
Grinding, juice extracting, filtering, pulping,
boiling, extracting and hand packaging.
Following are the different types of
medicinal products manufactured by those
interviewed. Herbal/medicinal beverages are
recorded as Beli (Aegle marmelos (L.) correa)
(19%), Ranawara (Cassia auriculata L.) (19%),
Iramusu (Hemidesmus indicus Br.) (9%),
Polpala (Aerve lanata (L.) Jass.ex schult) (5%),

183

Rasakinda (Tinospora cordifola (Willd). Miersex

Hook.f.& ) (5%), Kothala Himbutu (Salasia
reticulata Yight.) (5%), Nelli (Phyllanthus emblica
L.) (5%) and Komarika (Aloe barbedensis Mill)
(5%), medicinal soups (14%), medicinal tea (29%),
and medicinal water (5%). Herbal/medicinal
beverages manufactured were mainly Arishta
(38%), Syrups (38%), Asawa (33%), Quatha (33%)
and Peyawa (19%). Other medicinal products
manufactured were capsules of karavila
(Momordica charantia L.), gotukola (Centella
asiatica (L.) urban), pitawakka (Phyllanthus
debilis), karapincha (Murraya koenigii (L.)
Spreng),
welpenela
(Cardiospermum
halicacabum L.), and black seed (Nigella sativa
L.) and other herbs (86%), medicinal oils (38%),
kalka (33%), powders (29%), creams (19%) and
balms (5%).
Quality maintenance of medicinal products
All herbal/medicinal products have
medicinal values and positive effects on health.
Therefore, maintenance of the quality of the
medicinal products during manufacturing is
very important. Other than that, for exporting
medicinal products, quality maintenance from
processing to marketing is very important.
Therefore, manufacturers have to conduct
laboratory/clinical tests frequently for testing
the product quality. The majority (71%)
conducts lab tests and 50% of the manufacturers
have used both own and accredited
laboratories. A similar number have used only
accredited laboratories. Many (38%) have used
Industrial Technology Institute laboratories
for quality testing. The tests listed were
moisture (19%), pH (19%), and density by
(19%) and contamination by (14%) of the
manufacturers. Ingredient, raw material,
quality, heavy metal, bacterial counting each
by a 9%, radiation contamination, viscosity,
specific gravity and sugar concentration test
each by 5% of the manufacturers. The
manufacturers who export medicinal products
have to maintain analytical records as some
countries require certificates on GMP (Good

Manufacturing Practices). Survey indicated

that 76% of the manufacturers have maintained
analytical records. The majority (67%)
maintained batch-manufacturing records.
Forty three percent of the manufacturers
obtained analytical records from Industrial
Technology Institute while records of level of
out put and yield were maintained by 24%.
Records of raw material, processing, quality
maintenance, and purity tests were maintained
by 19% each of the manufacturers. Records of
shelf life, formulae and moisture level were
maintained by 14% of the manufacturers. GMP
records, Survey General of Superintendent,
Switzerland (SGS) records, and Tea Research
Institute (TRI) records for quality were
maintained each by 5% of the manufacturers.
Quality standard specifications for medicinal
products
As in other foods and beverages, medicinal
product manufacturers have to maintain quality
standards and obtain certificates for their products.
Under present policy for marketing of herbal/
medicinal beverages in the local market quality
standards is not a requirement. The manufacturers
for international markets have to obtain special
quality standards according to the requirements
of the importing countries. These special quality
standards were noted as; Survey General of
Superintendent, Switzerland (SGS), Australian
TDA (Therapeutic Drug Authority), Therapeutic
Goods Administration (TGA), Drug Control
Authority and European (EU) standards. Other
than these quality standards, some have not
followed any of these standards, perhaps used
own quality standards when manufacturing herbal/
medicinal beverages. Most of the manufacturers
(67%) confirmed that microbes and chemical
residues did not contaminate their products,
because, they had followed Good Manufacturing
Process
(GMP) through out the manufacturing.

184

Storage and packaging

As precautionary measures, manufacturers
had adopted several techniques during product
storage. Majority (67%) has maintained good
hygienic conditions throughout processing.
Among the other precautionary measures the
most widely practiced were frequency checking
of products (14%), pest control methods (9%),
use quality raw materials (9%) and improved
dehydration practices (5%). Most of the herbal/
medicinal beverages did not require specific
storage conditions like cool rooms. Therefore
majority used open-air storage for most of the
herbal/medicinal beverages and they had
adequate storage facilities in their own
manufacturing plants.
Herbal/medicinal beverages as food
commodities require proper packaging to
support maintenance of shelflife and to
establish consumer trust. Different packaging
materials were used in wholesale marketing
(bulk package) and retail marketing (consumer
packs). For wholesale marketing majority
(29%) have used poly bags. Use of other
packaging materials for wholesale marketing
was recorded as Law Density Polythene (LDP),
High-Density Polythene (HDP) (9%), plastic
drums, metal containers and aluminum drums
(5%).
For consumer packs, the most popular
type was the glass bottles (48%). Other
packaging materials used for consumer packs
were food grade plastic (the ideal package type
for food materials) (33%), inner cartons (24%),
tetra packs (14%), paper tins and allufoil (9%).
Pouches, triple laminated packs and tin cans
(5%) were the least popular types of consumer
package used in retail market. According to the
manufacturers, consumer preference on
packaging depends on income and family size,
design of the package, packaging material and
pack size. The preferences for packages were
prioritized by the manufacturers as glass bottles
(19%), small packets (14%), food grade plastic

and triple laminated packs (9%) and tetra packs,

inner cartons, plastic containers and naturally
degradable packages (5%). New trend in beverage
packaging is use of transparent packs and
wooden/porcelain containers. This strategy could
be adopted to improve the herbal/medicinal
beverage market. Value addition through use of
attractive packaging materials will be a successful
marketing strategy specially in international trade.
Distribution and marketing of herbal/
medicinal beverages
Marketing is the key factor, because this
is the most crucial operation that determines
the success of the industry. Herbal/medicinal
beverage manufacturers market their products
either locally or internationally. In marketing
products locally various means of distribution
were used. These include contract distributors
(24%), agents (9%) and mail posts (5%). Further
a considerable number of manufacturers use
their own distribution channels. About half of
the manufacturers (48%) sell their products
locally, specially in supermarkets, shops,
ayurvedic hospitals, hotels and pharmacies. An
equal number (48%) have sold their products
in both local and international market. Only a
handful (4%) of the manufacturers has sold
their products in the export market. Other
than selling their own products, about 19% of
the manufacturers were also involved in sales
and marketing of medicinal products of the
other manufacturers.
Local demand for medicinal products
There is a very low demand yet for
medicinal foods and beverages in the local
market compared to other regular foods and
beverages. Demand for medicinal foods and
beverages is high in the international market
compared with the local market. The medicinal
product consumers in rural areas prefer to use
traditional methods to prepare herbal/
medicinal beverages. Bulk of the local market
(52%) was for local retail shops and secondly
(48%) for supermarkets. Also considerable

185

number of manufacturers supply products to

hotels (33%), pharmacies (29%) and Ayurvedic
dispensaries (24%). Furthermore, about 29%
of the manufacturers used the products in
their own dispensaries. According to the
manufacturers, the biggest outlets are super
markets and retail shops in cities and suburbs
(Colombo, Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle, Matara).
Considering market share of herbal/medicinal
beverages 80% and 36% of the manufacturers
possessed more than 50% of market share
respectively at the local and overseas market.
District wise sales opportunities of herbal/
medicinal beverages are satisfactory in
Colombo (62%) followed by Galle (48%) and
Matara (33%). Also reasonably satisfactory
sales opportunities exist in Hambanthota
(29%), Kandy (29%) and Kurunegala (14%)
districts.
Export market for medicinal products
There is a high demand for Sri Lankan
medicinal products in the international
market. This is due to the premium intrinsic
qualities (flavor, aroma, nutritive value,
colour etc) of Sri Lankan medicinal
products. Total value of international trade
of all medicinal products has been estimated
as U.S. $800 billions in 2002 with an
annual growth rate of over 30% (The Sector
Task Force on Medicinal Products
Industry, 2002). The most popular overseas
markets for the Sri Lankan herbal/
medicinal beverages were USA (24%),
Singapore (24%), Middle East (24%),
Australia (19%), Malaysia (19%) and Japan
(19%). Germany, India, Maldives, UK,
Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland and
Russia. Satisfactory sales were achieved in
Japan (14%), followed by Germany (9%),
Malaysia (9%), Singapore (9%), and Middle
East (9%). At present, herbal/medicinal
beverage manufacturers are trying to
expand their foreign market share in
countries such as Japan, Germany,
Malaysia, Singapore, and Middle East
186

countries.
Market competition for medicinal products
As an emerging industry, there is a rising
market competition for herbal/medicinal
beverages. However, results revealed that
majority of the manufacturers (67%), had less
market competition where as 19% and 14%
of the manufactures had moderate and high
competition respectively with the local and
overseas herbal/medicinal beverages. Forty
three percent of the manufacturers did not
face any competition from local industries.
Some specific medicinal products do not have
a market competition as there are no
substitutes for them. The major overseas
market competitor was USA.
Sales promotional programs
Most of the medicinal product
manufacturers (76%) carryout promotional
campaigns for their products to increase the
awareness among consumers of the
availability of new types of herbal/medicinal
beverages. Use of posters/ leaflets/bulletins
was the most popular (67%) followed by
newspapers (62%) and trade fares/exhibitions
or demonstrations (48%). Other means of
carrying out promotional campaigns included
the use of electronic media; workshops/
seminars, televisions, radio and distribution of
free samples. Major target of promotional
activities was to attract foreign consumers at
the international market. Promotional
campaigns targeting international market
was successful with propaganda through web
sites/internet (19%), trade fares (19%) and
exhibitions (14%). However, 14% of the
manufacturers have not carried out promotional
campaigns for sales promotion in the international
market. About 38% of the manufacturers have
not carried out promotional campaigns for sales
promotion in the local market because it is
expensive. Therefore, low cost media like posters,
leaflets, bulletins and newspapers have been used.
Other promotional methods used for local

market promotion included advertising

(19%)exhibitions (5%). Several manufacturers
were interested in market studies prior to
launching their products such as marketing
surveys (33%) and clinical trials (9%). However
the majority (67%) has not done any market
studies.
Consumer demand for medicinal products
Herbal/medicinal beverage manufacturers
are optimistic about the future demand for herbal/
medicinal beverages due to attitudinal changes of
the people towards consuming natural, organic
foods and beverages. Organic cultivation of
medicinal plants and processing has promoted
consumption of herbal/medicinal beverages.
Most of the manufacturers (86%) have produced
to match the current market demand. About 14%
of the manufacturers had excess demand for their
products, and also the capacity to cater to meet
this demand. However, they could not produce
adequate supplies due to lack of raw materials
and various restrains imposed by government
regulations (eg. banning of cultivation of certain
medicinal plants).
According to the manufacturers popularity
of the herbal/medicinal beverages depends on
educational level and attitudes of the people. The
majority (19%) considered herbal/medicinal tea
as the most popular beverage in both local and
international market.
Feedback of consumers
Feed back of the consumers is most
important to the manufacturers to diversify and
improve the products. Majority of the
manufacturers have received complimentary
comments from the consumers about their
products. Health issues (67%) acceptability (24%)
and palatability (24%) were considered as positive
comments to improve products. Some have also
received adverse comments mostly about

contaminations (14%).
Kind of information collected by the
manufacturers varies according to their business
requirements. The majority (48%) were interested
in receiving feedback on the effect of their
products. Some manufacturers (9%) were
interested to know the most preferred package
and 5% were interested to know consumers
acceptability of products. Also a significant
number (29%) was not interested in any feed back
from the consumers.
Consumer Preference on Herbal/Medicinal
Beverages
Major products consumed
A number of medicinal plant products such
as cordials/vines drinks, teas soups, pills and
Ayurvedic drinks are available in the market. The
survey indicates that Samahan, the Ayurvedic
medicinal plant beverage used for curing common
cold and headaches were the most widely
consumed (65%) products. The second most
widely consumed product was Nelli (Phyllanthus
emblica L.) cordial/syrup (40%) followed by
Peyawa, consumed by 34% of the consumers.
Other common products in use are Paswaga
kasaya, Polpala (Aerve lanata (L) Juss.ex Schult.)
packets, Gotukola (Centella asiatica(L.)Urban)
packets/tea, Beli (Aegle marmelos(L.)Correa)
cordial and Garlic (Allium sativum L.) pills (Table
34). Samahan, Peyawa, and Paswaga Kasaya, which
are Ayurvedic drinks, are the most popular for
their medicinal values and curing effects for
common diseases like cold, cough, headache and
flu. Therefore, the consumption of these medicinal
plant beverages to cure certain diseases is popular
among consumers. Medicinal plant cordials
especially Nelli (Phyllanthus emblica L.) and Beli
(Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa) cordials are mainly
consumed to maintain good health(Table 6).

187

Table 6. Types of Herbal/Medicinal Plant Beverages Consumed

Types

Medicinal teas
Gotukola (Centella asiatica(L.)Urban)
Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)
Medicinal plant five herbs Tea
Slimming Tea
4.8
Green Tea
3.6
Iramusu (Hemidesmus indica Br.)
Medicinal drinks
Polpala (Aerve lanata (L)Juss.ex Schult)
Iramusu/ranawara (Hemidesmus indica Br./ Cassia auriculata L.)
Beli (Aegle marmelos (L.)Correa)
Iramusu (Hemidesmus indica Br.)
Ranawara (Cassia auriculata L.)
Medicinal cordials
Nelli (Phyllanthus emblica)
Beli (Aegle marmelos (L.)Correa)
Iramusu (Hemidesmus indica Br.)
Medicinal soups
Gotukola (Centella asiatica (L.)Urban)
Medicinal pills/capsules
Pills Garlic pill (Allium sativum L.)
Capsules - Karapincha (Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng.)
Pitawakka (Phyllanthus debilis Klein ex Willd)
Welprnela (Cardiospermum halicacabum L.)
Karawila (Momoradica charantia L.)
Ayurveda drinks
Samahan
65.1
Peyawa
33.7
Paswaga kasaya
19.3
Pathpadagam
4.8
(Mollugo cerviana Ser)
Nivaran 90
4.8
Soya milk
2.4
Walmelix
2.4
Thripala
2.4
Dasamula arishta
2.4
Pratyakshe dhari
1.2
Suensu
1.2
Ashoka arishta
1.2

188

8.4
6.0
3.6
1.2
10.8
4.8
3.6
2.4
1.2
39.8
8.4
3.6
4.8
7.2
6.2
6.2
6.2
2.4

Extension support
For the sustainability of business ventures
the manufacturers have to obtain extension
support from relevant authorities. About 48%
of the manufacturers have received extension
support for technology improvement,
adaptation and quality maintenance.
Considerable numbers of manufacturers have
also received extension support for gaining
initial product knowledge (38%), financing
(33%), trade promotion (29%) and training
(19%). Several national institutes have been
involved in providing extension support for
the manufacturers. The majority, (62%) of the
manufacturers has received extension support
in terms of recipes and know-how, information
on
foreign
markets,
cultivation,
manufacturing process and formal knowledge
on indigenous, from various medicines.
Scale of manufacturing and gross margins
Scale of manufacturing of Herbal/
medicinal beverages varied considerably. They
were categorized under three categories as
small (<1mn), medium (1-10mn) and largescale (>10mn) manufacturers by using their
income year 2004. There were 7 small-scale
manufacturers, 9 medium scale manufacturers
and 5 large-scale manufacturers among those
interviewed. Small-scale manufacturers were
selling their products mainly at the local
market and only two of them have exported
small volumes. Medium and large-scale
manufacturers have sold their products in both
local and international market. The large-scale
manufacturers were the leading suppliers to the
international market. Methods of transaction
of products indicated that, 76% have received
direct payments and 48% as credit. A 29% and
14% have received payments as cheques and
Letter of Credits (L/C) respectively. Average
gross margins of small-scale and medium-scale
manufactures were not encouraging to
continue this industry. However, gross margin
of large-scale manufactures was satisfactory
mainly due to exports of herbal/medicinal

beverages
Constraints of herbal/medicinal beverage
industry
Lack of quality raw materials - Lack of
quality raw materials was the major problem
for 48% of the manufacturers. Although there
is an increasing demand for medicinal
products, manufacturers cannot expand their
production due to this problem. Sometimes
manufacturers can find raw materials locally,
but their quality is not satisfactory. Then they
resort to imports. Several factors have
influenced the shortage of quality raw
materials, such as few commercial plantations
of medicinal plants, poor harvesting methods
and government policies.
High cost of production - The
manufacturers who use modern technologies
are faced with the problem of high cost
associated with electricity and water supply as
they use machinery for entire processing upto
packaging. Therefore, about 14% of the
manufacturers ended up with higher cost of
production mainly due to high electricity and
water bills. However, extra costs compensate
the quality of products.
Lack of quality packaging materials - Since
medicinal products (food and beverages) are
consumed orally, they should be packed in
suitable packaging materials. Also some foreign
countries specify usage of biodegradable outer
covers/cartons, but these packaging materials
are not produced in Sri Lanka. Therefore,
manufacturers have to bear a high cost to import
these packaging materials.
Lack of skilled labour - Lack of skilled
labour is another problem faced by the
medicinal product manufacturers. Due to this
reason manufacturers have to provide special
training for the labourers to maintain
production standards and to increase labour
efficiency. This had become a serious problem
to some of the manufacturers, as they had to
spend extra money for this purpose.

189

Less government support - About 99% of

the medicinal product manufacturers are
private entrepreneurs. Sole government owned
manufacturing plant of medicinal products is
Ayurvedic Drugs Corporation. The majority
as private owners has experienced difficulties
mainly in financing and trading. According to
the survey 29% of the manufacturers had to
face problems due to less Government support.
Import of substitutes - Due to open trade
policies, local market is flooded with
substitutes for Sri Lankan medicinal products.
Some of the local consumers of medicinal
products prefer these imported products.
Therefore, local manufacturers (24%) consider
this as an unhealthy competition to expand
their production.
International rules and regulations Highlighting the medicinal value of beverages
is an effective method of sales promotion. In
exporting, highlighting the medicinal value is
compulsory under the category of medicinal
products, which requires., the submission of,
research and clinical reports according to the
international rules and regulations. However
this is a complicated process and despite efforts
to export as medicinal products, 9%
interviewed still export their products under
the category of food and beverage. This is a
great disadvantage for competition with other
exporting countries.
Government rules and regulations Some
of the manufacturers (33%) have faced
problems due to various hostile rules and
regulations imposed by the Government.
These are reflected in both local and
international market. The best example is the
banning of cultivation of Kansa (Cannabis
sativa) regardless of the fact that it is an essential
raw material for manufacturing of some
medicinal products like Arishta. Lack of this
raw material in some instances has caused
manufacturers to terminate the manufacturing
of Arishta like herbal/medicinal beverages.
190

Furthermore, government has banned

import of Red Sandalwood (Pterocarpus
santalinus Lf.) and Wenivelgeta (Coscinum
fenestratum (Geartn.) Colebr) like medicinal
products into Sri Lanka. The government has
also banned removal of these medicinal plants
from local forests. Therefore, manufacturers
are faced difficulties in finding ideal raw
materials for the production of herbal/
medicinal beverages. Other constraints faced
by the manufacturers were less awareness
about medicinal products, poor financial
support, difficulty in setting up quality
standards, marketing problems and lack of
scientific knowledge.
Manufacturers are faced numerous
challenges when exporting herbal/medicinal
beverages. The most commonly faced problems
are; difficulty in dealing with new regulations
imposed by authorities (29%) and display of
the products (14%). Also when exporting,
manufacturers have faced difficulties with
responding to the rules and regulations of Food
and Drug Administration (FDA). Some
regulations and documentary requirements
imposed by FDA had been quite obstructive
for some (14%) of the manufacturers. Again 5%
of the manufacturers of herbal/medicinal
beverages like Arishta and Asawa could not
satisfy FDA with regard to the regulations on
labeling, specially indicating the expiry date.
However it is impossible to demarcate the
shelflife for products like Arishta, Asawa like
herbal/medicinal beverages. A majority (81%)
were not aware of FDA or less aware of the
functions of FDA. Satisfactory documentary
requirements and guaranteeing shelflife of the
products as constraints faced due to Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) when exporting
medicinal products. Besides several
manufacturers had experienced unfavorable
reactions on promotion of indigenous
medicine from western pharmaceutical
companies.

Suggestions
Suggestions to overcome the constraints by
the manufacturers revealed that 43% of the
manufacturers required additional Government
support for herbal/medicinal beverage
production. Also a significant number (14%)
suggested launching effective awareness
programms targeting on attitudinal changes of
people. Further, promote maintenance of
medicinal nurseries, develop proper marketing
channels, facilitate cooperation by forming
organizations among medicinal plant growers,
government intervention in developing R & D
and facilities for conducting standard clinical trials
and other tests and state support to overcome
problems with raw material supply, specially price

control of imports and increased production of

local raw materials.
Future plans of manufacturers
Most of the manufacturers had different type
business plans for the future. Majority (81%) have
set off to introduce new types of herbal/medicinal
beverages to the market. Also a significant
number, (29%) have planned to increase the
overseas market share. About 29% of the
manufacturers are planning to obtain quality
standards. Further modifications on packaging
materials to cater to the consumer requirements,
adopt new technology and increase the production
were among other future plan of the
manufacturers.

Reference
Gunasena, H P M; Rajapakse, R; Niranjan, Frank; Pushpakumara, D K N G; Wijesundara, C; Wickramasinghe, P; Karunaratne,
V and Silva, R de (2008). Production of Organic Medicinal Plants for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Ritigala Area, Sri
Lanka , Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy(CARP),Sri Lanka
Gunasena, H. P. M. and Pushpakumara, D. K. N. G. (2004). Medicinal plants in Sri Lanka.
Gunasena, H. P. M.; Pushpakumara, D. K. N. G. and Piyasena, H. D. A. S. (2003). Development of propagation techniques
and nursery practices for Asamodagam, Senehekola and Lanka Thuwarala, Final report of the research project funded by Sri
Lanka Conservation and Sustainable use of Medicinal Plants Project, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradenya
Joseph, K. D. S. M. and Abeysekera, S, (2004). Medicinal plants cultivation technology, Part I and II. Sri Lanka Conversation
and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants Project, Kohuwala (Sinhala Publication)
Joseph, K. D. S. M. and Mahindapala, R. (2003). Research on conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants: Scope and
challenges. In Gunasena, H P M and Costa W M J de. (eds), Multipurpose trees in Sri Lanka. Recent development in conservation
and use of medicinal plants. Proc. 11th workshop on multipurpose trees, 24th July 2002, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Modder, W. W. D. and Amarakoon, A. M. T. (2002). Tea and Health, The Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka.
Mudalige, D. K. R. (2003). National demand for medicinal plants/herbal materials in Sri Lanka A study findings In
Gunasena, H P M and Costa W M J de. (eds), Multipurpose trees in Sri Lanka. Recent development in conservation and
use of medicinal plants. Proc. 11th workshop on multipurpose trees, 24th July 2002, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Niranjan, Frank and Gunasena, H P M, (2006), Socio Economic Status on Production and Marketing of Medicinal
Plants for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in the Naula Area of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research
Policy (CARP), Colombo
Niranjan, Frank; Sakalasooriya, M; Marasinghe, P; Rajapakse, R; Silva, R de; Thanthrige, R and Dissanayake, K
(2008), Selected Medicinal Plants of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy (CARP) In Collaboration
with Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Programme in Asia (MAPPA), International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal
Pallegedara, C. (2003). Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants in Sri Lanka. In Gunasena, H P M and
Costa W M J de. (eds), Multipurpose trees in Sri Lanka. Recent development in conservation and use of medicinal plants.
Proc. 11th workshop on multipurpose trees, 24th July 2002, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Conservation and Sustainable use of Medicinal Plant Project, (2004). Commonly Used Medicinal Plants in
Sri Lanka Part I and II, Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Welfare, Colombo (Posters).

191

COUNTRY PAPER OF THAILAND

Current Situation of Medicinal Plant Cultivation and
Utilization in Thailand

Anchalee Chuthaputti 1 & Passara Chawapradit 2

Nowadays the demands for herbal health

products have risen in both Thailand and
international markets. In response to this trend,
the national policy on the development and
promotion of medicinal plants as agricultural
products with new marketing opportunity was
stated in the 10th National Economic and Social
Development Plan (2007-2011).
Thailand has a good potential for the
production of medicinal plants as the climate and
geographic location of the country are suitable
for the cultivation and the growth of wide range
of medicinal plants. Among more than 5,000
plant species in Thailand, over 950 have long been
used as medicinal plants, based on Thai traditional
medicine knowledge, of which about 300 are
frequently used.
Cultivation of medicinal plants
Production sites of medicinal plants are
scatter all over the country. Most farmers grow
medicinal plants as secondary crops. According
to the survey conducted by the Department of
Agricultural Extension, there are not less than 189
kinds of medicinal plants that are cultivated for
commercial purpose. Some of the commonly
cultivated medicinal plants in Thailand are
turmeric, pepper, aloe, plai (Zingiber
montanum), roselle, Andrographis paniculata,
Curcuma comosa, etc. For the production of
single herbal medicines in several community and
provincial hospitals, the hospitals usually
collaborate with the local communities to grow
and process medicinal plants according to the

Anchalee Chuthaputti1

hospital specifications and supply to the hospitals

at a guaranteed price. Hence, the production of
herbal medicines not only generates income for
the hospitals but also helps create job, income,
and self-reliance on healthcare for the rural
communities.
However, many kinds of medicinal plants
used in Thailand are collected from natural
sources, e.g., chebulic myrobalan (Terminalia
chebula), emblic myrobalan (Phyllanthus
emblica), beleric myrobalan (Terminalia
bellirica), Pueraria candollei var. mirifica, Siam
cardamom (Amomum testaceum), Derris
scandens, Scaphium macropodum, etc. In
addition, many crude drugs or medicinal plant
materials that cannot be cultivated in Thailand
or those of which the local supply do not meet
the demand are imported from abroad, e.g. kut
root (Saussurea lappa), kutki (Picrorhiza
kurrooa),
jatamansi
(Nardostachys
grandiflora), myrobalan gall, licorice
(Glycyrrhiza glabra), Angelica sinensis,
Angelica dahurica.
Processing of medicinal plants for nonmedicinal products
The processing of medicinal plants is
mostly conducted in the rural communities
near the cultivation or collection sites. There
are a wide range of herbal non-medicinal
products made by small and medium
enterprise, e.g., herbal beauty products, spa
products and personal care products.
Nowadays the business is quite competitive as

1 Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand
2 Bureau of Promotion and Management of Agricultural Products, Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operative, Bangkok

192

plant materials at a total volume of 4,842.9 metric

tons at the export value of 537.6 million baht.
However, herbs are main ingredients in several
herbal products of which the export value are not
included, e.g. herbal cosmetics, drinks,
condiments, food, spa products, etc. Export
trend is on the rise with main export markets as
Japan and USA. Main export competitors are
India and China. Export items are in the forms
of dried herbs, powdered herbs, crude extract,
and herbal products. Main export items are
pepper, cinnamon, and crude drugs for the
production of herbal medicines.
The import values of medicinal plant
Marketing and trading of medicinal plants
The center of medicinal plant materials materials have been more than 2-3 folds higher
(crude drugs) market is located in the than the export values during 2003-2007 and
Chakrawat District in Bangkok. The pricing are also on the rise. In 2006 the import value
of crude drugs depends on current demand and of herbs and spices were 14525.1 million baht
at the volume of 22,577.8 metric tons. The
seasonal availability.
herbs are imported from China, India and
The import and export values of medicinal Indonesia for the manufacturing of traditional
plant materials during 2003-2007 are shown in medicines and food, e.g., cinnamon, licorice,
Table 1. In 2007 Thailand exported medicinal nutmeg, etc.
Table 1 The export and import values of medicinal plant materials during 2003-2007
there are about 900 registered community
enterprise and herbal networks. Many herbal nonmedicinal products are manufactured under the
One Tambon One Product (OTOP) Project
which is one of the government's policies to
encourage Thai communities to make use of Thai
wisdom to create job and income to the
community members. The government offices
concerned help the communities by providing
modern knowledge and technology, setting up
production standards, and introduce the products
to the domestic and international markets through
chain stores and outlets.

Year
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

Export values (million baht)

231.13
249.02
274.86
451.91
537.61

Import values (million baht)

869.93
866.66
919.73
1002.71
1425.12

Source: The Customs Department

Utilization of medicinal plants

The utilization of medicinal plants in Thailand
has changed along with the global trend expanding
from only in the forms of traditional medicine or
spices to various applications based on research
and development and new technology, e.g., used
in cosmetics and health and personal care
products, in animal husbandry, organic agriculture
as organic insecticide, or other products used in
the household.
Regarding the use of medicinal plants for
medicinal purpose, based on the promotion of

60 medicinal plants in the primary health care by

the Ministry of Public Health for over 20 years,
more Thai people are now accustomed to using
medicinal plants or single herbal medicines for
the treatment of common minor symptoms and
diseases before seeking modern medicine
treatment.
Utilization of traditional medicine & herbal
medicine in Thailand
The registration of Thai traditional
medicinal products, the licensing of Thai
traditional medicine manufacturers, and post-

193

modified into modern dosage forms, e.g. capsules

or tablets, for the ease of use and an increased
compliance.
3. Modern herbal medicines or
Phytopharmaceuticals. These are herbal
medicinal products that are composed of active
plant materials in the form of semi-purified
compounds derived from scientific research
and are classified as modern medicines. The
indication, therapeutic claims, dosage and
administration of herbal drugs are based on
traditional knowledge as in the first two
groups. This group of drugs is usually made
of standardized herbal extracts prepared into
various modern dosage forms.
4. New drugs. These are new drugs from
herbs developed through complete drug
development process and are in the form of
purified isolated active substances of which the
chemical structures were identified as new
chemical entities; hence, this group of drugs is
Types of registered herbal medicines
classified as modern medicines.
The cumulative number of traditional
According to this classification, Thai
medicines locally produced and imported for traditional medicines fall into the first three
human and veterinary use registered during categories of herbal medicinal products.
1983-2004 was over 10,000 preparations, of
Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia
these, 5,816 were registered during 1983-2000.
Recognizing the importance of good
FDA classified herbal medicinal products
quality
crude drugs on the quality of finished
into four categories, namely: herbal medicinal products, the Thai Herbal
1. Traditional drugs. These are Thai Pharmacopoeia was published by the
traditional medicines or traditional Chinese Subcommittee on the Establishment of Thai
medicine of which the indication, therapeutic Herbal Pharmacopoeia under the supervision
claims, dosage and administration are based on of the Thai Pharmacopoeia Committee, of
traditional knowledge that have been passed which the Department of Medical Sciences
on from generation to generation or from (DMSc), Ministry of Public Health serves as
traditional textbooks recognized by the the secretariat office. Subcommittee members
ministerial regulation. The dosage forms of and related institutes have conducted
traditional drugs are not different from researches on various commonly used
traditional dosage forms.
medicinal plants collected from all over the
2. Modified traditional drugs. These are country to set up their quality specifications
traditional medicines of which the indication, and analytical methods of active constituents.
therapeutic claims, dosage and administration So far two volumes and one supplement issue
are based on traditional knowledge as in the of the Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia covering 23
first group but the dosage forms have been monographs of Thai medicinal plant materials and
marketing surveillance are the responsibility of
Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
Ministry of Public Health. Herbal medicines that
are prepared from single or several herbal
materials into different dosage forms have to be
registered with the FDA prior to manufacturing
and selling. Medicinal plant materials or crude
drugs are exempt from registration in order to
make it easy for the public to use herbs for health
care. Prior to the production of any traditional
medicine, the manufacturers must apply for
manufacturing license from the FDA and have their
manufacturing facilities well prepared and well
equipped for the inspection by the FDA.
Licensed manufacturers can then file for the
registration of their traditional medicines prior
to the production. The information submitted
by the manufacturers for the registration of
traditional medicines will then be considered
by the subcommittees appointed by the Drug
Committee.

194

3 herbal preparations were issued in 1998, 2000 accelerate wound healing.

and 2004, respectively. About 40 more

Capsicum as a topical preparation

monographs of commonly used medicinal plant
containing capsaicin 0.025% for the
materials are currently under preparation.
treatment of joint pain and
National List of Essential Herbal Medicine musculoskeletal pain.
In order to increase the use of herbal Traditional household remedies
medicines in the hospitals in place of modern
According to the Drug Act B.E. 2510, herbal
medicines, where appropriate, two types of herbal medicines registered as traditional medicines must
medicinal products were therefore selected to the be sold in licensed drug stores, while no licence is
National List of Essential Drugs (List of Herbal required to sell traditional household remedies,
Medicinal Products) namely: meaning that they can be sold anywhere.
1. Herbal medicines of which their use is Therefore, to increase public access to herbal
based on traditional knowledge.
medicines, in 1999 the Ministry of Public Health
2. Herbal medicines that have been issued the notification on traditional household
remedies naming 27 Thai traditional medicinal
(scientifically) developed.
In 1999, single herbal medicine from five preparations, with detailed formulae, indications
medicinal plants and three traditional medicinal and dosages, as traditional household remedies.
preparations were selected and included into the In addition, the notification also specifies the list
National List of Essential Drugs (List of Herbal of crude drugs that can be used as ingredients in
Medicinal Products AD 1999). In 2006, 11 more 25 groups of traditional household remedies. As
herbal medicinal products (8 traditional medicine a result, more herbal medicinal recipes have later
recipes and 3 more single herbal medicines) were been registered and sold as traditional household
added into the List of Herbal Medicinal Products remedies, which enable easier access by the public
AD 2006. The eight medicinal plants were selected to these herbal products than ever before.
are as follows:

Turmeric for dyspepsia

Availability of Thai traditional medicines in

the country

Senna alata for constipation

Production

As the recommendation of medicinal plants

for PHC has increased public awareness of the
health benefit of Thai herbs, together with the

Zingiber montanum (Plai in Thai) for

back to the nature global trend during the past
bruise and muscle sprain
fifteen years, the demand for Thai herbal medicines

Clincanthus nutans for herpes simplex have significantly increased. Traditional medicine
and herpes zoster infection of the skin,
manufacturers, Government Pharmaceutical
cold sores, skin rash, hives and itching.
Organization, and some hospitals have therefore
developed single herbal medicines into easy-to
Ginger for relief of flatulence and
use dosage forms, e.g. capsule, tablet, or tea bag,
dyspepsia and for the prevention and
to satisfy consumers demand. The total number
treatment of nausea and vomiting due
of Thai traditional medicine manufacturers
to motion sickness, post-operative
increased by 43% from 616 in 1997 to 881 in 2006,
nausea and vomiting.

Centella asiatica (Asiatic pennywort or of which 286 (32.46%) were in Bangkok 595
(67.54%) were located in other provinces.
gotu kola) as a topical preparation to
Andrographis paniculata for
pharyngotonsillitis and diarrhea

195

1983-2006 there are a total of 11,314 recipe

registered, of which 10,396 (91.89%) are locally
made and 918 (8.11%) are imported. Comparing
with modern medicine, during the same period
of time, there are a total of 32,271 modern
medicines registered of which 24,475 (75.84%)
are locally made and 7,796 (24.16%) are imported.
Regarding the number of traditional medicine
recipes for humans registered with FDA, duringAs
for the production value of traditional medicine,
Table 2 shows the increased annual production
value of locally produced traditional medicines
during 1994-2004.

therefore, the production and imported values of

traditional medicines for humans were only 2.55%
of those of modern medicines for humans. This
is partly because most of the traditional medicine
manufacturers in Thailand are small to medium
scale and only a few are large-scale industry.
Therefore, both the public and private sectors still
have a lot of work to do to improve this industry
and to encourage doctors to prescribe more
herbal medicines in place of modern medicines,
where appropriate.

Regarding the production of herbal medicine by

hospitals, as of 2000 there were 168 community
Table 2: The production value of locally hospitals, 22 health centers and 7 regional/general
produced traditional medicines for humans hospitals that produced herbal medicines and
during 1994-2004
other herbal products to serve the community and
nearby hospitals in their region. More than 35
medicinal plants are currently made into the forms
Year
Production value of
of capsules, herbal teas, and external preparations
traditional medicine
for the treatment of various symptoms and
for humans
diseases by these hospitals. In some cases, raw
(Million Baht)
materials for the production are grown and
1994
414.862
processed by people in the nearby communities
1995
303.548
via contract far ming according to the
1996
318.205
specifications set by the hospitals.
1997
251.808
Thai FDA already established GMP standard for
1998
484.998
the manufacturing of herbal medicine but it is not
1999
548.266
yet fully enforced and is still on a voluntary basis.
2000
675.337
However, FDA requires that traditional medicines
2001
736.906
submitted for registration must pass the tests for
2002
868.883
microbial, heavy metal and pesticide residues
2003
1203.390
contamination.
2004
1388.669
Source: Drug Control Division, Thai FDA

Comparing with modern medicine, in 2004 the

production value of traditional medicines for
humans (1388.669 million baht) was only about
4.38% of that of locally made modern medicines
(31,707.647 million baht) and about 4.55% of the
imported value of imported modern medicine for
humans (30,545.543 million baht). Meanwhile the
imported value of traditional medicines for
humans in the same year was 199.286 million baht;

Distribution
Thai people can get access to traditional medicines
via different distribution channels, e.g.
Drug stores In order to promote their use,
traditional medicines are allowed to be sold in
various types of drug stores, i.e. traditional
medicine drug stores, modern medicine
drugstores, and modern medicine (ready-packed)
drug stores. In 2006, the number of each type of
drugstores located in Bangkok and other
provinces are shown in Table 3.

196

Table 3: The number of licensed drug stores in 2006 classified by types and location.
Type of drug store
Traditional medicine drug store
Modern medicine drug store
Modern medicine (ready-packed) drug store

Bangkok
406
3,672
479

Other provinces
1,696
5,186
4,031

Total
2,102
8,858
4,510

Source: Drug Control Division, Thai FDA

As previously mentioned, for traditional

household remedies, they can be sold outside
drugstores as the sellers need no license from
FDA; therefore, this type of traditional
remedies are available in many household
supply stores throughout the countries.
Hospitals Different levels of hospitals (i.e.,
community hospitals, general hospitals, and
regional hospitals) and health service centers
are another important source of traditional
medicines and other herbal products in the
nearby communities. In addition, as
mentioned previously, some hospitals also
prepare and manufacture herbal medicines and
other herbal products for sale to the patients.
The sale of herbal products not only generates
income to the hospitals but also helps reduce
hospital expense on modern medicines.
Health service facilities/clinics According
to the data from the Medical Registration
Division, in 2002 the numbers of health service

facilities providing TTM service and applied

TTM service in the country were 584 and 39,
respectively. In 2007, the numbers of such
facilities only in Bangkok were 316 and 28,
respectively. Traditional medicines are the
only type of medications that can be prescribed
by TTM or applied TTM practitioners
working in these facilities.
Imports & exports
As of April 2007, there are 174 importers
that import traditional medicines into
Thailand, of which 153 (87.93%) located in
Bangkok and 21 (12.07%) are in other
provinces. Table 4 shows the gradual increase
of import value of traditional medicines for
humans during 1994-2004 as reported by the
licensed importers to the FDA. The import
value of traditional medicines in 2005 was
expected to jump to 394.101 million baht, but
this figure is yet to be confirmed by FDA.

Table 4: The import value of traditional medicines for humans during 1994-2004.
Year
1994
1995
1996
1997

Import value of traditional

medicine for humans
(Million Baht)
101.383
137.633
139.633
177.419

197

1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

100.257
114.020
124.587
146.584
167.537
202.700
199.286
Source: Drug Control Division, Thai FDA

With regard to the export of traditional

medicine, according to the information from
FDA, during 2000-2002 the lowest export
value of locally made traditional medicines was
30 million baht, and the highest export value
was 39 million baht.
SWOT analysis of the current situation
of medicinal plants in Thailand
Strength
Thai medicinal plants have a wide range
of biodiversity
The country possesses traditional
medicine knowledge and ethnobotanic
knowledge that have been passed on from
generation to generation
Wide variety of herbal products that
markets have demand for
Weakness
Lack of concrete and continuous
integrative measures and efforts to improve the
cultivation of medicinal plants demanded by
local and international markets
Database of medicinal plants
information is not accessible by people
involved
Complete-cycled R&D on medicinal
plants that meet the demand of the industry
are not available; therefore, medicinal plant
growers are not sure which and how much
medicinal plants should be cultivated for the

industry

The amount of medicinal plant

materials required by the market is rather small
and uncertain and unaware by the production
sector

Herbal products industry is only in

the beginning stage of R&D of the products to
increase market competitiveness
Some medicinal plants materials
produced by the farmers do not meet quality
standards
Opportunity
Local and international demands for
natural health products still exist
The high cost of health care using
modern medicine technology drives people
towards alternative medicine and more selfreliant methods of health care
National policy to promote Thai
traditional medicine exists
Threat
Majority of Thai people use small
amount of medicinal plants or traditional
medicine as they do not have good knowledge
or understanding of therapeutic value of
medicinal plants or traditional medicines or
on how to use
There are many foreign competitors
with more experience and higher technology
in the global market

198

CONTRY PAPER OF VIETNAM

Status of Medicinal plant in Vietnam

Pham Van Quyen

were taken in the crude form. Nowadays, the

traditional medicines are produced in the
different dosage for m with the modern
technology such as extracts, Elixir, syrups,
capsules, tablets
At present, there are many factories
specializing in production of traditional medicines
with modern technology and facilities. There are
many kinds of traditional medicines have been
sold in the market such as raw, pill tablet, powder,
2. History of the Traditional Medicine in Viet
capsule, etc the MOH has been granting
nam
registration numbers for traditional medicines .
In the early history, Vietnamese knew how 3. Local resource
to use plant to treat many simple diseases. Firstly,
Vietnam has long-lasting traditional
they used plant as food ,then step by step, they
medicines;
the Vietnamese people have many
gathered their own experiences of using plants
and created the written traditional prescriptions valuable experiences of using medicinal herb
which were strictly kept in their families. Some in health care and health protection. The
traditional medicinal physicians became famous floristic composition of Vietnam has rich and
such as HAI THUONG LAN ONG, TUE diversified herbal resource. In Vietnam, there
TINHwho wrote the traditional books. Among are 3,948 species and fungus belonging to 307
12,000 botanical species (208 genus) of Viet Nam, families of 9 different branches and groups, 75
there are more than 3,948 species used as medicinal types of mineral, 408 types of animal and 52
plants. This is a large resource of raw materials types of seaweed useful for making drug.
Of these, about 500 species for making
for production of medicines
Up to 19th century, Viet Nam did not know drug or other types having some parts available
about the so-called Western Medicines. Traditional for making drug. The number of medicinal
practitioners both examined patients and supplied plants added to the list of Vietnam medicinal
herbal remedies. Most of remedies came from plant is increasing annually. The total number
local medicinal plants, animals, minerals. Some of medicinal species are up to more than 4,000
imported from Chinese traditional medicines were (2008). Of 3,948 species of medicinal plants
also used. After getting independence, the discovered, nearly 80% is found by experiences
government of Viet Nam has policy combining of ethnic local communities.
Since having diversified torrent and sub
closely the traditional medicines with modern
medicines. Before the time the herbal medicines climate, Vietnam has many valuable medicinal
1. Overview of VN
Vietnam is a developing country in the Asian
.Vietnam is strategically located in Southeastern
Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of
Tokin, and the East Sea.Vietnam shares borders
with China, Laos and Cambodia. Total land area
of Vietnam is 331,211.600 km2.The population
of Vietnam is estimated to be approximately
84,500 million, including 54 nationalities.

199

plants with specific figure of each different climate

area.
* In the Northern highland area, there are
many valuable plants from damp temperate
climate or subtropical climate such as red
mellifluous knotweed, goldthreads, araliaceous
bark, arrowroot, cardamom
In the Southern provinces, there are many
typical tropical medicinal plants such as
Rauvpolfia Cambodian, R. serpentine, R.
membranes, StrychNo.s nux-blanda, Stephanie
Pierre, Coscinium fen stratum...
In Vietnam, medicinal plants play important
role in traditional health care. There are 250 kinds
of medicinal plants are exploited from natural and
cultivated plants at different levels, with the total
about 20.000 tons/year. Of which, nearly 2/3 of
total pharmaceutical material are used for making
traditional medicine. About 50 types are used as
extracting material in pharmaceutical industry
such as Stephanie spp, Artemisia annual,
Artemisinin, arthesunat, Sophora japonica,
Rustin, Fibraurea tinctoria, Palmatin, Coscinium
fen stratum, Berberin, Strophanthus divaricatus,
D.strophantin and others such as Actiso, Ash
weed, colocynth, crocus, garlic, Sargassum spp...
.
The demand on Artemisia annually is 50-100
tons per year. In addition, about 10.000 tons of
cinnamon, anise, cardamom, Sophora japonica,
periwinkle, amomun, acorus calamus are exported
per year.
In order to develop the strength of Vietnam
medicinal plant, the Vietnamese Government
have promulgated policies to preserve and
develop the Vietnamese traditional medicine, and
preservation of gene and development of
medicinal plant are very important in Vietnam.
4. Mining ability of Local

Natural mine : 12,100 tones

Planting: 2,956.8 tones
Artemisia annual :3,000 tones

200

Plants for oil extract : 9,650 tones

Total: 27,706.8 tones, account 46,53 %
demand

5. Collection
Mainly plants have been collecting by farmer
themselves, when plants are not enough in the
market, price of plant increased , but when plants
are too much, price of plant is down, even not
sale.
Chinese plants have been imported to Viet
Nam legally and illegally. It is very difficult to
control the quality.
6. Demand, development potential
pharmaceutical material of Vietnam
6. 1. Demand on pharmaceutical material
Pharmaceutical
material
for
pharmaceutical industry: 20.986 tons accounting
35%
Pharmaceutical material for health care
(description) 18.452 tons accounting 31%
Pharmaceutical material for export
(exact active element, distil attar) 20.110 tons
accounting 34%
6.2. Supply ability:
Pharmaceutical material from natural
resource: 12.100 tones accounting 20%
Pharmaceutical material from cultivating
(136) species : 15.606,8 tones 26%
Pharmaceutical material from import:
31.841,2 tones accounting 54%

6.3 Manufacture and business of Vietnam

traditional remedy
?
In Vietnam, there are more than 250
facilities producing oriental medicine and
pharmaceutical material. 543 facilities doing
business carve medicinal plants; 240 facilities
doing business raw pharmaceutical material; and
1046 traditional medicinal agencies.
?
MOH has provided registration
number for 1870 products from pharmaceutical

- Decision No. 17/2005/QD-BYT dated 1/

materials, accounting 22% of total products
7/2005 of the Minister of MOH promulgating
manufactured inland.
?
To 01/01/2011 all of facilities the 5 the List of essential Drug in Viet Nam
producing traditional medicinal product must (94 production. 215 traditional remedies).
- Decision No. 05/2008/QD-BYT dated 2/
have GMP standard.
7. The legal documents related to the 2/2008 of the Minister of MOH promulgating
management of plant medicines in Vietnam the List of essential Drug for the health facilities
(237 remedies, 98 production of traditional
- Solution No. 200/CP dated 21/8/1978 of medicine.
the Government on development of domestic
- Decision No. 05/2008/QD-BYT dated 2/
medicinal material.
2/2008 of the Minister of MOH promulgating
+ Regular No. 28-TT-LB dated 27/9/1978 the Vietnamese formal pharmaceutical
of MOH and MOA
dictionary III (356 pharmaceutical material
+ Regular No. 34-TT-LB dated 19/12/1979 standards).
of MOH and MOF.
8. Future Plan to develop traditional
- Solution No. 73/CP dated 20/6/1996 of medicine in vietnam
the Government on national policy about

Traditional medicine shall be

Vietnam medicine.
promoted and developed
- Decision No. 108/2002/Q-TTg dated

To develop the recourses of

15/8/2002 of Prime Minister approving the pharmaceutical materials, set up area for
development strategy of pharmaceutical sector plantation meet GAP and animal breeding.
to 2010.

To promote the provision of training

- Decision No. 222/2003/Q-TTg dated and refresher sources to traditional
30/6/2003 of Prime Minister on approving practitioners.
national policy on traditional medicine from

Plant Manufactures should be GMP

now to 2010.
standards at 2010
- Pharmaceutical law No. 34/2005/QH11
9. The system for testing quality of
dated 14/6/2005 of Vietnam NA.
pharmaceutical material, oriental medicine,
- Decision No. 153/2006/QD-TTG dated
medicine from pharmaceutical material
30/6/2006 of the Prime Minister approving
1. Centre Institute for testing drug in Ha
Comprehensive Design for the Health System
Noi
in Viet Nam to 2010 and Vision by 2020.
2. Ho Chi Minh Institute for Testing drug
- Decision No. 43/2007/QD-TTG dated
15/8/2007 of the Prime Minister approving
3. The system for testing of medicineComprehensive Design for the Drug Industry Cosmetic and food safety in 63 provinces, cities
in Viet Nam and developing Design of Drug usually collect samples to test the quality of
Supply System in Viet Nam 2007- 2015 and traditional medicine.
Vision by 2020.
10. International corporation
- Decision No. 61/2007/QD-TTG dated

Vietnam government has signed an

7/5/2007 of the Prime Minister approving the
Agreement with Ruanda and Mozambican
national key technology science research
government on health sector, including
regarding development of pharmaceutical
traditional medicine; MOH has signed a
chemistry to 2020.
201

memorandum of understanding with the Ministry

of Health and Social Affairs of the US and Korea
Ministry of Health, including traditional medicine;

MOH has signed an Agreement on

health corporation mentioning traditional
medicine.There are many delegates from Vietnam
participating in the international science
Workshops: ASEAN, ASEAN + 1, China; and
others workshops hold in India, Mongolia,
Cambodia.

Many groups of traditional medicine

staff participated in the short time training
courses on traditional medicinal technology in
China, Korea...Vietnam held the traditional
medicinal science workshops with the attendance
of participants of ASEAN + 3 countries and
others Science Workshop with the attendance of

202

international delegations.

Vietnam Institute for Traditional

medicine cooperated with the Secondary
Medicine Tientsin University of China to
train on traditional medicine (4 first years in
Vietnam and the last 2 years in China).
The Hai Phong Medicine University
cooperated with the Medicinal secondary
Nanning Shi Institution of China to train
doctors of traditional medicine (4 first years
in Vietnam and the last 2 year in China).
These above are some features of
traditional medicine and legal documental
system related to the management of
pharmaceutical material and traditional
medicine in Viet nam.

Marketing of Medicinal Plants and Creation of

Livelihood
Experiences from Uttarakhand

Dr RBS Rawat, IFS & SM Joshi, IFS

Dr RBS Rawat, IFS

Background
The traditional medicine systems of the
orient and other ancient parts of the world have
essentially evolved from human experience over
ages through experimentation. These systems
largely derive material from nature for the
management and cure of different ailments, to
keep physically and mentally fit and to maintain
and enhance good health. Use of plants and plant
parts forms the largest source of the traditional
therapeutics and cosmetology; be it Ayurved,
Unani, Sidh or Homoeopathy.
Amongst all the ancient civilizations in the
world with a rich legacy of traditional health
systems, India has the unique distinction of being
the forerunner in the field. The ancient Indian
scriptures encompassing knowledge of different
fields of learning which are known to the world
as Vedas have a specialized Veda devoted
exclusively to the medicine and therapy and has
aptly been named Ayurveda, i.e., the knowledge
about and of longevity. With its varied geology,
soils, climate and topography, the bio-diversity
and plant diversity of India has few parallels in
the world. With such a rich floral and faunal
diversity, and an inquisitive mind always exploring
new vistas of knowledge, it was but natural that
our forefathers could document the therapeutic
value of such a vast number of plants resulting in
a number of tomes on Ayurveda.
Forests have always been recognized as the
repository of the plant wealth. Though cultivation
of medicinal plants by farmers has also started

taking roots of late, more than 90 percent of

supplies to the herbal / pharmaceutical industry
is still coming from forests. This situation is
expected to continue, especially for species which
are difficult to cultivate, or do not have established
protocols for farm production, or where the
principle ingredients / potency in case of
cultivated products is below par the industry
requirements.
Uttarakhand Scenario
Uttarakhand represents a microcosm
reflecting the unparallel advantage of India in the
field of medicinal and aromatic plants. The
exceptional bio-diversity of Uttarakhand owing
to its wide ranging climate, elevation, precipitation
patterns and other bio-physical factors has led to
its unique place in the field of herbs and medicines.
No wonder, the nature-based medicine system has
been getting sustenance from the brand Himalayas
in general with special value given to the herbs
and medicines from Uttarakhand Himalayas and
its valleys. Since almost 65% of its area is
designated as one type of forest or the other, it
was natural that herbal and medicinal plant sector
has gained prominence in the scheme of
development of the State.
Livelihood issues
Like elsewhere in mountainous regions of
the world, the hill agriculture in Uttarakhand is
mostly of unirrigated type where availability and
application of the agricultural inputs is also
minimal and inadequate. Therefore, traditional

203

systems of upland agriculture are not expected

to generate enough income for the hill peasants
and their agriculture-based economy continues to
remain at subsistence level. Possibility of getting
reasonably stable off-farm alternate employment
opportunities in these inaccessible areas also
continues to remain remote. Therefore, while
thinking beyond subsistence agriculture which
does not produce enough for self-consumption
for even 3-4 months, the livelihood concerns need
to develop a paradigm where employment and
income opportunities emanate from local natural
resources. At the same time, the fragility of the
mountain production systems requires that the
sustainability aspects are also taken care of. In the
hills, MAP Sector presents such an opportunity
and if taken up earnestly, could show a potential
for achieving better standards of income to these
disadvantaged people.
The rural population in hills of Uttarakhand
has traditionally been engaged in collection of
herbs and medicinal plants and plant parts from
the wild. The tradition has its origin from use of
plant parts for management and cure of different
ailments in these inaccessible areas. The use of
locally found medicinal and aromatic plants
(MAPs) in treatment of various ailments has
always been part of traditional knowledge and has
provided succour to our rural population who
otherwise did not have access to modern systems
of medicine.
With resurgence in interest about the
traditional and non-conventional alternative
systems of medicine, which started amongst the
elite, and has now become almost a fad, has
unknowingly done a great service to the traditional
systems of medicine which has found a new
clientele and caused a boom in the herbal market.
As the trade in MAP gained momentum,
the traditional practice of collection of MAP from
the wild by the hill people for their own use, later
on took up the shape of a small-scale commercial
activity with buyers and agents of the industry
approaching the village folk for the supplies of
raw materials for their products. Although, with
204

rapid and manifold expansion of market for herbal

products, the market forces have been
instrumental in bringing about a quantum jump
in the demand for the herbal products and the
scale of collection of MAPs has also grown
manifold, such activities still do not provide fulltime employment to village people engaged in
them. However, they do form an important addon to their other traditional economic activities.
Rural population of Uttarakhand, therefore,
continues to be engaged in activities related to
herbal sector, be it collection from the wild,
drying, cleaning, grading, local level value
addition, transportation and other similar basic
functions.
In case of rural hill population of
Uttarakhand, livelihood issues revolve mainly
around land based activities like agriculture,
horticulture, animal husbandry etc supported
marginally by NTFP collection from the forests.
Limited access to markets and lack of marketing
mechanism restricts the possibility of getting
reasonable price for the products as per their
market value. The prices are also not
commensurate with the labour inputs involved in
their collection. As the income from MAP is very
limited and forms only a small portion of the
overall mix of their economic activities, it involves
only small-scale trading by rural communities at
the village level. Consequently, it is usually the
marginal farmers in the hills of Uttarakhand who
are engaged in collection of MAPs from the wild.
The rules governing the market mechanism
and the exponential growth in the herbal sector in
the last decades normally should have increased
the income of the people engaged in collection
of MAP from the wild, but the trade of MAPs
continues to be dominated by the middlemen.
Therefore the collectors and harvesters get only a
very small portion of the profits as inequitable
trade practices continue to flourish. Even the
phenomenal growth of trade in MAPs has not
resulted in proportional increase in the income
of the collector or grower and the margin of
profit has remained to be a trickle for them.

communities at the village level.

Consequently, it is usually the marginal farmers in
the hills of Uttarakhand who are engaged in
collection of MAPs from the wild.
The rules governing the market mechanism
and the exponential growth in the herbal sector in
the last decades normally should have increased
the income of the people engaged in collection
of MAP from the wild, but the trade of MAPs
continues to be dominated by the middlemen.
Therefore the collectors and harvesters get only a
very small portion of the profits as inequitable
trade practices continue to flourish. Even the
phenomenal growth of trade in MAPs has not
resulted in proportional increase in the income
of the collector or grower and the margin of
profit has remained to be a trickle for them.
Marketing of Medicinal Plants
MAP sector has got a new boost in
Uttarakhand after creation of the new State. A
two-pronged approach encompassing the two
equally important aspects from production
point of view, viz. collection from the wild and
cultivation on the private land has therefore
been adopted in the State. However, marketing
has been an area which needs special attention.
Marketing of MAP in the past has been largely
unorganised in the country and more so in
Uttarakhand. A few traders and business
families had been successful in monopolising
the trade in the past and keeping the trade
engulfed in secrecy. Transparency in the trade
of these products has been the casualty in the
process. This was perceived to be the biggest
hurdle in making the sector vibrant from the
local livelihood point of view.
A number of initiatives have been taken
by Uttarakhand to change the scenario and
make the sector oriented towards some of the
core concerns. As stated above, transparency
in the trade of medicinal plant products is an
important area of concern. Usually it is the
person on the fringe of socio-economic milieu
who gets livelihood support from the
collection of MAP from the wild. Therefore, it is

important to ensure that the rural people engaged

in MAP collection from the forests and cultivation
of MAP in their own fields get a fare share of
market price of their produce and the possibility
of their exploitation by the trader are reduced.
An important initiative has been taken by
Forest Department by way of establishing
Mandis for MAP at three strategically located
towns (at Rishikesh, Ramnagar and Tanakpur).
It has proved to be an important step in this
direction. The cultivators as well as collectors
of the MAPs get a fare price of their produce
in these Mandis where open auctions are
conducted at regular interval on fixed dates
every month. The seller has an option to accept
the price being offered by the highest bidder
or to defer the sale for the next auction if the
bids are not as per his/her satisfaction. It has
singularly transformed the scenario of MAP
trade in the State to great advantage of the
grower/collector of MAPs as s/he has the
option to accept or reject the offer price being
quoted during the open auction.
Sustainability of the activity from longterm point of view is another area where
suitable interventions have been initiated. The
action points on this aspect are based on the
premise that MAP collection and/or
cultivation shall always remain a source of
additional income and can/should not entirely
replace the traditional livelihood support
systems. The rationale of this premise is:
If collection of MAP from the wild is
promoted as the only or the main source of
livelihood support system for the marginal
farmers and the landless, there would always
be a possibility of over-exploitation of the
natural/wild resource-base to get more income.
It has to be guarded against.
As a source of additional income, the
cultivation of some selected MAPs which have
a ready market and which fetch reasonably
good prices needs to be promoted. Growing
of such MAPs would have an effect of
conservation of these species in the wild.

205

Cultivation of MAP would provide assured

additional income to the farmer and also act as
a buffer in case there is crop-failure of
traditional crops.
Sustainability aspect has been dealt with
by regulating the collection from the wild.
Forest areas have been categorized into three
classes, viz., areas set aside for conservation of
the gene pool of MAPs where no collection is
permitted; areas which need interventions to
enhance their productivity; and areas which are
open for harvesting. This is facilitated through
conservation, development, and harvesting
(CDH) plan for the reserve forest areas.
Initial work on making CDH plans for 134
Ranges in 28 Forest Divisions has been taken up
and 1,01,775 ha area in 189 locations has been
initially identified for conservation of gene pool.
Similarly, 94,764 ha forest area has been marked
for development along with conservation while
12,27,220 ha has been initially identified for
sustainable collection of MAP from the wild.
However, this exercise has been carried out only
as a first step towards management of the resource
in a logical manner and would need revision and
rethink after the results of Rapid Mapping
Exercises (RME) being undertaken in a phased
manner are made available. These exercises also
being used for imparting training to the field staff
on RME.
Medicinal Plant Conser vation Areas
(MPCAs) for some selected species in each ecozone of the State are being set aside. The
objective is to have a treasure trove especially
for those species where it has been observed
that their population and frequency of
occurrence has come down in the recent years.
Work on Permanent Seed Resource Areas
(PSRA) for 13 species has been initiated by the
Herbal Research and Development Institute
(HRDI). The species are Kutki, Salampanja,
Van Kakri, Jatamasi, Atis, Meetha, Kalihari,
Chirayta, Riddhi, Kadvi, Gethi, Pattharchur,
and Giloe. This initiative is also aimed at
sustainability aspect.

Rapid Mapping Exercise (RME) is being

conducted to ascertain the status of MAP in
different areas and to get first hand
information about the occurrence and
estimates about the population of important
medicinal plants in the area. In fact, RME
would provide the foundation for preparation
of a CDH plan for the area in question.
In forest divisions which possess sizable
quantity of MAP, management of MAP is
being assigned to a separate and independent
working circle in the Management/ Working
Plan. In other forest divisions where the MAP
collection is limited, a separate working series
within the NTFP Working Circle could be
created for MAP.
Plantation of local MAP species (trees and
shrubs) which are part of the natural species
mix in the area along with the traditional
species has been made an integral component
of all the plantation schemes. This is expected
to increase the proportion of MAP species in
the forests and would also be instrumental in
recovery of the over-exploited areas/ overexploited species.
Efforts have been made to regulate the
collection of MAPs on scientific principles.
Depending on the status of distribution and
availability of medicinal plants and their
comparative frequency of occurrence, the
major species have been categorized into three
groups. Species which are often found
abundantly on non-forest lands and in farmers
fields do not attract any regulatory restriction
on their collection. There are 21 such species
which have been totally exempted from any
restriction on their collection. On the other
hand, there is total ban on extraction or
collection of 34 species of MAP which are
considered to have become rare or are
threatened. Some 28 species have been listed
for sustainable extraction with suitable
regulatory system to avoid their over-

206

Exploitation.
Since more than 90 percent of the MAPs are
collected from the forest area, it has been
considered appropriate and important to
involve government agencies in this work to
avoid interference from the agents of outside
traders. In view of this, coordination of the
collection of MAPs from the wild has been
assigned to three government agencies, viz.
Uttaranchal Forest Development Corporation,
Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and the Bhaishaj
Sangh (cooperative bodies). A State Level
Committee assigns and allots areas to these
three agencies after considering the
recommendations of the Committee formed
at the level of forest division under the
Divisional Forest Officer for this purpose.
Cultivation of medicinal plants is also
being promoted in the State in a big way to
provide them alternate livelihood options.
Some species with established cultivation
protocols have been identified for this purpose
and cultivators are being given incentives in the
form of subsidy for adopting cultivation of 26
species of MAP in their fields. To avoid
administrative problems in getting transit
permit for the produce at the time of
harvesting, all such cultivators are registered
with Herbal Research and Development
Institute (HRDI) which is a government body.
Farmers are trained on different aspects of
cultivation of MAP and also provided technical
support from HRDI.
The persons engaged in collection from
the forests are imparted training on the correct
methods of collection without permanently
damaging the growing stock so as to ensure
sustainability of the harvesting from the wild.
Collection from the wild is permitted on a
rotational basis and as per the prescriptions of
the Working/Management Plan of the forest
division. The areas identified as MPCAs are
excluded from such collection practices.
Collection from the Panchayati Forests is

done only by the villagers of the concerned Van

Panchayat and the sale proceeds are to be
deposited in the account of the Van Panchayat
after deducting various dues.
Way ahead
Though there has been some headway in
the MAP sector in Uttarakhand in the past few
years and a direction has been given to it, a
number of areas still need intervention from
the government and corporate sector to make
MAP sector more vibrant and self sustaining
by way of appropriate value-chain development
with forward and backward marketing
linkages so that the lower strata of the chain,
i.e., grower/collector gets adequate share of the
pie.
Marketing of MAP and creation of
livelihood through this sector could further be
enhanced by developing a concise roadmap.
The short, medium and long-term planning
with specific goals with a time frame would
facilitate the process. The present hyperactivity all over the world in the MAP sector
could then be harnessed to the advantage of the
rural folk living at the margin in Uttarakhand.
Role of MAP sector in livelihood
improvement has to get prominence if the
Sector is to develop in the long run. The
following issues need to be looked into:
Farming of MAP has to have economic
rationale with proper support from the
market. Support price could be a market
mechanism that may be thought of for species
commonly grown by the cultivators to retain
his/her interest.
Rationalization of rules related to
transit of MAP products cultivated by the
farmers needs consideration.
Conservation and sustainable collection
of MAPs from the wild has to go together (and
it should be adequately supported by
cultivation of MAP) for the Sector to flourish
and to provide long-term livelihood benefits

207

to poor people.

Capacity building of local people is

an area where repeated investments would be
needed. Knowledge support as well as material
support would be needed simultaneously to
make an impact.
To get long-lasting positive results in
hills, womenfolk would need to be kept at the
centre of the local level value-addition efforts.
Small-holder production system
prevalent in the hills will have to be taken into
account while making any analysis in context
with cultivation of MAPs.

208

Formation of MAP related Self Help

Groups (SHGs): one each for each revenue
village, along with formation of confederation
of such SHGs at appropriate level
(Development Block, cluster of villages with
similar products, or district level) will give
strength to the movement of MAP cultivation.
Pre-processing (where licensing is not
required) at confederation level; linking of
MAP sector with livelihood and microentrepreneurship development etc. are some of
the areas where interventions would be
required.

SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING OF KALMEGH

(ANDROGRAPHIS PANICULATA), A MEDICINAL PLANT,
AT COMPARTMENT NO.123, JAGDALPUR RANGE,
BASTER FOREST DIVISION, CHHATTISHGARH

S.P. TRPATHI
Director
Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
Govt. of India, New Delhi

ABSTRACT : In the Earth Summit held in

Rio in 1992, the necessity of sustainable forest
management was identified by the world leaders
for sustainable development and sustainable
forest management became a vital part of
sustainable development. Accordingly, forest
resources and lands should be managed
sustainably to meet the social, economic,
ecological, cultural and spiritual functions and
for the maintenance and enhancement of
biological diversity. There is no universally
accepted definition of sustainability. However,
in the context of forestry, sustainable forest
management can be broadly defined as a
maintenance approach to obtain the full range
of forest values ensuring the ecological,
economic and social needs of present and future
generations that can be met on a continuous
basis.
Forests of our country have been
scientifically managed by prescribing
silvicultural systems for tree species only and
no silvicultural system has been prescribed for
management/ harvesting of non wood forest
produce including medicinal plants. Norms
for silvicultural practices / systems were
developed in times prior to the current
scenario of high biotic pressure and now be
adjusted accordingly. If the national objectives
have changed to prioritise peoples needs, there

must be an accompanying change in silviculture

and technology also.
In our country, NTFP (Non Timber
Forest Products) based forestry will be more
sustainable than only timber base forestry. For
quick benefits for poor long gestation
multipurpose trees should be supplemented
with an under storey of grasses, herbs and
shrubs as to satisfy the immediate needs.
The paper deals with sustainable
harvesting of Kalmegh at compartment No.123.
Jagdalpur Range, Baster Forest Division by
active protection of forests by people from
forest protection committee and by defining
sustainability index.
Key words:
Sustainable Development,
Sustainable Forest Management, Kalmegh,
Sustainability
INTRODUCTION Sustainable Development Sustainable Development (SD) means
continuous improvement in the social,
environmental, and economic condition of the
people at local, regional, national and global
levels. Sustainable development is the
achievement of continued economic and social
development without detriment to
environment and natural resources.

209

Sustainability The management / present use of any

resource in such a way that it is available in
plenty for future generation is defined as
sustainability of the resource.
The Fraser Basin Council defines
sustainability as "living and managing activities
in a way that balances social, economic,
environmental and institutional considerations
to meet our needs and those of future
generations". The concept envisions a scenario
of equilibrium amongst its environmental,
economic and societal components is
maintained such that there is continued
improvement of human life.
Sustainable Forest Management The concept of Sustainable Forest
Management (SFM) is an age-old concept, but
has gained popularity in recent years. With the
global recognition of the term 'sustainable
forest management', it has been used in various
forest policies though with the limitation that
its definition has not yet been universally
endorsed. The Society for American Foresters
(SAF) defines SFM as the practice of meeting
the forest resource needs and values of the
present without compromising the similar
capacity of future generations. SFM as a concept
encompasses ecological, environmental as well
as social concerns also termed as three realms
of SFM.
Global
initiatives
for
criteria
&indicators(C&I) development The ITTO (International Tropical
Timber Organisation) was the first to develop
C&I even before the Earth Summit. Following
UNCED and international understanding on
need to develop scientifically sound guidelines
for assessing sustainability of forestry
conditions, various C&I processes have been
underway worldwide. There are nine major
international processes with 160 countries
party to them. These regional processes strive

towards development to C&I specific to the

forestry conditions prevalent in the regions and
nations party to the processes. All the processes
have identified the following seven
fundamental elements for assessing SFM.
Extent of forest resources
Biological diversity
Forest health and vitality
Productive functions of forests
Protective functions of forests
Socio-economic benefits and needs
Legal, policy and institutional
framework
The Bhopal - India Process
The responsibility of developing criteria
and indicators for sustainable forest
management at national level was given to the
Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal
(M.P.) by the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Govt. of India, New Delhi, on the lines
of the national and international initiatives
across the world. A series of workshops was
organized by the institute in different parts of
country, actively involving foresters, forest
scientists, industrialists, farmers, NGOs, and
other stakeholders. After a long deliberations,
a set of 8 criteria and 43 indicators was
developed for sustainable forest management
at national level in 2000.
The sustainable forest management is the
vital component of sustainable development,
as the survival of human beings and animals is
dependent on forests and their basic
requirements of bread, butter and shelter are,
directly and indirectly, met from forests. The
true study of sustainability of a forest requires
data on annual extraction of forest produce,
data on extent of population dependency on
the forest produce(Both local consumption as
well as export) and also trend of future
population, increase or decrease.

210

Table-1: Growth of population in India (1901-2001)

Year
1901
1911
1921
1931
1941
1951
1961
1971
1981
1991
2001

Total Population
(in crores)
23.84
25.21
25.13
29.90
31.87
36.11
43.92
54.82
68.33
84.34
102.7

Annual Growth (%)

0.56
-0.03
1.04
1.33
1.25
1.96
2.20
2.22
2.14
1.93

SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN JOINT FOREST

MANAGEMENT (JFM) AREAS IN CHHATTISGARH Chhattisgarh is very rich in forest resources including a variety of medicinal plants. As
per State of Forest Report (2005), the extent of forest and tree cover of the State is as follows Table No. 2:
Geographical area of the State

13.52 Million Ha.

Population (2001 census)

20.83 Million

Tribal population

31.8%

Forest coveri)Very dense forests ii) Moderate dense forests iii) Open forestsTotal

2256 Sq. Km.

36472 Sq. Km.
17135 Sq. Km.
55863 Sq. Km. (41.32 % of
geographical area)
4492 Sq. Km. (3.32 % of
geographical area)

Tree cover
The State is very rich in Non Timber Forest
Products (NTFPs)including medicinal plants
species. There tribals are highly dependent on
forests. Conservation and propagation of
medicinal plants species are done under technical
expertise of the Forest Department and involving
local community from FPC (Forest Protection
Committee), VFC (Village Forest Committee).

No study has been conducted for sustainable

harvesting of medicinal plants in JFM areas in
Chattishgarh. The Federation of Minor Forest
Produce ,Chhatisgarh sanctioned a projectof
sustainable harvestng of 10 medicinal plants
species in three acro-climatic zones viz. the
Chhattisgarh planes (11 Districts), the
Northern Hills of Chhattisgarh (2 districts) and

211

the Bastar Plateau (3 districts) in 2005. Kalmegh

was one of the 10 species under the project. All
parts of the plants are used for liver tonic, malaria,
fever etc. The present study pertains to
compartment No.123, Jagdalpur Range, Bastar
Forest Division, Chhattisgarh which falls under
the Agro-climatic Zone of Bastar Plateau.
Objectives: The objectives are as follows Short Term i)
To standardize management practices
for sustainable development/harvesting of
medicinal plants in JFM areas/PPAs.
ii)To encourage production of nontimber forest products including
medicinal
plants on sustained basis.
iii)To secure peoples participation in
regeneration / management / development of
forests.
Long Term i) Upliftment of socio-economic status and
improvement of living standard of people in
JFM areas.
ii)Checking
land
degradation,
deforestation and loss of biodiversity.
iii)Ecological restoration, environmental
conservation and eco-development. Capability
endowment and skill enhancement for
improving employ ability of rural people.
Criteria and Indicators for sustainability of

medicinal plants species Medicinal plants fall under criteria number 2

Maintenance, Conservation and Enhancement
of Bio-Diversity. They fall under the following
indicators for sustainability.
2.5 - Richness/availability of medicinal/
aromatic plants in various forest types is a indicator
of sustainability.
2.6 - Status of non-destructive harvest of
Non Wood Forest Produce (NWFP) is an
indicator of sustainability.
It has been agreed upon to consider
existing status of Non Wood Forest Produce
(NWFP) as Minimum Acceptable Standard
(MAS) of indicator for sustainable forest
management in a workshop held at Xavier
Institute of Development Action and Studies
(XIDAS), Jabalpur during August 1-3, 2005.
Methodology Site, having good population of Kalmegh
species, was selected in 2005 in consultation
with Chhattisgarh Forest Department. The
site was having very good Sal forest and the
species was available on the open space, i.e.
forest road with available sun light. The
locaton, lay out and experimental design are
given below Location - Division : Bastar (Jagdalpur),
Range : Jagdalpur, Compartment No. 123

Layout

212

Experimental details
Experimental design : RBD
Treatment : 4
Replication : 4
Total No of experimental plots : 16
Plot size : 10x5 m
Boder spacing : 2 mt
Total experimental area : 1372 sq.m.
T1 = 20% harvesting
T2 = 40% harvesting
T3 = 60% harvesting
T4 = 80% harvesting
The observation indicating total number of plants, number of harvested plants and their weight
in different plot is as follows:
Table No. 4 : Observations

213

1 to 16 plot number with treatments

a-total number of plants; b-plants (all partspanchang) harvested; c-weight of (all parts
panchang) harvested plants.
There are four treatments with 4 replications,
harvesting of plants was done in 2005 as per
designed given above. The site was revisited after
one year in 2006 and number of plants were
counted and again harvesting was done as per
experimental design in that plot. After one year
again the site was visited in 2007 and number of
plants were counted. The sustaibability indexes
were found on the basis of population of the
species for 2005/2006 and 2006/2007.

Kalmegh. The sustainability index has been defined

as
NL+NR
SI=
NT

where NL=Number of plants left over after

harvesting
NR= Number of plants naturally regenerated
after harvesting
NT = Total number of plants before
harvesting.
For sustainability, the value of SI > 1. The
treatment with maximum productivity and
having SI > 1 should be recommended for
Sustainability index The extent of regeneration was considered practice.
to be the indicator of sustainable harvesting for Observations of Plants in 2005, 2006 and 2007
are as follows:
Plot No.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14
15
16

Treatment

T4R2
T2R4
T1R3
T1R2
T4R1
T2R1
T1R4
T1R1
T4R1
T3R4
T2R3
T3R1
T2R2
T3R2
T4R4
T3R3

Total number of plants

2006
2006
2007
21-11-05
30-10-06 1-12-07
9
20
23
14
30
49
8
12
26
3
15
29
6
5
14
5
13
22
12
20
39
5
30
47
11
12
19
27
40
52
7
13
28
5
5
23
4
7
22
4
14
21
16
10
16
11
20
31
214

SI
2005-06

SI
2006-07

SI
Average

2.22
2.14
1.50
5.00
0.83
2.60
1.67
6.00
1.09
1.48
1.86
1.00
1.75
3.50
0.63
1.80

1.15
1.63
2.17
1.93
2.8
1.69
1.95
1.57
1.58
1.3
2.15
4.6
3.14
1.5
1.6
1.55

1.69
1.89
1.83
3.47
1.82
2.15
1.81
3.79
1.34
1.39
2.01
2.80
2.0
2.5
1.12
1.68

Result and Inferences Drawn

Table No.6:
S.No.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Treatment
T1 (20% harvesting)
T2 (40% harvesting)
T3 (60% harvesting)
T4 (80% harvesting)

Sustainability Index
2005-06
2006-07
3.54
1.91
2.09
2.15
1.95
2.24
1.193
1.783

Average
2.723
2.121
2.094
1.488

It is clear from the table that harvesting of

Kalmegh is sustainable at 80% harvesting
(extraction of 4 plants and leaving of 1 plant
for regeneration in total number of 5 plants).
The site was fully protected by the members
of the Forest Protection Committee and
officials of the Forest Department. In this case,
it is recommended to practice treatment T4
(80% harvesting) with full protection of the
site.

Forestry is being linked with improvement of

socio economic condition of the people by
their active involvement in planning from
regeneration to harvesting of forests. Tree
species from long gestation period and
medicinal plants are of short rotation, generally
annual crop. NTFPs (Non Timber Forest
Products) based forestry will be more
sustainable than only timber based forestry. As
per State Forest Report, 2005 the distribution
of very dense forests, moderate dense forests
DISCUSSIONS The Government of India and States/ and open forests under forest cover and man
Union Territories Governments are welfare made forest under tree cover in respect of
Governments and meeting the needs of their Chhattisgarh and the country is as follows people are their important priorities.
Table No.7:
S. No Country/State

1.
2.

India
Chhattisgarh

Forest Cover (Sq.Km)

Very Dense Moderate
forest
dense forest
54,569
332,647
2,256
36,472

Quick benefits to the poor, long gestation

multi purpose tree should be supplemented within
under story of grosses, herbs and shrubs so as
to satisfy the immediate needs. This will improve
socio economic conditions of the local people

Tree Cover (Sq.KM)

Open
forests
289,872
17,135

Total
forests
677,088
91,663
55,863 4,492

and reduce biotic interference on forests. There

are some medicinal plants which require sufficient
lights and they can be grown in open forests and
shade bearing medicinal plants can be grown in
dense forests.

215

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is thankful to be managing

Director, Federation on Minor Forest Produce,
Chhattisgarh for funding the Project and the
Director, Tropical Forest Research Institute,
Jabalpur for giving an opportunity to implement
the Project. The author is highly thankful to be

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Shri

Bala Prasad, IFS, CCF, Government of Manipur
for giving an opportunity to present this paper in
the International Conclave on Medicinal Plants for
ASEAN and BIMSTEC Countries held at Imphal
on 11th to 13th December, 2008.

REFERENCES Anonymous (2005) - Proceedings of National Workshop on Refining Indicators of Bhopal India Process and
Implementation Strategy of C&I for SFM in India, Published by Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal.
Anonymous (2005) - State of Forest Report - 171P, Published by the Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment and
Forest, Government of India, Dehradun.
Anonymous (2006) - Proceedings of XIIth Silviculture Conference (1-3rd February, 2006) published by Forest Research
Institute, Dehradun.
Hariom (2002) - Contemporary India (Class-IX).

216

STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICINAL

PLANTS SECTOR IN ASEAN AND BIMSTEC
COUNTRIES
Bala Prasad
Chief Conservator of Forests
Forest Department
Sanjenthong
Imphal, Manipur, India
E-mail- balaprasad@hotmail.com

1. INTRODUCTION
There is resurgence of use of traditional
medicine across the globe. According to an
estimate of WHO in 2002, the global market
of traditional therapies stood at $60,000
millions and was growing steadily. Further
global market for medicinal herbs and herbal
products is estimated to touch US$ 5 trillion
by 2050. Almost all market surveys at macro
level have indicated sustained growth of
medicinal plants products, including
traditional
medicine.
With
the
epidemiological shift and increase in life
expectancy, treating diabetes, cancer,
cardiovascular, geriatric problems, trauma,
mental cases, nutrient deficiencies particularly,
among the women and children etc. have
occupied the central stage of public health
agenda. Traditional systems of medicine have
strength of their drugs and therapy to manage
these diseases. These traditional systems of
medicine are heavily dependent on the
medicinal plants for their drugs and therapies.
With the accelerated growth of traditional
medicine, the demand of medicinal plants has
registered substantial growth and expected to
grow consistently.
As depicted in Map 1, Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Bay of
Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical
and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
countries have geographical contiguity and
strong traditional linkages. Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,

Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and

Vietnam are members of ASEAN where as
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Thailand are members of BIMSTEC.
There is strong bondage among traditional
medicinal systems of the most of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries. Very large area of these
countries come under six hotspots of Biodiversity
viz. Western Ghat and Sri Lanka, Himalayas, IndoBurma Sundaland, Wallacea and Phillipines. It is
also pertinent to note that three hotspots of
Biodiversity (Himalaya, Indo-Burma and
Sundaland) are contiguous and cover total
geographical area of many countries. Further, it
may be deciphered from map 2 and map 3 that
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries collectively
have diverse and almost all kinds of Forest types,
which are repository of immensely valuable and
large varieties of medicinal plants. These medicinal
plants need to be used sustainably for supporting
livelihood and conserved for posterity and
perpetuity. However, in most of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries medicinal plant sector is still
disorganised. Moreover, forests of these area
have suffered due to creaming out of
commercially important species due to their
growing demand.
2. Forestry Scenario
According to an assessment (table 1), there
was 3.454 billion ha i.e. 26.6% of total landmass
area of world in 1995 under forest cover and
about 57% of the forests were in developing
countries.
217

Table 1 : Global Forest Situation in 1995

Region

Land
area
million
ma

Forest

Plantations

Volume 1990
billionm3

Change
1990-95
million
ha/year

Europe
Former USSR
North America
Devd. Asia & Oceania
Developed Regions
Africa
Asia & Pacific
L-America & Caribbean
Developing Regions
All Regions

551
2195
1838
829
5413
2937
2614
2017
7568
12981

155
816
457
74
1502
520
482
950
1952
3454

80-100
4.8
61.2
7.8
73.8
-

19.3
84.2
53.4
6.6
163.5
55.7
55.2
109.4
220.3
383.7

+0.39
+0.56
+0.76
+0.05
+1.76
-3.75
-3.45
-5.81
-13.03
-11.27

Source : Persson & Janz, 1997

Map 1: Location of ASEAN & BIMSTEC Countries

Source: Dr. Arun Kumar, Head of Department, Manipur University

218

SOURCE:
Stibig, H.J., Achard, F. & Fritz, S. 2004. A new forest cover map
of continental southeast Asia derived from SPOTVEGETATION satellite imagery. Applied Vegetation Science 7:
153-162, 2004. Opulus Press Uppsala.

Source : Champion and Seth, 1968

Though, we have been losing forests over the

years across the world, but in nineties developed
countries have been able to reverse the trend
whereas developing countries continue to lose
forests. The annual rate of the loss of forests in
the world were estimated to 11.27 million ha in
total where as the annual rate of loss in developing
countries was 13.03 million ha. ( Persson & Janz,
1997 ). The comparison of forest assessments
between 1990 and 1980 shows significant decrease
in forest and that too mainly in developing
countries (FAO,1995). In fact from the analysis it
is obvious that developed countries have been
able to reverse the negative trend of annual loss
of .0786 million hectare forest cover in 198090 to positive trend of annual gain of 1.76
million hectare for 1990-1995. Though exactness

of the data may be questioned, but it gives enough

hints towards emerging trend.
Volume and biomass distribution at the year
1990 have been given in Table 4, which shows
significantly low per Caput availability of 19 m3/
inh volume and 26 tons/inh biomass in Asia and
Pacific as compared to per Caput availability of
114 m3/inh volume and 84 tons/inh biomass in
developed region (FAO,1995). Thus, forests in
developing countries, particularly in Asia and
Pacific region are under stress and likely to
degrade qualitatively and quantitatively.
Nevertheless, they also provide opportunity and
scope for sustainable development for regular
supply of medicinal plants.

219

Table 2 : Volume And Biomass Distribution At 1990

Region

Europe
Former USSR
North
America
Developed
Asia &
Oceania
Developed
Regions
Africa
Asia & Pacific
Latin America
& Caribbean
Developing
Regions
All Regions

Area
million
ha

Volume
Total Per Caput
Million
m3/inh
3
m
19 264
34
84 234
240
53 401
193

Biomass
tons/ha
Total
million
tons
79
11 864
68
51 648
98
44 948

m3/ha

149
755
457

129
112
117

71

92

6 553

46

58

4 137

29

1 432

114

163 451

122

79

112 598

84

541
441
960

103
125
114

55 655
55 200
109 421

87
19
244

134
171
188

72 306
75 269
180 307

113
26
403

1 941

113

220 276

55

169

327 882

82

3 374

114

383 727

72

131

440 479

82

Per Caput
tons/inh
21
147
163

Source : FAO,1995

Forests across ASEAN and BIMSTEC

countries are under ecological stress due to
combined destructive impacts of poor majority
in south for their subsistence needs
3. STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
MEDICINAL PLANTS SECTOR IN
ASEAN AND BIMSTEC COUNTRIES
To take advantage of global resurgence and
tap the potentiality of the sector in the larger
interest of humanity in general and people of
these countries in particular, there is need to
develop comprehensive mutually compatible
strategy and enhanced cooperation for
developing medicinal plants sector, including
export of their products. The common
strategy must duly account for conservation,
sustainable collection, processing, marketing,
research and development and access, benefit
sharing and protection of traditional
knowledge, associated with medicinal plants

in the region. To deal the situation squarely and

initiate an era of cooperation, there is need to
revisit and review whole spectrum of
opportunities and issues and evolve internally
and externally consistent strategy and a road
map for enhancing cooperation and giving
much needed boost to the sector and trade
among the
member countries. The
components of the strategy has been outlined
in the succeeding sections.
3.1 Compensating Conservation along with
Species and Forest Type Specific Program
The establishment of medicinal plant
conservation areas in Southern India and
previous attempts of preservation plots need
critical review. An analysis suggests that there
is need to adopt multi-pronged integrated
approach for conserving commercially
important medicinal plants along with their
genetic diversity with species and area specific

220

programme, their sustainable use, linking

livelihood of people with conservation and
designing and management of species recovery
plan. In the present scenario conservation of
medicinal plants is an issue of paramount
importance due to serious depletion of
commercially important species and
destruction of their habitat. Conservation
needs to be considered in the broader
perspective, including sustainable supply of
quality cultivars. Conservation centres may
not be seen as inviolate area. The people, who
are protecting the species should be
compensated with a package, well above the
threshold level of their motivational pattern.
The conservation area may be managed by the
community with the scientific inputs from
intellectuals and managers. Further,
conservation efforts including species and
habitat recovery programme needs to be
developed with comprehensive understanding
of the needs of the species; their spatial
distribution; associates and range of climatic
and edaphic conditions, conducive for their
cultivation and natural regeneration. There has
to be separate action plan for habitat and
species conservation.
In due appreciation of need for
conservation of medicinal plants, there is need
to establish in-situ conservation centre for each
forest sub-type in every forest range. Herbal
gardens may be established to cater educational
and recreational needs. These herbal gardens
would also serve as ex-situ conservation centre.
School children and / or communities should
be involved in the management of herbal
garden.

on indusial consumption, where as assessing

availability in the field is more important.
Many medicinal plants are locally consumed
for specific therapeutically advantages and
many diseases are not found in similar
proportion in the State as in other parts of
countries. These medicinal plants need to be
identified, standardized and validated with help
of scientific organization.

3.3 Good Cultivation and Collection

Practices
With the growing demand of medicinal
plants, large scale cultivation has become an
economically viable option in last decade.
Agencies like National Medicinal Plants Board,
Government of India, traditional medicine
industry etc. have been promoting cultivation
of medicinal plants. However, 70-80%
requirements of medicinal plants being met
from wild collection, which would not be
sustainable, until urgent actions are taken up
to regulate supply. Traditional medicines are
facing the problem of sub-standard quality of
raw medicinal plants material. Good
agricultural and collection practices for
medicinal plants is only the first step in quality
assurance, on which the safety and efficacy of
herbal medicinal products directly depend
upon, and will also play an important role in
protection of natural resources of medicinal
plants for sustainable use. Though World
Health Organisation had finalized and
published Guidelines for Good Agricultural
Practices and Collection Practices, there is need
that member countries adopt and revise them.
In fact these guidelines need be elaborated by
incorporating species specific packages for
3.2 Quantitative Survey and Screening of commercially important species. Further,
Important Local Medicinal Plants
there is need to adopt certification of medicinal
There is need to develop survey plants on the basis of Good Collection and
methodology for quantitative assessment of Collection Practices.
commercially important medicinal plants 3.4 Primary Processing of Medicinal Plants
with particular reference to ASEAN and at the Field
BIMSTEC countries as the attempts made for
Medicinal plants are used by traditional
assessing demand and supply has been focused
221

medicine, cosmetics, neutraceuticals,

pharmaceuticals etc. While maintaining high
quality standards both for efficacy and safety
through strict regulation for low microbial
load and contaminants, There is as need to
adopt and implement standards, compatible to
the same, prescribed by WHO and US FDA.
Further, there is need to induce cluster
approach in developing processing units for
optimal utilization of resources and
development of facilities for sharing common
resources. Moreover, collectors and cultivators
need to be encouraged to undertake primary
processing to reduce microbial load and
contaminants substantially. Therefore,
certification of processed products need to be
adopted for maintaining high standard for
safety and efficacy and standard quality.
3.5 Establishing Of Medicinal Plants
Processing Zone
At present there is skewed distribution of
medicinal plant processing units in the region.
It is expected that medicinal plants processing
zone woudl support cultivation of medicinal
plants in 20,000 hectares, post harvest
management e.g. storage, drying, grading,
sorting, marketing including price support,
setting up mandies, brand promotion and
extension activities. The climatic and edaphic
conditions in ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries are most suitable for cultivation and
natural regeneration of varieties of medicinal
plants. Medicinal Plants Processing Zones in
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries would
make collection and cultivation of such
medicinal plants as economically viable
proposition and create and support large
number of livelihood systems. Common
facilities including facilities of testing,
certificating including those for export, model
nursery for quality planting material The site
of the zone may be selected on the basis of
natural potential of the area.

3.6 Marketing of Medicinal Plants Products

Market authorization is a critical issue, turning
out as deterrent in the trade of medicinal plants
products, including Ayurvedic and Unani
medicine, in ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.
There is need to deliberate and find out easier
system of market authorization of these products
in ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries. Member
countries would share their experience in the
marketing of medicinal plants products .There are
many success stories in marketing of medicinal
plants in India. Uttarakhand Forest Cooperation
has done great work in organizing the collection
of medicinal plants and giving to the collectors
and farmers remunerative price for their
products. To establish proper marketing,
development of mandis, and organising trade
fairs and buyers and sellers meet etc need to be
promoted. Further, market information
system, networking to exploit to potential of
medicinal plants, their organized collection
and establishing Medicinal Plant Marketing
Federation may be considered. Further,
warehousing and cold storage facility may also
be provided to the farmers and collectors.
There is need to provide minimum support
price to medicinal plants collected sustainably
by Joint Forest Management Committee or
individual collector and comprehensive
marketing package.
3.7 Market Authorisation of Medicinal
Plants Products, including Ayurvedic and
Unani Medicine
There are problems for Market
Authorisation in the ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries for medicinal plants products. To
promote the sector and tap its potentiality,
there is need to address the problem. The
processes of the Market Authorisation needs
to be simplified and modified so that they may
not turn out deterrent. The cost of Market
Authorisation also needs to be made
economically viable with due appreciation for

222

promoting the products. On these issues

there is need to develop consensus among
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries. Member
countries may consider recognizing traditional
systems of each other and initiate collaborative
research.
3.8 Research and Development
The phyto-chemical analysis of
medicinal plants needs to be carried out to
ascertain the proportion of active ingredients.
Further, multi-locational trials of high yielding varieties of the plants need to be
undertaken carried out to identify suitable
clones and varieties. Moreover, quality planting
material of high yielding varieties should be
developed and made available at subsidized cost.
Few species are destructively extracted, there
is need to develop sustainable harvesting
systems and train the collector to reduce the
damaging effect of such extraction. Many
medicinal plants are locally consumed for
specific therapeutically advantages and many
diseases are not found in similar proportion in
the region/member country as in other parts
of region/country. These medicinal plants
need to be identified, standardized and
validated with help of scientific institution and
marketed with value addition in the member
countries.

indigenous medicinal systems. It is generally

perceived that in the name of documenting
traditional knowledge, outsiders would take
patent on the traditional knowledge of local
people. Therefore, local people need to be
trained to document their knowledge so that
their TKDL may be developed to avoid
misappropriation of their knowledge.
3.10 Capacity Building
Capacity building of all the stake
holders on different the aspects of medicinal
plants is important activities to be undertaken
to boost the medicinal plants sector in ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries. Particularly, the
trainings of field staff of Forest, Agriculture
and Horticulture Dept., farmers and collectors
and entrepreneur need to be imparted to
increase their knowledge, inculcate the skill
and technique and provide experience. The
model nursery and herbal garden should be
extensively used for the training. The training
may include nursery and afforestation /
cultivation technique, sustainable collection,
primary processing, species specific value
addition technique etc. The IEC (information
education and communication) activities to
create the potentiality of the medicinal plants
need to be taken. A visit may also be organized
for the visit of National and International
institutions by the local entrepreneurs, farmers
and officials to update their knowledge in this
field. International and National Workshop,
Seminar, Conference/Conclave, buyers and
sellers meet etc. may be organized regularly to
give boost to the sector. For capacity building
for marketing, market information system may
also be developed. Further, chain of Mandis
may also be established to facilitate the
orginised sell and purchase of the medicinal
plants products.

3.9 Documentation of Traditional

Knowledge By Local People and
Development of TKDL
There are many endemic medicinal plants
in the region. Many patents were taken by
scientists and organizations in USA, Japan and
European Countries on products of medicinal
plants of the region. Department of AYUSH,
Government of India has come out with
Traditional
Knowledge
Digital
Library(TKDL) to avoid exploitation of
traditional medicinal knowledge without 4. CONCLUSION
The long term process of global acceptance
equitable benefit sharing. The concept of
TKDL needs to be further deliberated and of traditional systems of medicine has been
broad based to cover all medicinal plants and initiated with remarkable success in the last
223

decade. The global acceptance and accelerated

domestic growth will go a long way in boosting
medicinal plants sector in ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries. This is high time that
they develop strategy collectively and identify
areas of cooperation in the medicinal plants
sector. The adoption of market oriented
strategy; formulation and implementation of
comprehensive action plans incorporating
multi-pronged integrated strategy; covering

issues, outlined in preceding sections and

subsequent industrialization along with
network of in-situ and ex-situ Conservation
Centres shall go long way in creating enormous
viable employment opportunities in the
member countries. Hopefully the medicinal
plants sector in ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries would get much needed boost and
developed to its potentiality to create large
scale livelihood systems in addition to
improving health.

REFERENCES
Champion and Seth. 1968. Forest Types of India, Forest Research Institute, Govt. of India.
Stibig, H.J., Achard, F. & Fritz, S. 2004. A new forest cover map of continental southeast Asia derived from SPOTVEGETATION satellite imagery. Applied Vegetation Science 7: 153-162, 2004. Opulus Press Uppsala.
Persson, Reidor And Janz, Klaus 1997. Assessment And Monitoring of Forest And Tree Resource. Proceeding Of The Xi
World Forestry Congress, Antalya, Volume I.

224

Valedictory Session

225

Welcome address By Shri K. Thambou Singh, Chief

Conservator of Forests (TP-1), Govt. of Manipur, India
Hon'ble Minister of Health & Family
Welfare, Government of Manipur, Shri Ph
Parijat Singh, Respected Chief Secretary,
Government of Manipur, Shri Rakesh,
Respected Former Secretary Department of
AYUSH Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare, Govt. of India, Smt. Anita Das,
Principal Secretary Forests and Environment
Ajay Narayan Jha, Government of Manipur;
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt.
of Manipur, Shri S.Singsit, representatives of
ASEAN and BIMSTEC member countries and
International organizations, Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests, Madhya Pradesh,
Kerala and Uttarakhand, Chief Executive
Officer, National Medicinal Plants Board, Shri
Sajwan, representatives of Central Government
institutions, officers of Forest Departments;
manufacturers of traditional medicines;
collectors and farmers of medicinal plants;
representatives of media, Ladies and
Gentlemen. - Good evening to all of you .
It is a matter of great pleasure for me to
extend our hearty welcome to our Hon'ble
Minister of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of Manipur, Shri Ph Parijat Singh,
who has kindly consented to grace this
Valedictory Function as the Chief Guest and
to see that in this function we come out with
the most acceptable strategies pooled together
from the vast knowledge through the past
sessions of the conclave. I would like to extend
our warm welcome to Respected Chief
Secretary, Government of Manipur, who will
preside over this valedictory function. He
always supports us in our Endeavour relating
to medicinal plants being the Minister of
Health, controlling State Medicinal Plants
Board. I also welcome Smt. Anita Das, Former
Secretary of AYUSH, to grace the occasion as

Guest of Honour. Madam has helped us in

making this conclave a possibility during her
tenure as Secretary, Department of AYUSH,
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. In fact
this conclave has been organized in
collaboration with National Medicinal Plant
Board.
I welcome the representatives of member
countries of ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries
- Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
Vietnam; representatives of International
organizations, FAO and TRAFFIC.I welcome
Principal Chief Conservators of Forests,
Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Uttarakhand. I
extend hearty welcome to representatives of
Central and state Government Institutes/
organizations, Officers of Forest Departments,
manufacturers of traditional medicines;
collectors and farmers of medicinal plants. I
welcome all delegates, resource persons and
invitees who have come to attend the function.
Last but not the least, I welcome all our friends
from media, and request them to provide their
support in our endeavour to develop this
sector in the region and to cover the function
comprehensively.
The area of ASEAN and BIMSTEC
countries is the most important region in
India with respect to Bio-diversity as it contains
one hotspot i.e. the Eastern Himalayas and
another that of Indo Malaya region partially.
A large number of people living in and around
the forests depend on these medicinal plants
for their subsistence and income and treatment
of their various ailments. Medicinal plants
sector can effectively play the role in providing
socially beneficial, environmentally benign and
economically viable livelihood systems in the
region. However, the sector is still un-

226

organized and needs to be developed and

tapped for the benefit of people of the region.
This conclave has given us ample opportunity
to deliberate all important aspects of the
commercially important medicinal plants of
the region and work out comprehensive set of
strategy and action plan to develop this sector
to its potentiality. In the conclave, every aspect
of medicinal plants has been deliberated and a
good set of recommendation has been finalized.

I hope the deliberations in the conclave will go a

long way in boosting the medicinal plant sector in
the region in general and Manipur in particular.
On behalf of the Forest Department of
Manipur and on my own, I once again welcome
the Chief Guest, the President and the Guests
of Honour and everyone present in this hall in
this valedictory function.

227

Thank you

SPEECH OF SHRI A N JHA, PRINCIPAL

SECRETARY, FORESTS & ENVIRONMENT IN THE
VALEDICTORY FUNCTION
Honble Minister of Health & Family
Welfare, Government of Manipur, Shri Ph. Parijat
Singh; Respected Chief Secretary, Government
of Manipur, Shri Rakesh; Respected Former
Secretary Department of AYUSH; Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, Smt.
Anita Das, Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Govt. of Manipur, Shri S.Singsit; Chief
Conservator of Forests ( T P 1) Govt. of
Manipur, Shri K. Thambou Singh; honoured guest
from ASEAN and BIMSTEC member countries
and International organizations; Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests, Madhya Pradesh, and
Uttarakhand; Director CCRAS, Dr. G. S. Lavekar;
representatives of Government institutions, both
from the centre and state; officers of Forest
Department; and large number of participants
from public, which include traditional medicine
practitioners, manufacturers, collectors and
farmers, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a privilege for me to be here today,
amidst all of you. I wish I could have attended the
sessions yesterday and today. But, unfortunately I
got held up in Delhi and could return only this
afternoon. For the Forest Department in Manipur,
this is indeed a very great occasion, where we have
representatives from eleven countries from the
ASEAN and BIMSTEC areas, who have come
here apart from international organizations like
FAO and TRAFFIC and also representatives from
several other states of the country. It is rare for
Manipur to host an event of this nature and
magnitude and we are honoured and privileged
that all of you are here. And I must also convey
my deep appreciation to the Forest Department,
for having managed very successfully to have
organized this conclave, invited participants from
all over the region and have ensured their
participation. This is the most commendable part

of it to have ensured participation of such a large

number of people.
For Manipur, as well as for almost all the
states in the North-Eastern region; medicinal
plants have been part of folklore and culture since
time immemorial. We have, not only very large
variety of such medicinal plants, locally available
in the region, but also very large number of
traditional practitioners. There are states,
particularly Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur,
parts of Tripura, where traditional medicine
systems far exceeds the use of other systems of
medicine, including Allopathic. For states like
Manipur and other states, situated in the
Himalayan region, this is a scarce resource and a
very precious resource. When we talk of the
resources for states, we only talk in economic
terms, monitory terms. We forget about
knowledge base. It is what had been bestowed to
us by the nature by the environment and by the
cultural traditions, which have harnessed this over
centuries and that is the knowledge based. The
knowledge base is very precious resource of such
states like us. And this needs to be tapped. This is
what we should strive and promote in this part of
the country. This can be achieved as you have
rightly said in your recommendations through
institutional support, through technical support,
by way of research and development, issues or
whether in terms of providing support for
protection of property, intellectual property right;
knowledge base, reaching the knowledge base of
the people, who are in this field, improving the
managerial and marketing expertise. This is happy
to note having amply-focused in most of your
recommendations, made as a part of the
proceedings of the conclave.

228

Finally I would like to urge the Dept. of

AYUSH in Govt. of India to consider these areas
as potentials for further developments of the
medicinal plant sector, the traditional knowledge
based sector and to liberally support the states
and if not the states directly, at least indirectly also
to setup medicinal plant processing zones, industry
clusters so that the people of the area can reach
out and market the products globally.

229

I once again, wish to thank the organizers for

having given me this opportunity to be present
before you and to address you for a short while
and I hope that we shall be able to organize
another such event, fairly early so that we can then
look back and see where we stand vis--vis the
recommendations, what we make today.
Thank you very much.

SPEECH BY SMT. ANITA DAS, FORMER

SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF AYUSH,
MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE,
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Hon'ble Chief Guest, Sri Parijat Singh
ji, Minister for Health, Govt. of Manipur.
Hon'ble Chief Secretary Sri Rakesh ji, who is
also a dear friend of longstanding, Sri Jha,
Principal Secretary Forest, Sri Singsit,
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt.
of Manipur and our Chief Host.
Hon'ble Chief Guest, I would like to
congratulate the State Govt. of Manipur in
organizing this unique conclave on Medicinal
Plants. It is indeed a rare event which was
sponsored by the Dept. of AYUSH a few
months ago when Mr. Singsit and Mr. Bala
Prasad have come up with this idea and asked
for support. I was indeed surprised at the
tremendous initiative and spirit, which was
shown and I spontaneously did agree although
the question kept cropping up as to how we
would organize this major event in this
beautiful part of the country. But Mr. Singsit
and his team of officers need to be
complemented on this organization of this
important event which has drawn a wonderful
participation from our member countries from
the BIMSTEC and ASEAN regions as well as
from senior foresters from all over the country,
experts, the Chief Executive of the National
Medicinal Plants Board Mr. Sajwan, is here
with us, Dr. Lavekar who is the Director, of
Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and
Siddha, he is here, we have representatives of
International organization like the FAO, the
TRAFFIC and many experts.
I have been here for two days. It has been
a great honour and privilege to be amongst you
during the deliberations, which were rich and
very highly informative, very analytical and
very insightful. In fact, it has been very

educative to see how across the region, which

is so rich in flora particularly in medicinal
plants as well as in traditional medicinal
knowledge to see how the issues which face us
are common, the challenges and the idea keep
coming back but if we join together and deal
with this issues from a common platform
looking to our individual concerns. I think we
can show the world the way and we can show
how important traditional medicine is today
and what kind of contribution it can make.
Each of our areas is very rich in the plants
which have traditionally been used in health
care over centuries and thereby knowledge
surrounding it and deliberations have focused
on aspects of conservation, aspects of trade,
aspects of development, marketing, all of that
and most importantly, every member country
stress the importance of the people, the local
people, the local communities, in the
preservation of these knowledge systems and
today when technology and commercialization
are here to support these great development,
we should not allow these forces to take over
and make us forget the primary conservers of
the rich heritage of medicinal plants and
traditional medicine knowledge.
It is only when our programmers will be
people centric, community oriented. If we
strengthen the community if they can earn out
of this rich resource while conserving it. When
the two ends meet, would it be a win win
situation. And the other thing of course, that
it is only when we join our hands together and
allow traditional medicine to develop
harnessing technology and all the modernity
and the modern science, which needs to be
brought to it. But we should allow it to retain

230

its identity. To retain its strength, we should not

approach it as one of the delegates in the morning
during informal discussion said we should not
allow the western model of the pharmaceutical
driven concerns to wipe out what is so precious
and at the same time so delicately balanced today
what has been preserved over the centuries as, I
think we would all agree, severely threatened today.
So this is the time to act in time frames which are
realistic and at the same time we should start action
now. And it is in this context once again, Hon'ble
Chief Guest, I would like to say that all of us from
all the different parts of the country do believe
that your state is one of the richest treasure houses
of medicinal plants and we would urge your state
medicinal board to become active, to become
forward looking and to be dynamic so that it can
draw on the resources, which the National
Medicinal Plant Board and department of
AYUSH, Govt. of India are willing to make
available. So it should come forward and has an
active healthy approach in involving the
communities. Then I think we can take a great
straight forward in your state.
Mr. Chief Guest, the traditions of the local
healers are very very strong. We were very happy,
I personally was very happy to hear the
presentation of Mr. Tombiraj who has formed
his association of local health healers, I think, we
back in the 1980's and I think there are other
associations and there are many many traditional
healers and I can see our friend here who had a
stall in the day time. He is here with us today and
these are people who carry the knowledge with
them. So, we need to support them, we need to
help them to come up and in this context, my
humble suggestion is that once in a year at least,
these forest department, the state medicinal plant

board, the health department, the community, the

NGO's should all come together in a big
celebration of medicinal plants. You can have a
day which is for it, and if you have two to three
day long celebration, let NGO's come forward,
let people come forward, let them bring the plants,
let them show the products, let the users come,
let school children come, let it be a festival
celebrating this great knowledge tradition that we
have so that once again it is brought centre stage
and people can take pride in it and people can
revive something which they carry inside of them,
but let them celebrate, revival, bring it out in the
open and I am sure that this festival will snowball
into a major festival on traditional knowledge on
the medicinal sector in this whole area of the North
East. It should become one major event, a
celebratory event in the country. Let people from
all parts of the country come enjoy in this great
festivity which can then celebrate traditional
knowledge healers, traditional knowledge as well
as our great heritage on medicinal plants. I have
taken a lot of your time, not only at this juncture,
but throughout this conclave, I am extremely sorry
for it. Much as I would have like to I just be in the
background, but thanks to Mr. Bala Prasad, my
old friend, he kept drawing me on to the stage, I
am very sorry for all the boredom that has been
crossed to you, but I would like to reiterate that it
was a great pleasure to be here in this conclave
and I would like to thank the organizers, Mr.
Singsit, your team of wonderful officers and I am
very happy to know that there are quite a number
of young women officers who look very dynamic
and they are full of energy and I am sure that you
have great potential here to bring back the
importance to the medicinal plants sector.
Thank You

231

SPEECH OF
CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF
MANIPUR (PRESIDENT)
IN THE VALEDICTORY FUNCTION
Honble Chief Guest of Valedictory function
and Minister of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of Manipur, Shri Ph. Parijat Singhji;
Smt. Anita Das, Former Secretary Department
of AYUSH, Government of India; Shri A. N. Jha,
Principal Secretary, Envt. & Forest, Government
of Manipur; Shri S. Singsit, Principal Chief
Conservator of Forest, Manipur; representatives
of ASEAN and BIMSTEC member countries
and International organizations- FAO and
TRAFFIC; Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests of other states like Madhya Pradesh and
Uttarakhand; representatives of Central
Government institutions; officers of Forest
Departments; manufacturers of traditional
medicines; collectors and farmers of medicinal
plants; representatives of the media other
distinguished invitees, ladies and gentlemen.
I consider a great honour to be invited to
participate in this valedictory function of this very
important international conclave on medicinal
plants. This is the first of its kind that has been
arranged in a remote state like Manipur and we
are all very happy to be participating in this
conclave. It is a matter great encouragement for
us that Honble Minister of Health & Family
Welfare has very kindly spared his valuable time
and has agreed to grace the function as Chief
Guest. I am indeed very happy that Mrs. Anita
Das, former Secretary has come all the way from
Delhi to participate in the conclave. On a personal
note, I want to say that we are the batch mate and
I know her from the last more than thirty six years.
She is very eminent and well informed person and
has made tremendous contribution in the field of
Ayurveda and traditional medicine.
I extend my warm greetings to all the

distinguished international delegates and all the

distinguished delegates from within the country
both from the Government institution and also
the private sectors. The deliberation of this
conclave has been going on from last two days
and I was quite impressed with the summary,
presented by Mr. Singsit. It seems that no area has
been left and all aspects have covered and
discussed in the comprehensive manner. The
recommendations, I have seen you will be a great
use for the participants of Governments of
various participating countries and to all the other
State Governments. In fact, there are so many
issues in the medicinal plants sector that it could
have gone for a number of days. But, this is the
beginning. I am sure that this is a very good
beginning. We are now to start taking actions on
the recommendations, come out during the
deliberations. I do not wish to say anything on the
items that have been discussed. But I would like
to highlight just few points that come to my mind.
And since I am working with the Govt. and more
so with the Govt. of Manipur, my comments will
be more on the activities on the Govt. sector.
When we talk of the medicinal plants in Manipur,
we find that it is being done by Forest Dept. here.
But, when we see the list of schemes, being
implemented by Forest Dept., I dont think the
scheme of medicinal plant is a major scheme. I
could be wrong, I may be corrected. But I think
more attentions need to be given to the scheme. I
would request both Principal Secretary, Forest and
Principal Chief Conservator, Forest to increase
their allocations to the scheme and draw an action
plan for the promotion of this sector. At the
Central level also if my knowledge is correct, I
think Ministry of Forest & Environment is taking
up the scheme. But, other agencies like ICAR and

232

other organizations are also taking up such

schemes. But there also it is not very important
scheme, not much investment is going into the
sector. Another point is about lack of
convergence between what Central Govt.
institutions are doing and State Govt. institutions
are doing. Here also some attention is required.
The traditional medicinal system has been
covered to some length in the recommendations.
Looking to health sector as a whole again my
comments limited to Manipur, there is very low
investment on Ayurveda, Unani and homeopathy.
I would like to take this opportunity to request to
the Honble Minister, Health and Family welfare
to give some thrust to tradition medicine sector,
which in turn lead to promotion of medicinal
plants. We all know about efficacy of these
medicines and their preventive and therapeutic
value. I was told by a Doctor in Delhi that very
high level research is going in USA on Ayurveda,
although he was an allopathic Doctor. There is no
convergence of work of Central Govt. institution
and State Govt. One more point regarding
functioning in Govt. sector e.g. State Medicinal

Plant Board looking after to cultivation is under

Health sector. There is no coordination in the
sector. It has been rightly pointed by Mrs. Anita
Das that State Medicinal Plants Board needs to
be more activated and energetic. I would urge
representatives of the ASEAN and BIMSTEC
member countries of Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Vietnam, representatives of
International organizations, FAO and TRAFFIC
and other State Governments to implement the
recommendations.
I take this opportunity to commend our
colleague Singsit for such excellent presentation
and recommendation. What is need now is the
concerted
measures
to
implement
recommendation.
Before I conclude I would congratulate
Forest Department for organizing the conclave
in very professional manner and inviting such an
excellent set of resource person. I would also like
to complement all delegates for making excellent
recommendations and making the conclave
successful.
Thank you.

233

ADDRESS OF SHRI PH. PARIJAT SINGH

HON'BLE MINISTER OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE,
GOVERNMENT OF MANIPUR
Good evening to everybody. Respected Shri
Rakesh, I.A.S. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Manipur;
Mrs. Anita Das, Former Secretary, Dept. of
AYUSH, Govt. of India; Shri A.N. Jha, Principal
Secretary, Envt. & Forests, Govt. of Manipur; Mr.
Singsit, Principal Chief Conservator, Govt. of
Manipur and representatives of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC member countries and International
organizations; Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh and
Uttarakhand; Chief Executive Officer, National
Medicinal Plants Board, Shri Sajwan;
representatives of Central institutions, officers of
Forest Departments; manufacturers of traditional
medicines; collectors and farmers of medicinal
plants; representatives of media, Ladies and
Gentlemen.
I am very happy to see the comprehensive
set of recommendations, presented by our
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. I whole
heartedly support the recommendation on
medicinal plants based industrialization. There is
urgent need to promote medicinal plants based
industrialization. It may require sometime to
establish manufacturing units of Ayurveda, Unani
and Homoeopathy drugs as we need to formulate
effective industrial policy and programme.
Nevertheless, primary processing may be initiated
forthwith. Farmers and entrepreneurs should be
trained for primary processing. These processing
will be useful value addition and improve safety
standard and effectiveness of the drugs. I like to
mention one point here, as we all know that
Manipur is a hilly state, small one, but we have a
vast land. We have a number of medicinal plants
also to be grown. From the beginning we have
started their cultivation. But, there is lack of
proper knowledge; how to use; whether it is useful
or not; that is not fully understood. That is the
problem we have. But from the beginning, we

have this traditional system of medicine and

system of giving treatment of all diseases. It is
still practiced in our state. But, giving scientific
knowledge is very much needed because out
present world is just advancing. But, we are still
using the remote and abandoned one. But the
people had already abandoned the system so that
they want to be advanced. But in Manipur, we are
so backward; we are still using the primitive
practices. So, these things are to be overcome by
having this conclave and all that because so many
research scholars, resource persons, intellectuals
and doctors are meeting here. You have all
formulated, that was just shown here by our
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and my
colleague called that is recommendations. I am
really very happy to see the recommendations
made by the conference.
The main factor leading to species decline
was considered to be habitat loss, which may be
due to land degradation, land conversion,
fragmentation, deforestation, grazing, bush fires
and/or invasive species. Other identified factors
in the decline of medicinal plant species were the
loss of pollinating insects, bio-prospecting, overharvesting, and destructive harvesting practices
like taking of the whole plant or the root, or
extensive or frequent harvest of bark. It is
suggested that conservation efforts for medicinal
plants should be increased with increasing and
utilizing the available information on these species.
Wild harvest should be regulated from time to
time the local to the international levels, and
sustainable (non-destructive) harvesting practices
should be promoted where possible. Public
awareness of the importance of medicinal plants
and their conservation must be raised and
research funding, increased.
One thing I like to mention here that we have
given financial support to the growers and so many

234

NGOs we have. They are doing their best but as

on hand all plants, fruits and all that are to be
harvested. There is no marketing facility. So,
people for what to use for those fruits, because
that is to be processed. Where those things are to
be sold out? We are giving money, they want
return also. Govt. also wants to have return. There
will be no return because there is not market for
selling. People are not consuming much, because
these can be used as drugs. All people are not
using drugs. When we required, we used drugs.
So, those things cannot be purchased. But it this
is to be processed. So, processing units are to be
started. Then people will also be happy; grower
will be happy. Because, we give money and that
money can be given back. Then they can demand
more money also. By seeing their progress and
development, we can give more money. So, we
need to do that also. The recommendations I have
seen, that is very much mentioned. The
recommendations I have seen, that is very good.
But we have to care because we have given lakhs
of rupees for nothing or for what we feel
sometime. We have to overcome all those
difficulties. It is all the time to be noted.
There are many endemic medicinal plants in
the region. Many patents were taken by scientists
and organizations in USA, Japan and European
Countries on products of medicinal plants of the
region. Department of AYUSH, Government of
India has come out with Traditional Knowledge
Digital Library (TKDL) to avoid exploitation of
traditional medicinal knowledge without equitable
benefit sharing. The concept of TKDL needs to
be further deliberated and broad based to cover
all medicinal plants and indigenous medicinal
systems.

Particularly, the trainings of field staff of Forest,

Agriculture and Horticulture Dept., farmers and
collectors and entrepreneurs need to be imparted
to increase their knowledge, inculcate the skill
and technique and provide the experience. The
model nursery and herbal garden should be
extensively used for the training. The training may
include nursery and afforestation / cultivation
technique, sustainable collection, primary
processing, species specific value addition
technique etc. The IEC (information, education
and communication) activities to create the
potentiality of the medicinal plants need to be
taken.

There is not only need to formulate and

implement projects on the basis of
recommendations of the conclave, but also
monitor them vigorously. I would take this
opportunity to implore representatives of
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries to monitor the
implementation on the recommendations of the
conclave in their respective countries. I would also
request respective Government to provide
necessary support for the implementation of the
recommendations of the conclave. I would also
suggest both electronic and print media to cover
the recommendation of the conclave extensively.
I would congratulate all delegates particularly
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries - Bhutan,
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the last but not the least I would
congratulate Forest Department Manipur for
organizing the conclave successfully. I am very
happy to see the structure of the program and
quality of resource person. I found that all
aspects of medicinal plants were deliberated in
Capacity building of all the stake holders on depth with very high level of scientific inputs. I
different aspects of medicinal plants is important thank all delegates coming from outside for their
activities to be taken up to boost the medicinal commitment and contribution.
plants sector in ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.
Thank you very much.

235

VOTE OF THANKS BY SHRI BALA PRASAD,

CHIEF CONSERVATOR OF FORESTS (TP -2),
GOVERNMENT OF MANIPUR, INDIA IN
VALEDICTORY SESSION
Hon'ble's Minister of Health & Family
Welfare, Government of Manipur Shri Ph.
Parijat Singh; respected Chief Secretary
Government of Manipur; Shri Rakesh
respected former secretary Dept. of AYUSH
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Government of India Smt. Anita Das Principle
Secretary of Forest & Environment Shri Ajay
Narayan Jha Principle Chief conservator of
Forests Government of Manipur, Shri S.
Singsit; representative of ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries & International
organization; Principle Chief Conservator of
Forests of Uttrakhand Shri RBS Rawat, Chief
Executive Officer, National Medicine Plant
Board, Shri B.S. Sajwan; representatives of
centre government of institutions; officers of
Forest Department; manufacturer of
traditional medicine and collectors and farmers
of medicinal plants; representative of Media;
Ladies and Gentleman good evening to all of
you,
As every good thing comes to an end, we
have come at the end of this Conclave
particularly about the session in this conference
hall. Tomorrow we have field trips on behalf
of Forest Department, Government of
Manipur first of all I will thank to our Hon'ble
Minister for sparing time in spite of his tight
schedule. Ladies & Gentleman today is a very
important day in Manipur as it is Nupi Lan
Day & people are emotionally involved in the
celebration of this day & very busy with
various functions. In spite of his tight schedule
the Minister has spared his valuable time for
us, we are really grateful to him.
Sir, your acceptance to our invitation for
this Valedictory Function as a Chief Guest has

motivated us and I can assure you that

recommendations will not be kept on shelf, we
will start implementing them very soon. We
will make all out efforts with our brothers and
sisters from ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries
to make these recommendations effectively
implemented and this session will not the be
the only session there will be a lot of follow
up actions.
I also take this opportunity to thank Shri
Rakesh who has been always a motivating force
for us. Though he is man of few words but his
few words have been very valuable to us and
he has been guiding us. He was Forest
Commissioner in 1988-89 and he has been
always helping our Department in different
capacities. Though he is a Chief Secretary, for
even a small thing we approach him, he will go
all out to help us and we hope he will continue
to do so in implementing the recommendation
of this Conclave.
I will also thank Madam Anita Das, under
whom I had privilege to work in Department
of AYUSH and she has always been positive.
In spite of resistance in the department of
AYUSH, she has given us Rs 10 lakhs for this
Conclave and not only the money is important,
She has reposed faith in us . This is important
point. When first time I and Shri S. Singsit
went to her, she did not take fraction of second
and she agreed and she in fact called Shri B. S.
Sajwan at that time Since then none of our file
has been stopped in AYUSH. AYUSH has
been very supportive for this Conclave. Thank
you Mam for reposing faith in us.
I thank our friend, philosopher and guide
Ajay Narayan Jah with whom I had the
privilege to work in District Ukhrul also and

236

our very respected principal secretary. He has

been always supporting to us we will hope he
will also support in implementation of
recommendations of this Conclave. Thank you
sir. I will take this opportunity so thank Dr.
R.B.S. Rawat, the founder Chief Executive
Officer of National Medicinal Plants Board and
at the moment he is the Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests in Uttrakhand. In spite
of his tight schedule, he has been able to come
and not only he came, but also he has
contributed by sharing his experience and has
personally chaired the session of
recommendation and he has contributed in the
final shaping of this Conclave and
recommendation of Conclave and he is one of
the few officers who have dealt medicinal plants
from village level to national level. So, I request
him to guide us in implementing the
recommendation of this Conclave. I take this
opportunity to convey my thanks to B.S Sajwan
Chief Executive Officer, National Medicinal
Plants Board, who has always accepted our
request and in fact Manipur is the first state
where the modern nursery exclusive for the
medicinal plant have been sanctioned and two
model nurseries one at Imphal and one at
Ukhrul are in the process to establishment by
the Forest Department and we will take his
full support in implementing the
recommendations of this Conclave. I take this
opportunity to thank other important
resource persons e.g. Director, Central Council
for Research in Ayurveda Dr. and Siddha Dr.
G. S. Lavekar; Director Pharmacoepial
Laboratory of India Medicine Dr. D. R. Lohar;
Member Secretary, National Biodiversity
Authority Dr. K. Venkatraman; Representative
of Indian Council of Agricultural Research Dr.
Satyabrata Maiti who has come from Gujarat
and Dr. V.K. Gupta from CSIR, Dr. L. Puni
Mao, who is representing Indian Council for
Forestry Research and Education; Dr. S.P.
Tripathi Director in Ministry in DONER;
Mr. Tusar Dixit Executive Director RD, Shri
Abhay Kumar Sinha from PHARMEXCIL.

I am very happy to convey thanks and

gratitude to all my brothers and sisters who
have come from member countries of ASEAN
and BIMSTEC. Really time was very short.
In fact Bangladesh people could get the
clearance from the Bangladesh Government and
even Minister of Home affairs only two days
back. It was not only our invitation or
persuasion, but also they made all out efforts.
Their keeness to come also helped us in making
this gathering a good gathering a really
international event in real sense. Out of fifteen
members of ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries
twelve member are here and there not
represented by any N.G.O. I am not casting
aspersion on N.G.O. or university people, I
will like to emphasize that they are
government representative. They have been
nominated by their Government. Therefore
there is inherent commitment of these
Governments
to
implement
these
recommendations. So we will work together.
So let me take this opportunity convey my
thanks and gratitude to Mr. A.K.M. Haruner
Rashid, Registrar, Bangladesh Board of Urani
& Ayurvedic Systems of medicine,, Dhaka; Mr.
A.K. Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Head, Herbal
and Ayurvedic Div. The Acme Laboratories
Ltd. Dhaka; S.M. Shajahan President of
Bangladesh Ayurbelik Aoushed Shilpa Samity,
Anirban Medicinal Industry, Dhaka. Mr.
Raling Ngawang Drukda, Chief Forestry
Officer (Project Director)Royal Botanical
and Recreational Parks Division,Dept.of
Forest, Ministry of Agriculture, Bhutan; Dr.
Chua Kui Hong, Head of Traditional/
Complementary & Alternative Medicine,
Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Govt. of
Brunei Darussalam (She must be happy to
come. She made wonderful presentation.); Ms
Nouv Phalla, Deputy Chief, Drug Registration
Bureau, In charge of Traditional Medicine,
Dept. of Drug & Food, Ministry of Health of
Combodia; Dra Sri Indrawaty, Apt., MKES,
National Agency for Drug and Food Control
(NADFC), Indonesia; Anchalee Chuthaputti,

237

Deputy Director, Foreign Affairs Institute of Thai

Traditional Medicine, Department for
Development of Thai Traditional &
Alternative Medicine, Ministry of Public
Health, Thailand; Dr. Sulaikah, V.K. Moideen,
Deputy Director, National Pharmaceutical
Control Bureau, Kaula Lampur, Malaysia;
Mr.Vilaysack Xayasan, Deputy of Food and
Drug Section, Food and Drug Section, Salvanae
Province, Lao; Dr.Dharmatma Lai Srivastava
Scientific Officer, Dept. of Plant Resources,
Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation,
Government of Nepal; Dr. S.K.D. Frank F.
Niranjan, Senior Research Officer, Sri Lanka
Council for Agricultural Research Policy; ( I
think this gentleman faced a lot of problem and
I am happy that you have come to contribute
in this Conclave.) and Pham Van Quyen,
Director of Business Development, Veitnam
and I will also thank the representative of the
International Organisations from FAO Mrs.
Salini I take this opportunity to thank all the
resource person, chairman, the co- chairman
and rapporteur of all the technical sessions.
Special thanks to Mr. B. C.Mehta who has
contributed a lot and he came from Banglore;
Dr. Girdhar Kinnhal, Dr. Asha Gupta. I would
like to thank some persons who are not here,
but made a lot of contribution. I will also like
to thank the Principal Secretary, Home,
Government of Manipur Shri D.. S. Poonia. He
has helped us. There were some problems
regarding protected area permit with some of
the delegatesate and he went out of the way to
help us. Though he is not here but my thanks
to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests
Meghalaya, Dr. V.K. Nautiyal, Principal Chief
Conservator, M.P. Mr. P.K. Sukhla,
representative of TRAFFIC Mr. Samir Sinha.
I will also thanks those organizations which
have supported us not only financially but
reposing faith in us i. e. WHO, India; Ministry
of DONER; Department of Commerce,
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of
India.

I take this opportunity to first of all to thank

Mr. Nixon and Nabachandra, Department of
Earth Science. Let us give them big hand. They
made flawless arrangement of projection system.
They have always been great support. I will take
this opportunity to thanks the RIMS staff for
providing the hall and making the light
arrangement and keeping the generator stand by.
There was no power power failure here. I really
thanks to them and I am grateful to my fellow
officer of my department who worked day and
night to make this event successful.
First of all I take the Coordination
committee deputy Director Shri Th. Ibobi
Singh; Assistant coordinator Shri Mohendro
Prarap Singh; Member Dr. D.D. Haokip and
Shri Shri L. Baite, who also organized transport
and accommodation. I will thank members of
technical committee Shri D.J.N. Anand; Shri
N. Kipgen, Shri K. Jagadishwor Singh, Shri Th.
M. P. Singh, Smt Soreiphy Vashum and Mr.
A.B. Singh. the arrangement committee under
Ibobi Singh. The other member of the
committee Dr. D.D. Haokip, L. Joykumar
Singh, K.S. Tawmbing, Shri Kh. Bira Singh Mr.
Tombi, Mr. bira, Shri N. Somerandro Singh. I
will also thank chief accommodation sub
committee chairman Shri L. Baite and his team
of officers, Shri Kh. Ibomcha Singh, Smt. Roui
kullai, Shri K. Shyam Singh, Shri H.
Shantikumar Singh; the catering committee
headed by Shri S. Dhananjoy Singh, Shri H.
Brajamani Sharma, Mrs Soreiphy Vashum, Shri
Sh. Shamu Singh I thank Dr. Khaijiliang who
is conservator of forest and team of officers
consisting of Shri L. Lukhoi Singh Th. Bira
Singh for organizing an exhibition. The field
visit was organized by Shri K. Jagadishwore
Singh and his team member Shri S. Dhananjoy
Singh, Shri L. Muhindro Singh and Shri Kh.
Brojendro Singh, and the media Sub committee
P.N. Prasad, Shri L. Joykumar Singh, Shri B.
B. Sharma, Deputy Director, News, AIR and
Sh. Premananda Sharma.
It I have left anybody, I feel very sorry for

238

that and I take this opportunity to thank each and

everybody who has contributed for making this
Conclave successful Ladies and Gentle.
Last but not the least finally once again. I
thank our Chief Guest for sparing his valuable

time in spite of his valuable schedule. Sir, your

presence have really motivated us and we will
see the recommendations of the Conclave are
implemented in letter and spirit.
Thank You very much.

239

Field Visit

240

REPORT ON VISIT OF DELEGATES OF THE

INTERNATIONAL CONCLAVE ON MEDICINAL
PLANTS OF ASEAN AND BIMSTEC COUNTRIES TO
INSTITUTE OF BIORESOURCES AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT, IMPHAL
The delegates of the International Conclave
on Medicinal Plants of ASEAN and BIMSTEC
Countries held at Jubilee Hall, RIMS, Imphal
during the December 11-13, 2008, visited Institute
of Bioresources and Sustainable Development
(Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India),
Imphal on 13.12. 2008. Shri Bala Prasad,
Coordinator of the International Conclave
introduced all the delegates to the Director and
scientists/officers of the institute and briefed
about the purpose of the field visit.
After a brief introduction, Dr. M.
Rohinikumar Singh, Director of the institute
made a comprehensive presentation before the
delegates about the mission, goal and objectives
as well as on going research, extension
programmes and the achievements and
technologies, developed by the institute based
on some useful bioresources particularly
medicinal plants and microbes of the region.
Delegates showed very keen interested in the
research and development programmes being
carried out by the institute and suggested that
ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries would also
like to have collaborative works with IBSD,
Imphal as they are also working in the same
areas, especially on medicinal plant resources
and their technology development. During the
presentation, Director of the institute
requested all the delegates to visit laboratories
where concerned scientists showed the research
and developmental activities, carried out by
them in their specific areas.
During the visit to Microbial Resources
Division, Dr. N.C. Talukdar, Scientist E and
Head of the division briefed the delegates about
the work being carried out by their

laboratories on enrichment of vermi-compost

with useful microbes, fermentation of Ngari
(fermented fish), Soibum (fermented bamboo
shoot), Hawaizar (fermented soyabean) and
Cynobacteria. Delegates showed keen interest
on development of the bioactive molecules
from microbes. During the interaction, Dr.
N.C. Talukdar informed the delegates that he
is developing microbial consortia which can
be easily utilized by farmers for enriching their
vermicompost during the vermin-composting
and it would be very useful for high
productivity of agricultural and medicinal and
aromatic crops.
Delegates then visited to the Plant
Biotechnology, Plant Taxonomy and Natural
Product Chemistry Laboratories of Medicinal
and Horticultural Resources Division.
Delegates were very happy to see the work
being carried out by the natural product
chemistry lab and plant tissue culture on
development of medicinal (essential oils for
perfumery and medicinal values, Haldiplus for
cold and muscular pain, GingerPlus for cough)
and nutraceutical products (passion and Citrus
fruit juice concentrate and juice powder) and
tissue culture protocols of medicinal, aromatic
and horticultural plants. Dr. V.S. Rana,
Scientist, natural product chemistry and InCharge, Medicinal and Horticultural
Resources Division briefed the delegates about
the work being carried out by the division and
natural product chemistry lab. Dr. Rana
informed the delegates that natural product
chemistry is working on the identification of
essential oil yielding medicinal and aromatic
plants for their recommendation for

241

commercial cultivation in Manipur. Besides the

works are being carried out on identification of
bioactive molecules, product standardization and
testing of medicinal and horticultural plants of
the region. Dr. Rana briefly explained about the
instrumentation, methodology and process used
for the chemical analysis and development of
HaldiPlus (for cold and muscular pain)
GinberPlus (curing of cough) and nutraceutical
products using passion fruit and Citrus fruits
juices. During the discussion the issue of safety
and efficacy was also discussed. He further
informed all the delegates that the Facilitation
Centre on Medicinal Plants has been established
by National Medicinal Plants Board, New Delhi
at IBSD, Imphal in a project mode initially for
three years to provide the technological
information and knowledge on medicinal
plants especially to the farmers and
entrepreneurs of the state. He also informed
that Facilitation Centre on Medicinal Plants
has documented the information such as agrotechniques of about 32 commercially
important medicinal plants, buyers etc., for the
farmers and also giving training the farmers/
NGOs on project formulation and commercial
cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants
using good agricultural practices. He also
informed that Facilitation Centre has opened a

stall at RIMS, Imphal during the International

Conclave and had displayed the products
specially essential oils obtained from different
medicinal and aromatic plants of the region and
given printed documents on agro-techniques
and other information on medicinal plants etc.,
to more than 200 visitors from Manipur, other
statess of India and aboard during the
International Conclave.
Delegates also appreciated the work done
by the Mr. Sunil Thorat, Scientist,
Bioresources Database Unit on the collection,
documentation and development of the
database on medicinal and horticultural plants.
Later on delegates visited to the vermicompost
demonstration Unit and green and net houses
of the institute having the germplasm of the
different medicinal, aromatic and horticultural
plants collected from the different areas of
Manipur and concerned scientists accompanied
the delegates. Delegates and the scientists
discussed the possibilities of future
collaborative works in their respective areas
based on the some useful bioresources
including medicinal and aromatic plants for the
socio-economic development of the ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries.

242

REPORT ON FIELD VISIT OF THE KEIBUL LAMJAO

NATIONAL PARK FOR STUDYING ITS ECOSYSTEM
WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE STUDY OF
RARE MEDICINAL PLANT OCCURING AT THE PARK
The delegates after visiting IBSD, Imphal
proceeded towards the Keibul Lamjao National
Park, which is famous for its unique ecosystem.
Keibul Lamjao Nationa Park is known all over
the world to be the only floating national park
and the only home of the one of the most
beautiful deer in the universe, the Browantlered deer, locally known as, Sangai.
The delegates on arriving at Keibul
Lamjao National Park were warmly welcomed
by Shri K.J. Singh Conservator of Forests,
Wildlife, Manipur and Shri L.M Singh Deputy
Conservator of Forests, Park & Sanctuary,
Manipur. Both the officers briefed the delegates
about the National Park and its medicinal
plants, its unique eco-system and it is famous , the Sangai and other cohabitats. The delegates
were taken inside the park on boat to have first
hand experience of the ecosystem including
medicinal plants
Sangai, once thought extinct was
located by E.P. Gee, the then Hony. Secretary,
Eastern Region, Indian Board for wildlife in
1953 at Keibul Lamjao. In 1959, in an exercise
to ascertain the status of the animal in Keibul
Lamjao, he counted six heads and this became
the beginning of conservation efforts of Sangai
at Keibul Lamjao. Since then both the State
and Central government with the support of
IUCN started all efforts for protection and
preservation of this rare animal.
With a view to ensuring protection to
the animal, Keibul Lamjao was declared as
protected forest in 1965 and subsequently
elevated as National Park in 1977. Declaration
as a National Park has been effective in the

preservation effort of the animal. The character

of the park underwent change - physical as well
the vegetation of the commissioning of Ithai
barrage. This has an effect on the ecosystem of
the park. However, Forest Department has
been its best by taking up various measures to
make the National Park as safe and habitable
as possible for the Sangai. The population of
Sangai is raising steadily and as per census
conducted in 2003, 180 heads were recorded.
Truly, it is sign of successful conservation
effort.
The park support aquatic and wetland
vegetation. The forest type on the hillocks
inside and hills surrounding the park exhibits
near character of East Himalayan moist and
mixed deciduous forest (3 c/ e3) - Champion
and Seth, 1968 being characterized by the
presence of deciduous species like Pastanopsis
hysterix, schima wallichii, Bauhinia purpunea.
The phumdi (the floatingbiomass) in park is
very rich in plant diversity, many of them have
medicinal values and being used by local
inhabitants for treating a variety of common
ailments and even some serious diseases.
About 48 species have been recorded
from phumdi by Prof. H. Tombi Singh. Some
of the plants are consumed by local people and
these plants are said to have high nutritional
values. This could be one of the reason, why
the people living in and around the park despite
being economically poor, do not have the
problem of malnutrition as commonly noticed
in other parts of the state. Some of the plants
which have been claimed to have medicinal
properties, mention may be made of Ipomea

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aquatica, Alpinia jalanga, A. rigua, Hedychium

coronarium, oenanthera javanica etc. However,
scientific validating of their efficacy on curative
efficiency are still required to be made in
scientific manner. One thing, however, is
certain that the park is a repository of various
plant species which have high medicinal values.

Future research in this direction will unveil

the truth. It may prove soon for the whole
world not only for the people of Keibul
Lamjao.
The delegates were very happy with their
visit.

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PROGRAMME
INTERNATIONAL CONCLAVE ON MEDICINAL
PLANTS FOR ASEAN AND BIMSTEC COUNTRIES
DURING 11-13 DECEMBER, 2008
Day I

11 December, 2008 (Thursday)

9:00 10:00 a.m. Registration of Delegates
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Inaugural Session

Welcome Address
Shri S. Singsit, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Govt. of Manipur, India
Keynote Address
Shri B.S Sajwan, Chief Executive Officer, National Medicinal Plants Board, Govt. of India
Presidential Address
Smt. Anita Das, Former Secretary, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of India
Address By Chief Guest Shri Th. Debendra Singh, Honble Minister for Revenue, Forests & Environment and Law & LA,
Govt. of Manipur, India
Vote of Thanks Shri Bala Prasad, Chief Conservator of Forests (TP -2), Government of Manipur, India
11:00 11:30 a. m. Tea Break
11:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Technical Session I
Emerging Global Scenario and Potential and Prospects of Medicinal Plants for ASEAN and
BIMSTEC countries
Chairman
Shri B.S. Sajwan, CEO, NMPB, Government of India
Co-chairmanShri P. N. Prasad Conservator of Forests, Working Plan and Training, Government of Manipur,
India
Rapporteur

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Shri N. Somorendro Singh, WPSO, Government of Manipur, India

1.Medicinal Plants for Economic Livelihood for Communities By Smt. Anita Das, Former
Secretary, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India
2. Emerging global scenario of Medicinal Plants By Shri A. K. Sinha, Assistant Regional
Director, Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council, India
3. A Framework for Developing Good Agricultural Practices for Cultivation for Medicinal
Plants By Dr. Satyabrata Maiti, National Research Center for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Anand,
Gujarat, India
4. International Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
(ISSC- MAP): Perspective for application By Shri Giridhar Kinhal and Shri Samir Sinha, Head,
TRAFFIC, India
5. Recent Research in Medicinal Plants in ICFRE Institution By Dr. L. Puni Mao, Head
Minor Forest Products Division, F.R.I. Dehradun, India
6. Research in Medicinal Plants By Dr. G.S.Lavekar, Director, CCRAS, Department Of AYUSH,
Ministry of Health & FW, Govt. of India

1:30 2:30 p.m. Lunch break

2:30 4:30 p.m.

Technical session II
Commercially Important Species for ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries and expectations of
Traditional Medicine Industries
Chairman Shri V. K. Nautiyal, PCCF, Meghalaya, India
Co-chairman Shri Bala Prasad, Chief Conservator of Forests (TP-2), Government of Manipur, India
Rapporteur
Shri Joykumar Singh, Divisional Forest Officer, Ukhrul, Govt. of Manipur, India
1.Marketing and Management of Medicinal Plants in Madhya Pradesh A Success Story By
Dr. P.K Shukla, PCCF and Director, State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh,
India
2.Control Methods for Medicinal Plant Material and Standards for contaminant and residue
By Dr. D.R. Lohar, Director, Pharmacopoeial Laboratory for Indian Medicine, Department of
AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India
3. Quality Assurance and Traceability is the key to successful marketing of Medicinal, Aromatic
and Dye Plants (MADPs) By Shri Subhash Mehta, Trustee, Devarao Shivaram Trust, Bangalore,
India
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4. Expectation of Unani industry By Dr. K. M. Siddiqui, Assistant Director, CCRUM, Govt. of

India
5. Expectation of traditional healers in Manipur By Shri N. Tombi Raj, President, Apunba
Manipur Maiba-Maibi Phurup, (Manipur State Traditional Healers Assn.)
4:30 5:30 p.m.

Technical session III

Access, Benefit Sharing and Policy Framework on Protection of Traditional Knowledge
Associated with Medicinal Plants
Chairman Dr. P. K. Shukla, PCCF and Director, State Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh,
India
Co-chairman Shri Th. Ibobi Singh, Conservator of Forests, Central Forest Circle, Govt. of Manipur, India
Rapporteur Shri H. Brajamani Sharma DFO, Working Plan Division- I, Govt. of Manipur, India
1.Access Benefit Sharing and Policy Framework on Protection of Traditional Knowledge
By Dr. V. K. Gupta, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Head IT Division, New
Delhi, India
2.Biological Diversity Act & Traditional Knowledge By Dr. K. Venkataraman, Secretary, National
Biodiversity Authority, Chennai, India
Day II

12/12/2008 (Friday)
9:00 a.m 12:30 p.m -

Technical session IV Current Status including regulatory regime of Medicinal Plants and their products in ASEAN
and BIMSTEC countries
Chairman Smt. Anita Das, Former Secretary, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
Government of India
Co-chairman Dr. S. K. D. Frank F. Niranjan, Senior Research Officer, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research,
Sri Lanka
Rapporteur Shri S. Dhananjoy Singh, DFO, Bishnupur Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur, India
1.Presentation of Country Paper of Bangladesh - By Mr. A. K. M. Haruner Rashid, Registrar,
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Bangladesh Board of Unani and Ayurvedic Systems of Medicine, Bagladesh, Dhaka

2.Presentation of Country Paper of Bhutan By Raling Ngawang Drukda, Chief Forestry Officer
(Project Director), Royal Botanical and Recreational Parks Division, Dept. of Forest, Ministry of
Agriculture, Bhutan
3.Presentation of Country Paper of Brunei By Dr. Chua Kui Hong, Head of Traditional /
Complementary Medicine & Alternative Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Government of Brunei,
Darussalam
4.Presentation of Country Paper of Cambodia By Ms. Nouv Phalla, Deputy Chief of Drug
Registration Bureau, Department of Drug and Food of Ministry of Health, Cambodia
5.Presentation of Country Paper of India By Shri B.S Sajwan, Chief Executive Officer, National
Medicinal Plants Board, Govt. of India.
6.Presentation of Country Paper of Indonesia By Dra. Sri Indrawaty, Apt, MKes NADFC,
Jakarta, Indonesia
7.Presentation of Country Paper of Lao By Mr. Vilaysack Xayasan, Department of Health of
Salavane Province, Lao, PDR
8. Presentation of Country Paper of Malaysia By Dr. Sulaikah V.K. Moideen, Deputy Director,
National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau, Kuala Laumpur, Malaysia
9.Presentation of Country Paper of Nepal By Mr.Dharmatma Lal Srivastava, Scientific Officer,
Dept. of Plant Resources, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal
10.Presentation of Country Paper of Sri Lanka By Dr. S.K.D.Frank F. Niranjan, Senior Research
Officer, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy, Colombo, Sri Lanka
11. Presentation of Country Paper of Thailand By Miss. Anchalee Chuthaputti, Deputy Director
(Foreign Affairs) & Senior Pharmacist, Bangkok, Thailand
12. Presentation of Country Paper of Vietnam By Pham Van Quyen, Director of Business
Development, Veitnam
13. Marketing of Medicinal Plants and Creation of Livelihood Success Story By Dr R.B.S
Rawat, PCCF, Uttaranchal and Shri S.M. Joshi, Forest Department, Govt. of Uttaranchal, India
14.Sustainble Harvesting of Kalmegh ( Andrographis Paniculata), A Medicinal Plant at
Compartment No. 123, Jagdalpur Range, Baster Forest Division, Chhatisgarh By Shri S. P.
Tripathy, Director, Ministry of DONER, Govt. of India.
15.Strategy for Development of Medicinal Plants Sector in ASEAN and BIMSTEC Countries
By Shri Bala Prasad, Chief Conservator of Forests, (TP) Forest Department, Manipur, India
12:30 1:30 p.m. - Business Session - One to one business meeting
Rapporteur N. Sonzalian, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Admn & Plg, Govt. of Manipur, India

248

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3:45 4:45 p.m. - Presentation of Groups and Finalisation of Recommendations

Chairman Dr RBS Rawat, IFS, PCCF, Uttaranchal
Co-chairman Miss. Anchalee Chuthaputti, Deputy Director (Foreign Affairs) & Senior Pharmacist, Bangkok,
Thailand
Rapporteur
Shri S. Dhananjoy Singh, DFO, Bishnupur Forest Division, Manipur, India
5:00 6:00 p.m. - Valedictory Session
Welcome address By Shri K. Thambou Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests (TP-1), Govt. of Manipur, India
Recommendation of the Conclave
By Shri S. Singsit, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of Manipur, India
Speech by Guest of Honour
Shri A.N Jha, Principal Secretary, Forests & Environment, Govt. of Manipur, India
Speech by Guest of Honour By Smt. Anita Das, Former Secretary, Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
Govt. of India
Presidential speech
Shri Rakesh, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Manipur
Speech by the Chief Guest
By Shri Ph. Parijat Singh, Honble Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Manipur
Vote of Thanks By Shri Bala Prasad, Chief Conservator of Forests (TP-2), Govt. of
Manipur
Rapporteur Shri S. Dhananjoy Singh, DFO, Bishnupur Forest Division, Manipur, India
Day III 13/12/2008 (Saturday)
9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. - Field Visit
1.Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development, Imphal, Manipur, India
2. Keibul Lamjao National Park, Manipur, India

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ORGANISING COMMITTEE

INTERNATIONAL CONCLAVE ON MEDICINAL

PLANTS FOR ASEAN AND BIMSTEC COUNTRIES
Date

11-13 December

Venue

Jubilee Hall, RIMS, Imphal

Chief Patron

Shri Th. Debendra Singh,

Minister for Revenue, Forest & Environment,
Law and
Legislative Affair, Government of Manipur

Patron

1. Shri A. N. Jha,
Principal Secretary, Forests and Environment,
Government of Manipur

2. Shri S. Singsit,
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests,
Government of Manipur
WORKSHOP COORDINATION COMMITTEE
1. Shri Bala Prasad,
Chief Conservator of Forests (TP-2),
Govt. of Manipur

Co-ordinator

2. Shri Th. Ibobi Singh,

Conservator of Forests, Central Forest Circle,
Govt. of Manipur

Deputy Co-ordinator

3. Shri L. Baite, Conservator of Forests,

Social Forestry Circle, Govt. of Manipur

Member

4. Dr. D.D. Haokip, Conservator of

Forests, Bamboo, Govt. of Manipur

Member

Assistant
Co-ordinator

5. Shri Th. M.P. Singh,

Divisioal Forest Officer,
Central Forest Division, Manipur
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
1. Shri Bala Prasad, CCF (TP -2), Govt. of Manipur
2. Shri D.J.N. Anand, Conservator of Forests,
Planning and Administration, Govt. of Manipur
3. Shri N. Kipgen, Conservator of Forests,
Northern Forest Circle, Govt. of Manipur
4. Shri K. Jagadishwor Singh, Conservator of Forests,
Wildlife, Govt. of Manipur
5. Shri Th. M. P. Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
Central Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
6. Smt Soreiphy Vashum, Divisional Forest Officer,
Research, Silviculture & Training Division,
Govt. of Manipur
7. Shri A.B. Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,

262

Chairman
Member

Member

Member

Member
Member

Working Plan Division No-II, Govt. of Manipur

Work Allotment

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Member

Paper acceptance
Souvenir & brochure
Publication of proceedings
Advertisement
Correspondences
Programme
Recommendation

ARRANGEMENT SUB-COMMITTEE
1. Shri Th. Ibobi Singh, Conservator of Forests,
Central Forest Circle, Govt. of Manipur
2. Dr. D.D. Haokip,Conservator of Forests,
Bamboo, Govt. of Manipur
3. L. Joykumar Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
Eastern Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
4. K.S. Tawmbing, Divisional Forest Officer,
Social Forestry Division No. IV, Govt. of Manipur
5. Shri Kh. Bira Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
Social Forestry Division, Govt. of Manipur
6. Shri N. Somorendro Singh, WPSO
Forest Department, Govt. of Manipur

- Chairman
- Co-Chairman
- Member
- Member
- Member
- Member

Work Allotment
1. Hall decoration - Backdrop, welcome banner, sitting arrangements, festoon, flags
2. Sound and light system
3. Invitation Card - Drawing up of invitee list & distribution
4. Badges / Banquets
5. Registration of delegates, Officials etc.
6. Organising opening & valedictory functions
7. Running office at venue
8. Arrangement for meeting of Working Group
9. Cultural Program
ACCOMMODATION SUB-COMMITTEE
1
Shri L. Baite, Conservator of Forests,
- Chairman
Social Forestry Circle, Govt. of Manipur
2.

Shri Kh. Ibomcha Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,

Soil Conservation Division, Govt. of Manipur

3.

Member

Smt. Roui kullai, Dy.Conservator of Forests,

- Member
Wildlife(H.Q)& Zoological Garden, Govt. of Manipur
4. Shri K. Shyam Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
- Member
Thoubal Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
5. Shri H. Shantikumar Singh, ACF(HQ),
- Member
Forest Head Office, Govt. of Manipur
Work Allotment:
1. Accommodation, Transport & TA / DA
2. Booking of Hotel for VIPs, officials
3. Booking of Hotel for outside delegates & exhibitors, NGO representatives

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4. Transport arrangements
5. Reception of VIPs, delegates etc.
6. Coordination with the hotels for
meal, breakfast for the guest
CATERING SUB- COMMITTEE
1. Shri S. Dhananjoy Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
Bishnupur Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
2. Shri H. Brajamani Sharma, Divisional Forest Officer,
Working Plan Division No.I, Govt. of Manipur
3. Mrs Soreiphy Vashum, Divisional Forest Officer,
Research, Silviculture & Training Division, Govt. of Manipur
4. Shri Sh. Shamu Singh, Asstt. Conservator of Forests,
Central Forest Circle, Govt. of Manipur
Work allotment:
1. Catering for lunch, dinner
2. Tea, snacks during the session
3. Organizing Conclave dinner for the VIPs and selected invitees
EXHIBITION SUB-COMMITTEE
1. Dr. Khaizalian, Conservator of Forests,
Eastern Forest Circle, Govt. of Manipur
2. Shri L. Lukhoi Singh,Divisional Forest Officer,
Tengnoupal Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
3. Shri. Th. Bira Singh,Divisional Forest Officer,
Social Forestry Division, Govt. of Manipur

Chairman

Member

Member

Member

Chairman

Member

Member

Chairman

Member

Member

Member

Work allotment:
1.

Setting up stalls for exhibition

2.

Coordination with the exhibitors

FIELD VISIT SUB-COMMITTEE

1. Shri K. Jagadishwore Singh, Conservator of Forests,
Wildlife, Govt. of Manipur
2. Shri S. Dhananjoy Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
Bishnupur Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
3. Shri L. Muhindro Singh, Dy. Conservator of Forests,
Park & Sanctuary, Govt. of Manipur
4. Shri Kh. Brojendro Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,
Northern Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur
Work allotment:
1.

Organizing field visit for the delegates, officials etc.

2. Arranging lunch, tea, snacks for the field visit

MEDIA SUB-COMMITTEE
1. Shri P. N. Prasad, Conservator of Forests,
Working Plan, Research & Training, Govt. of Manipur
2. Shri L. Joykumar Singh, Divisional Forest Officer,

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Chairman

Member

3.
4.

Eastern Forest Division, Govt. of Manipur

Shri B. B. Sharma, Deputy Director, News, AIR,
Imphal, Govt. of India
.
Shri Sh. Premananda Sharma, Journalist

Member

Member

Work allotment:
1. Preparation of Media Campaign Plan & its Implementation, Execution of Media Campaign Plan
2. Coordination with the press both print and electronic media.
3. Media briefing
4. Organizing press conference.

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PHOTOGRAPH OF RESOURCE PERSONS

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