International Journal of Innovative Pharmaceutical … Department of Pharmacognosy, Kottam Institute of Pharmacy, Mahaboobnagar - 509125, Telangana, INDIA Email: [email protected]

REVIEW ARTICLE Shubhrajit Mantry et.al / IJIPSR / 2 (10), 2014, 2498-2532

Department of Pharmacognosy ISSN (online) 2347-2154

Available online: www.ijipsr.com September Issue 2498

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS

1N.Madana Gopal,

2J.Tejaswini,

3Shubhrajit Mantry*,

4S.Anil Kumar

Kottam Institute of Pharmacy, Mahaboobnagar, Telangana, INDIA

Corresponding Author:

J.Tejaswini

Department of Pharmacognosy,

Kottam Institute of Pharmacy,

Mahaboobnagar - 509125, Telangana, INDIA

Email: [email protected]

Mobile: +91 9581454929

International Journal of Innovative

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research www.ijipsr.com

Abstract

Plants have been used in treating human diseases for thousands of years. Medicinal plants are used at

the household level by women taking care of their families, at the village level by medicine men or

tribal shamans, and by the practitioners of classical traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda,

Chinese medicine, or the Japanese Kampo system. According to the World Health Organization, over

80% of the world's population, or 4.3 billion people, rely upon such traditional plant-based systems of

medicine to provide them with primary health care. It is clear that a set of interventions at various

levels could lead to the promotion of the sustainable and equitable development of the sector and help

to avert a crisis. With the tremendous increase in the global use of medicinal plants, several concerns

regarding the safety and quality of herbal medicines have also been observed.hence it has become

necessary to standardize the quality and safety assurance measures so as to ensure supply of

pharmaceutical industry has been focusing on herbal drugs, it is generally belived that standardization

is not required when used by the rural community of their primary health care. Therefore it is a very

important point for clarify the main active ingredients which can be extracted from medicinal plants.

Key words: Medicinal plant, International Standards, WHO.




INTRODUCTION

A medicinal plant is any plant which, in one or more of its organ, contains substance that can be

used for therapeutic purpose or which is a precursor for synthesis of useful drugs. This definition

of Medicinal Plant has been formulated by WHO. Cultivation of medicinal plants especially high

value medicinal plants is creating new dimension in the field of Agriculture. The medicinal plant

industry puts together the various facets of this multidisciplinary industry and its global interest.

The need for developing countries to acquire technologies and techniques for programmed

cultivation of medicinal plant cultivation includes old philosophies, modern impact of traditional

medicines, and methods of assessing the spontaneous, process technologies, phytochemical

research and information sources. India has the oldest, richest and most diverse cultural traditions

in the use of medicinal plants. According to a report by the WHO over 80 percent of the world

population relies on traditional medicine, largely plant base, for primary healthcare. Medicinal

plants are the local heritage with global importance, World is endowed with a rich wealth of

medicinal plants. Herbs have always been the principle form of medicine in India and presently in

they are becoming popular throughout the developed world, as people strive to stay healthy in the

face of chronic stress and pollution, and to treat illness with medicines that work in concert with

the body’s own defense. People in Europe, North America and Australia are consulting trained

herbal professionals and are using the plant medicines. Medicinal plants also play an important

role in the lives of rural people, particularly in the remote parts of developing countries with few

health facilities [1].

The term of medicinal plants include a various types of plants used in herbalism and some of

these plants have a medicinal activities. These medicinal plants consider as a rich resources of

ingredients which can be used in drug development and synthesis. Besides that these plants play a

critical role in the development of human cultures around the whole world [2].

In all countries of the world there exists traditional knowledge related to the health of humans and

animals. The importance of traditional medicine as a source of primary health care was first

officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the primary Health Care

Declaration of Alma Ata (1978) and has been globally addressed since 1976 by the Traditional

Medicine Programme of the WHO. That P rogramme defined traditional medicine as: “the sum

total of all the knowledge and practices, whether explicable or not, used in diagnosis, prevention

and elimination of physical, mental or social imbalance and relying exclusively on practical




experience and obser- vation handed down from generation to generation, whether verbally or in

writing.” [15] Ever since ancient times, in search for rescue for their disease, the people looked

for drugs in nature. The beginnings of the medicinal plants’ use were instinctive, as is the case

with animals. In view of the fact that at the time there was not sufficient information either

concerning the reasons for the illnesses or concerning which plant and how it could be utilized as

a cure, everything was based on experience. In time, the reasons for the usage of specific

medicinal plants for treatment of certain diseases were being discovered; thus, the medicinal

plants’ usage gradually abandoned the empiric framework and became founded on explicatory

facts. Until the advent of iatrochemistry in 16th century, plants had been the source of treatment

and prophylaxis. Nonetheless, the decreasing efficacy of synthetic drugs and the increasing

contraindications of their usage make the usage of natural drugs topical again [16].

Those plants that have healing properties are termed as medicinal plants or herbs. The plant

kingdom is divided into several groups, but the botanical classification is beyond the scope of this

section. However, medicinal plants can be simply classified as trees, shrubs, woody perennials,

annuals and biennials, and climbers. In this page, only the flowering plants are mentioned, with

little or no references to fungi, ferns, mosses and algae. Medical herbalism is the practice of

healing with medicinal plants. Modern western treatment is different from medical herbalism, but

at some point these two merge. The tendency in modern medicine is to use synthetic drugs, that

eventually were modelled on compounds obtained mainly from plants [17].

The drugs are derived either from the whole plant or from different organs, like leaves, stem,

bark, root, flower, seed, etc. Some drugs are prepared from excretory plant product such as gum,

resins and latex. Plants, especially used in Ayurveda can provide biologically active molecules

and lead structures for the development of modified derivatives with enhanced activity and /or

reduced toxicity. Some important chemical intermediates needed for manufacturing the modern

drugs are also obtained from plants (Eg. β-ionone). The small fraction of flowering plants that

have so far been investigated have yielded about 120 therapeutic agents of known structure from

about 90 species of plants. Some of the useful plant drugs include vinblastine, vincristine, taxol,

podophyllotoxin, camptothecin, digitoxigenin, gitoxigenin, digoxigenin, tubocurarine, morphine,

codeine, aspirin, atropine, pilocarpine, capscicine, allicin, curcumin, artemisinin and ephedrine

among others [18].




MEDICINAL PLANT IN GLOBAL VIEW [7]

Human beings have been utilizing plants for basic preventive and curative health care since time

immemorial. Recent estimates suggest that over 9,000 plants have known medicinal applications

in various cultures and countries, and this is without having conducted comprehensive research

amongst several indigenous and other communities (Farnsworth and Soejarto 1991). Medicinal

plants are used at the household level by women taking care of their families, at the village level

by medicine men or tribal shamans, and by the practitioners of classical traditional systems of

medicine such as Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, or the Japanese Kampo system. According to the

World Health Organization, over 80% of the world's population, or 4.3 billion people, rely upon

such traditional plant-based systems of medicine to provide them with primary health care.

Allopathic medicine too owes a tremendous debt to medicinal plants: one in four prescriptions

filled in a country like the United States are either a synthesized form of or derived from plant

materials (Srivastava, et. al. 1995). Even from the earliest trade data available, it is clear that the

global market for medicinal plants has always been very large. According to the International

Trade Centre, as far back as 1967, the total value of imports of starting materials of plant origin

for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry was of the order of USD 52.9 million. From this

amount, the total values grew to USD 71.2 million in 1971, and then showed a steady annual

growth rate of approximately 5-7% through to the mid-i 980s (Atisso 1983). To give an example

of the extent of trade volumes even at that time, according to one report commissioned by the

World Wide Fund for Nature, the total import in 1980 of vegetable materials used in pharmacy"

by the European Economic Community was 80,738 tons (Lewington 1992). India was the largest

supplier by far, with 10,055 tons of plants and 14 tons of vegetable alkaloids and their derivatives.

However, it is only during the last decade that the real significance of the medicinal plants sector

has begun to be realized. Interest in natural materials by the dominant economic powers had

waned from the late 1 960s to the early 1 980s as new possibilities in biotechnology and the

synthesization of drugs beckoned. But by the mid-i 980s, there was a renewed interest in natural

materials and approaches to health care, coupled with a recognition that technology alone could

not solve the pressing health care needs of the world's population (Tempesta and King 1994). This

new drive for natural and plant-based medicines made itself felt in the market from the mid-i 980s

onwards. As Table 1.1 illustrates, growth in the market in various regions is now on average 3 to

4 times the average growth rates of the national economies in the same regions. Some of these

phenomenal rates, in some cases nearly 20%, imply that the market is now doubling in size every




4-5 years. The participation of various companies in the market also attests to its new strength and

importance. By 1990, some 223 major companies worldwide (of which about half were in the

United States) were reportedly screening plants for new leads; the figure had been zero in 1980.

Table 1: Natural Medicines Market: Regional Growth Rates 1991-98 (in %)

REGION 1991-1992 1993-1998

EU 5 8

REST OF EUROPE 8 12

SE ASIA 12 12

JAPAN 15 15

SOUTH ASIA 15 15

HISTORY OF MEDICINAL PLANT [4]

Plants have been used in treating human diseases for thousands of years. Some 60,000 years ago,

it appears that Neanderthal man valued herbs as medicinal agents; this conclusion is based on a

grave in Iran in which pollen grains of eight medicinal plants were found (Solecki and Shanidar

1975). One of these allegedly ancient medicinal herbs, yarrow, is discussed in this work as a

modern medicinal plant. Since prehistoric times, shamans or medicine men and women of Eurasia

and the Americas acquired a tremendous knowledge of medicinal plants. All of the native plant

species discussed in detail in this work was used by native people in traditional medicine. The fact

that hundreds of additional species were also used by First Nations Canadians (Arnason et al.

1981) suggests that many of these also have important pharmacological constituents that could be

valuable in modern medicine. Up until the 18th

century, the professions of doctor and botanist

were closely linked. Indeed, the first modern botanic gardens, which were founded in 16th

century

Italy, in Pisa, Padova and Florence, were medicinal plant gardens attached to medical faculties or

schools. The use of medicinal plants is not just a custom of the distant past. Perhaps 90% of the

world's population still relies completely on raw herbs and unrefined extracts as medicines (Duke

1985). A 1997 survey showed that 23% of Canadians have used herbal medicines. In addition, as

much as 25% of modern pharmaceutical drugs contain plant ingredients (Duke 1993).

Pharmaceutical compounds from plants

Modern pharmacology, however, relies on refined chemicals - either obtained from plants, or

synthesized. The first pure medicinal substance derived from plants was morphine, extracted from

the opium poppy at the turn of the 19th

century. Often, chemicals extracted from plants are altered

to produce drugs. For example, diosgenin is obtained from various yam (Dioscorea) species of

South America, and is converted to progesterone, the basis of the oral contraceptive pill. Aspirin-




like chemicals were once obtained from willows (Salix species) and European meadowsweet

(Filipendula ulmaria), but aspirin is now synthesized in the laboratory. Numerous medicines in

use today are extracted from plants. About 50 to 60% of pharmaceutical drugs are either of

natural origin or obtained through use of natural products as starting points in their synthesis

(Verlet 1990, Balandrin et al. 1993). The commercial value of biologically active compounds

from plant sources has been estimated to approach $30 billion annually worldwide (Deans and

Svoboda 1990). Higher plants have given rise to about 120 commercial drugs and 10-25% of all

prescription drugs contain at least one active compound from a higher plant (Duke 1993, Cox and

Balick 1994). The tradition for developing plant-based drugs in modern Western medicine is

largely based on a paradigm (model) that there is a single active ingredient in medicinal plants, or

at least a primary chemical, that is responsible for the medical effectiveness. However, it may be

that many preparations used in traditional herbal medicine are effective because of synergistic

(interactive) therapeutic effects of several ingredients. Certainly many traditional herbal drug

preparations are compounded from several plants. Such drug mixtures are not of interest to

pharmaceutical firms, because they generally cannot be patented (although under some conditions

natural products can secure patent protection). On the other hand, as a visit to a pharmacy or

"health-food" store quickly reveals, numerous companies are marketing plant mixtures as "dietary

supplements," which are in fact being utilized as non-prescription drugs, although there is

generally limited or no modern research proof of effectiveness. Since the private sector has

limited interest in this issue, there is a clear need for public supported (government) research.

Fig.1- Plants being used by various systems of medicines




The oldest written evidence of medicinal plants’ usage for preparation of drugs has been found on

a Sumerian clay slab from Nagpur, approximately 5000 years old. It comprised 12 recipes for

drug preparation referring to over 250 various plants, some of them alkaloid such as poppy,

henbane, and mandrake.

The Chinese book on roots and grasses “Pen T’Sao,” written by Emperor Shen Nung circa 2500

BC, treats 365 drugs (dried parts of medicinal plants), many of which are used even nowadays

such as the following: Rhei rhisoma, camphor, Theae folium, Podophyllum, the great yellow

gentian, ginseng, jimson weed, cinnamon bark, and ephedra.

In Homer's epics The Iliad and The Odysseys, created circa 800 BC, 63 plant species from the

Minoan, Mycenaean, and Egyptian Assyrian pharmacotherapy were referred to. Some of them

were given the names after mythological characters from these epics; for instance, Elecampane

(Inula helenium L. Asteraceae) was named in honor of Elena, who was the centre of the Trojan

War. As regards the plants from the genus Artemisia, which were believed to restore strength and

protect health, their name was derived from the Greek word artemis, meaning “healthy.”

Theophrast founded botanical science with his books “De Causis Plantarium”— Plant Etiology

and “De Historia Plantarium”—Plant History. In the books, he generated a classification of more

than 500 medicinal plants known at the time.

In ancient history, the most prominent writer on plant drugs was Dioscorides, “the father of

pharmacognosy,” who, as a military physician and pharmacognosist of Nero's Army, studied

medicinal plants wherever he travelled with the Roman Army.

The Arabs introduced numerous new plants in pharmacotherapy, mostly from India, a country

they used to have trade relations with, whereas the majority of the plants were with real medicinal

value, and they have persisted in all pharmacopoeias in the world till today. The Arabs used aloe,

deadly nightshade, henbane, coffee, ginger, strychnos, saffron, curcuma, pepper, cinnamon,

rheum, senna, and so forth. Certain drugs with strong action were replaced by drugs with mild

action, for instance, Sennae folium was used as a mild laxative, compared to the purgatives

Heleborus odorus and Euphorbium used until then.

On account of chemical, physiological, and clinical studies, numerous forgotten plants and drugs

obtained thereof were restored to pharmacy: Aconitum, Punica granatum, Hyosciamus,

Stramonium, Secale cornutum, Filix mas, Opium, Styrax, Colchicum, Ricinus, and so forth. The

active components of medicinal plants are a product of the natural, most seamless laboratory.




In the major European producer and consumer of herbal preparations—Germany, rational

phytotherapy is employed, based on applications of preparations whose efficiency depends on the

applied dose and identified active components, and their efficiency has been corroborated by

experimental and clinical tests [16].

CLASSIFICATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS [5]

Of the 2,50,000 higher plant species on earth, more than 80,000 species are reported to have at

least some medicinal value and around 5000 species have specific therapeutic value. They are

classified according to the part used, habit, habitat, therapeutic value etc,besides the usual

botanical classification.

1. Based on part used

i) Whole plant: Boerhaavia diffusa, Phyllanthus neruri

ii) Root: Dasamula

iii) Stem:Tinospora cordifolia, Acorus calamus

iv) Bark: Saraca asoca

v) Leaf: Indigofera tinctoria, Lawsonia inermis, Aloe vera

vi) Flower:Biophytum sensityvum, Mimusops elenji

vii) Fruit: Solanum species

viii) Seed: Datura stramonium

2. Based on habit

i) Grasses: Cynodon dactylon

ii) Sedges: Cyperus rotundus

iii) Herbs : Vernonia cineria

iv) Shrubs: Solanum species

v) Climbers: Asparagus racemosus

vi) Trees: Azadirachta indica

3. Based on habitat

i) Tropical: Andrographis paniculata

ii) Sub-tropical: Mentha arvensis

iii) Temperate: Atropa belladona

4. Based on therapeutic value

Antimalarial : Cinchona officinalis, Artemisia annua




Anticancer : Catharanthus roseus, Taxus baccata

Antiulcer : Azadirachta indica, Glycyrrhiza glabra

Antidiabetic : Catharanthus roseus, Momordica charantia

Anticholesterol : Allium sativum

Antiinflammatory : Curcuma domestica, Desmodium gangeticum

Antiviral : Acacia catechu

Antibacterial : Plumbago indica

Antifungal : Allium sativum

Antiprotozoal : Ailanthus sp., Cephaelis ipecacuanha

Antidiarrhoeal : Psidium gujava, Curcuma domestica

Hypotensive : Coleus forskohlii, Alium sativum

Tranquilizing : Rauvolfia serpentina

Anaesthetic : Erythroxylum coca

Spasmolytic : Atropa belladona, Hyoscyamus niger

Diuretic : Phyllanthus niruri, Centella asiatica

Astringent : Piper betle, Abrus precatorius

Anthelmentic : Quisqualis indica, Punica granatum

Cardiotonic : Digitalis sp., Thevetia sp.

Antiallergic : Nandina domestica, Scutellaria baicalensis

Hepatoprotective : Silybum marianum, Andrographis paniculata

5. Based on Ayurvedic formulations in which used

a) The ten roots of the Dasamoola (Dasamoolam)

i) Desmodium gangeticum (Orila)

ii) Uraria lagopoides (Cheria orila)

iii) Solanum jacquinii (Kantakari)

iv) Solanum indicum (Cheruchunda)

v) Tribulus terrestris (Njerinjil)

vi) Aegle marmelos (Koovalam)

vii) Oroxylum indicum (Palakapayyani)

viii) Gmelina arborea (Kumizhu)

ix) Steriospermum suaveolens (Pathiri)




x) Premna spinosus (Munja)

b) The ten flowers of the Dasapushpa (Dasapushpam)

i) Biophytum sensitivum (Mukkutti)

ii) Ipomea maxima (Thiruthali)

iii) Eclipta prostrata (Kayyuniam)

iv) Vernonia cineria (Poovamkurunnil)

v) Evolvulus alsinoides (Vishnukranthi)

vi) Cynodon dactylon (Karuka)

vii) Emelia sonchifolia (Muyalcheviyan)

viii) Curculigo orchioides (Nilappana)

ix) Cardiospermum halicacabum (Uzhinja)

x) Aerva lanata (Cherula)

c) The four trees of the Nalpamara (Nalpamaram)

i) Ficus racemosa (Athi)

ii) Ficus microcarpa (Ithi)

iii) Ficus relegiosa (Arayal)

iv) Ficus benghalensis (Peral)

d) The three fruits of the Triphala (Thriphalam)

i) Phyllanthus emblica (Nellikka)

ii) Terminalia bellerica (Thannikka)

iii) Terminalia chebula (Kadukka)

CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS [5]

Most of medicinal plants, even today, are collected from wild. The continued commercial

exploitation of these plants has resulted in receding the population of many species in their natural

habitat. Vacuum is likely to occur in the supply of raw plant materials that are used extensively by

the pharmaceutical industry as well as the traditional practitioners. Consequently, cultivation of

these plants is urgently needed to ensure their availability to the industry as well as to people

associated with traditional system of medicine. If timely steps are not taken for their conservation,

cultivation and masspropagation, they may be lost from the natural vegetation for ever. In situ

conservation of these resources alone cannot meet the ever increasing demand of pharmaceutical

industry. It is, therefore, inevitable to develop cultural practices and propagate these plants in




suitable agroclimatic regions. Commercial cultivation will put a check on the continued

exploitation from wild sources and serve as an effective means to conserve the rare floristic

wealth and genetic diversity. It is necessary to initiate systematic cultivation of medicinal plants

in order to conserve biodiversity and protect endangered species. In the pharmaceutical industry,

where the active medicinal principle cannot be synthesised economically, the product must be

obtained from the cultivation of plants. Systematic conservation and large scale cultivation of the

concerned medicinal plants are thus of great importance. Efforts are also required to suggest

appropriate cropping patterns for the incorporation of these plants into the conventional

agricultural and forestry cropping systems. Cultivation of this type of plants could only be

promoted if there is a continuous demand for the raw materials. There are at least 35 major

medicinal plants that can be cultivated in India and have established demand for their raw

material or active principles in the international trade (table). It is also necessary to develop

genetically superior planting material for assured uniformity and desired quality and resort to

organised cultivation to ensure the supply of raw material at growers end. Hence, small scale

processing units too have to be established in order that the farmer is assured of the sale of raw

material. Thus, cultivation and processing should go hand in hand in rural areas.

STANDARDIZATION OF MEDICIANL PLANT [6]

In olden times, vaidyas used to treat patients on material on individual basis, and prepare drug

according to the requirement of the patient. In almost all the traditional system of medicine, the

quality control aspect has been considered from its inspection of itself Rishis, Viadyas and

Hakims. Unlike in olden times where traditional practitioners prepared and tested the qualities of

herbal medicines, the problem faced today are these of economics of industrial scale production,

shelf life and distribution to long distance. These have necessiated develoment of modern and

objective standards for evaluating the safety, quality and efficacy of these medicines. People are

also becoming aware of the potency and side effect. To again public trust and to bring herbal

product into mainstream of today health care system, the researchers, the manufacturer and the

regulatory agencies mustapply rigorous scientific methodologies to ensure the quality and Lot-to-

loy consisency of the traditional herbal product. It is cardinal responsibility of the regulatory

authorities to ensure that the consumer get the medication, which guarantee purity, safety,

potency and efficacy. Herbal product has been enjoying among the Custers throughout the world.

However, one of the customers throughout the world. The task of lying down standards for

quality control of herbal crude and their formulation involes biological evaluation for a particluar




disease area, chemical profiling of the material and lying down specification for the

finishedproduct, the word “STANDARDIZATION” should encompass entire field of the study

from cultivation of medicinal plant to its clinical application. To ensure safety and quality of the

medicinal plant it is necessary to focus on all aspects of medicinal plant research from entho –

pharmacology, utilization, isolation. Quality contorl of the medicinal plant starts right at the

source of the plant material. The phytochemical composition of the plant material and the reulting

quality can vary due to several factors inclusing a number of environmental factors such as

geogrsphical location, soil quality, temperature and rainfall etc. taxonomy, the time of collection ,

method of collection, cultivation, harvesting, drying and storage condition, preparation and

processing method can also affect composition.. Contamination by microbes, chemical agents

such as pesticides and heavy metals as well as by insects and animal during any of these stages

can also lead to poor quality of the finished products. Standardization of all these factors is

necessary to meet the current standards of quality, safety and efiicacy.

Current Regulations for Standardization of Crude [6]

Internationally several pharmacopoeias have provided monographs stating parameter and standard

of many nerbs and some product out of these herbs. Several Pharmacopoeias like:

Pharmacopoeia Committee

Chinese Herbal Pharmacopoeia

Uniterd States herbal Pharmacopoeia

British Herbal Pharmacopoeia

British Herbal Compendium

Japanese Standrds for Herbal Medicines

The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (API)

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICINAL PLANT [7]

In order to understand the extent to which medicinal plants are used at the local community level,

a useful istinction can be employed related to the type of medicinal practice. Allopathic, generally

understood as modern medicine and based predominantly on ther principles of Western post-

Enlightenment Science which has dominated the last three centuries. Classical traditional,

referring to the documented and standardized great tradition systems of medicines including

Ayurveda,siddhaUnaniAmchi and Homeopathy with different epistemological bases to that of

Western Science. Since the therapeutical practices based almost entirely on the use of traditional




herbal remedies are prescribed by traditional medical practitioners, who are respected members of

the community the government has responsibilities to formulate national policies that encourage

the national use of herbal medicine and to promote their safety and quality. Traditional uses of

medicinal plants may also decline due to increasing commercialization of the medicinal plant

sector and diversion of raw materials for sale in markets. One study conducted in Arunchal

Pradesh examined the use of Mishitita, a better root that is found at attitudes of between 2000

meters and 3000 meters in the districts of Dibang and Lohit. Over the last decade, local people

have been selling the species for a very remunerative price of Rs.1000 per kilogram locally, after

which it is exported via Calcutta to Japan and Switzerland.

Table 2: Number and types of ailments treated by traditional system of medicine in India

Traditional Carrier Subjects Number

Mothers and house wife Home remedies Millons

Traditional birth Attendants Normal deliveries 700,000

Herbal Healers Common ailments 300,000

Bone Setters orthopaedics 60,000

VishaVaidhyas Natural Poisons 60,000

This review is a map exercise to identify what, how, where,why and when of medicinal plants

development in India, in order to supply a comprehensive understanding and overall picture to

researchers, NGOs, health care workers, private companies, conservation and developmental

agencies, policy makers and other interested stakeholders.

It is intended to provide a frameworks and knowledge base and an initial way forward, for those

interested in India exploit her comparative advantage in the global market. In most cases, little

information in included regarding the number of people knowledge about the practice, in the

demographic make-up of both the practitioners and the use of the medicines.The logic of the

practice as understood by the practitioners themselves, as well as important associated rituals

apart from drug administration, for example methods of collecting and processing, are also rarely

reported.

However most studies relating to folk and tribal medicine have concentrated more on the practice

themselves, in isolation from the social and economic context in which they occur. Manuals and

publications of ethanobotanical studies tend to be primarily lists of plants with brief descriptions

of their methods of use.




Characteristics of Medicinal Plants [2]

Medicinal plants have many characteristics when used as a treatment, as follow:

Synergic medicine- The ingredients of plants all interacts imultaneously, so their uses can

complement or damage others or neutralize their possible negative effects.

Support of official medicine- In the treatment of complex cases like cancer diseases the

components of the plants proved to be very effective.

Preventive medicine- It has been proven that the component of the plants also characterize

by their ability to prevent the appearance of some diseases. This will help to reduce the

use of the chemical remedies which will be used when the disease is already present i.e.,

reduce the side effect of synthetic treatment.

DEVELOPING A STRATEGY OF MEDICINAL PLANT [8]

A national strategy is also a good way to secure the involvement and continued participation of

the different disciplines involved. One of the remarkable features of the Chiang Mai meeting was

the synergy and complementarily of efforts that emerged from the various disciplines present. For

example, conservationists learned about how health workers actually used medicinal plants;

health policy-makers learned about the efforts of conservationists in maintaining areas of natural

vegetation the ultimate source of their medicinal plants. This synergy was not only very

stimulating for the participants, but it also proved very productive and rewarding for the results of

the meeting.

Table 3: The experts most needed for a programme of conservation and sustainable

utilzation of medicinal plants

Agronomists To improve techniques for cultivating medical plant

Conservation Campaigners To persuade the public of the need to conserve medicinal plants

Ecologists To understand the ecosystems in which medicinal plant grow

Enthbotanists To identify the use of plants as medicines in traditional societies

Health Policy-maker To include conservation and utilization of medicinal plants in their

policy and planning

Horticulturists To cultivate medicinal plants

Legal Experts To develo effective legal mechanism that ensure that collection of

medicinal plants is at levels that are sustainable

Park Managers To conserve medicinal plants within their park and reserves

Park Planners To ensure the park and reserve system contain the maximum

diversity of medicinal plants

Pharmacogenosists To study the application of medicinal plants

Plant Breeders To breed improved strains of medicinal plants for cultivation




Plant Genetic Resource

Specialists

To assess and map the genetic variation in medicinal plants and

maintain seed banks of medicinal plants

Plant Pathologists To protect the cultivated medicinal plant from pests and diseases

without using dangerous chemicals

Religious Leader To promote a respect for nature

Resource Economists To evaluate the patterns of used and the economics value of

medicinal plants

Seed Biologists To understand the germination and storage requirement of the seed

different medicinal plants

Taxonomists To identify the medicinal plant accurately

Traditional Health To provide information on the use and availability of medicinal

plants

Fig.2: Exporting – Importing Countries of Medicinal Plant

Distribution of Medicinal Plants [9]

Macro analysis of the distribution of medicinal plants show that they are distributed across

diverse habitats and landscape elements. Around 70% of India's medicinal plants are found in

tropical areas mostly in the various forest types spread across the Western and Eastern ghats, the

Vindhyas, Chotta Nagpur plateau, Aravalis & Himalayas. Although less the 30% of the medicinal

plants are found in the temperate and alpine areas and higher altitudes they include species of high




medicinal value. Macro studies show that a larger percentage of the known medicinal plant occur

in the dry and most deciduous vegetation as comparted to the vergreen or temperate habitats.

Analysis of habits of medicinal plants indicate that they are distributed cross various habitats.

One third are trees and an equal portion shrubs and the remaining one third herbs, grasses and

climbers. A very small proportion of the meidicinal plants are lower plants like lichens, fern

algae, etc. Majority of the medicinal plants are higher flowering plants.

.

Fig.3: Distribution of Medicinal Plants by habits

About 90% of medicinal plant used by the industries are collected from the wild. While over 800

species are used in production by industry, less than 20 species of plants are under commercial

cultivation. Over 70% of the plant collections involve destructive harvesting because of the use of

parts like roots, bark, wood, stem and the whole plant in case of herbs (See figure 3). This poses a

definite threat to the genetic stocks and to the diversity of

medicinal plants if biodiversity is not sustainably used.

Fig.4 - Break up of medicinal plant by their parts utilised




The medicines for internal use prepared in the traditional manner involve simple methods such as

hot- or cold-water extraction, expression of juice after crushing, powdering of dried material,

formulation of power into pastes via such a vehicle as water, oil or honey, andeven fermentation

after adding a sugar source. The range of products that could be obtained from medicinal plants is

given in Figure-5.

Fig.5 - Industrial uses of medicinal plants

MEDICINAL PLANTS: CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT [9]

Medicinal plants continue to be an important therapeutic aid for alleviating ailments of

humankind. Search for eternal health and longevity and to seek remedy to relieve pain and

discomfort prompted the early man to explore his immediate natural surrounding and tried many

plants, animal products and minerals and developed a variety of therapeutic agents. Over millenia

that followed the effective agents amongst them were selected by the process of trial, error,




empirical reasoning and even by experimentation. These efforts have gone in history by the name

discovery of 'medicine'. In many eastern cultures such as those of India, China and the

Arab/Persian world this experience was systematically recorded and incorporated into regular

system of medicine that refined and developed and became a part of the Materia Medica of these

countries. The ancient civilization of India, China, Greece, Arab and other countries of the world

developed their systems of medicine independent of each other but all of them were

predominantly plant based. But the theoretical foundation and the insights and indepth

understanding on the practice of medicine that we find in Ayurveda is much superior among

organized ancient systems of medicine. From history we learn that in the ancient times India was

known as a place of rich natural resources, knowledge, wisdom and scholarship. People from

other countries of the world as China, Cambodia, Indonesia and Baghdad used to come to the

ancient universities of India like Takshila (700 BC) and Nalanda (500 BC) to learn health

sciences of India, particularly 'Ayurveda'. It is perhaps the oldest (6000 BC) among the organized

traditional medicine. It has gone through several stages of development in its long history. It

spread with Vedic, Hindu and the Buddhist cultures and reached as far as Indonesia in the east

and to the west it influenced the ancient Greek who developed a similar form of medicine.

All Systems of Medicine in India functions through two streams.

Social streams: Folk Stream: Comprising mostly the oral traditions practiced by the rural

villages. The carriers of these traditions are millions of housewives, thousands of traditional birth

attendants, bone setters, village practitioners skilled in accupressure, eye treatments, treatment of

snake bites and the traditional village physicians/herbal healers, the vaidyas' or the tribal

physicians. This stream of inherited traditions is together known as Local Health Traditions

(LHT). LHT represent an autonomous community supported health management system which

efficiently and effectively manages the primary health care of the Indian rural mass. LHT is still

alive and runs parallel to the state supported modern health care system; but its full potential is

still not fully utilized and also that the great service it is rendering to the rural people go largely

unnoticed because of the dominant western medicine.

Classical stream: At the second level of traditional health care system are the scientific or

classical systems of medicine. This comprises of the codified and organized medicinal wisdom

with sophisticated theoretical foundations and philosophical explanations expressed in classical

texts like xCharka Samhita', 'Sushruta samhita', 'Bhela samhita', and hundreds of other treatises

including some in the regional languages covering treaties of all branches of medicine and




surgery. Systems like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Amchi and Tibetan, etc. are expressions of the

same. Ayurveda was taught in the ancient universities in India and evolved, developed and

flourished mostly among the urban centres and thus used to be a refined system of medicine.

Revival of Traditional Medicine

Today we find a renewed interest in traditional medicine. During the past decade there has been

an ever increasing demand especially from developed countries for more and more drugs from

plant sources. This revival of interest in plant derived drugs is mainly due to the current

widespread belief that green medicine' is safe and more dependable than the costly synthetic drug

many of which have adverse side effects. This resurgence of interest in the plant based drugs have

necessitated an increased demand of medicinal plants leading to overexploitation, unsustainable

harvesting and finally to the virtual decimation of several valuable plant species in the wild.

Moreover, the habitat degradation due to increased human activities (human settlements,

agriculture and other developmental programmes), illegal trade in rare and endangered medicinal

plants, and loss of regeneration potential of the degraded forests have further accelerated the

current rate of extinction of plants particularly the medicinal plants.

Medicinal Plants Wealth of India

India is rich in medicinal plant diversity. All known types of agroclimatic, ecologic and edaphis

conditions are met within India. The biogeographic position of India is so unique that all known

types of ecosystems ranging from coldest place like the Nubra Valley with - 57° C, dry cold

deserts of Ladakh, temperate and Alpine and subtropical regions of the North-West and trans-

Himalayas, rain forests with the world's highest rainfall in Cheerapunji in Meghalaya, wet

evergreen humid tropics of Western Ghats, arid and semi-arid conditions of Peninsular India, dry

desert conditions of Rajasthan and Gujarat to the tidal mangroves of the Sunderban. India is rich

in all the three levels of biodiversity-such as species diversity, genetic diversity and habitat

diversity. There are about 426 biomes representing different habitat diversity that gave rise to one

of the richest centres in the world for plant genetic resources. The total number of flowering plant

species although only 17,000, the intraspecific variability found in them make it one of the

highest in the world. Out of 17,000 plants, the classic systems of medicines like Ayurveda, Siddha

and Unani make use of only about 2000 plants in various formulations. The classical traditions

were prevalent in the past particularly in the urban elite society. The rural people who constitute

70 to 75% of the Indian populations live in about 5,76,000 villages located in different




agroclimatic conditions. The village people have their own diverse systems of health

management. While most of the common ailments were managed in the house by home remedies

which included many species and condiments like pepper, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumins,

tamarind, fenagree, tulsi, etc., more complicated cases were attended by the traditional physicians

who use a large number of plants from the ambient vegetations and some products of animal or

mineral origin to deal with the local diseases and ailments. These are indeed community managed

systems independent of official or government system and are generally known as Local health

Tradition (LHT). The traditional village physicians of India are using about 4500 to 5000 species

of plants for medicinal purpose. There is however no systematic, inventory and documentation

about the folk remedies of India. There is urgent need to document this fast disappearing precious

knowledge system. The oral traditions of the villagers use about 5000 plant for medicinal

purposes. India is also inhabited by a large number of tribal communities who also posses a

precious and unique knowledge about the use of wild plants for treating human ailments. A

survey conducted by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology (AICRPE)

during the last decade recorded over 8000 species of wild plants used by the tribals and other

traditional communities in India for treating various health problems. Some interesting

observations made in the study is the use of the same species found in different regions for the

same ailments while some other species are used differentially.

Schemes of Ministry of Environment & Forests under Implementation-On-Going Schemes

National Parks and Sanctuaries

The National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries are protected areas encompassing the Biological

Diversity in its pristine condition. At present there are 87 National Parks and 447 Wildlife

Sanctuaries extending over an area of about 1.5 lakh sq. Km, which is more than 4.5% of the

genographical area of the country. The National Parks stretch over 34,819 Sq. Km while the

Sanctuaries cover an area of 1,15,903 Sq. Km. A centrally sponsored scheme for the development

of National Parks and Sanctuaries is in operation since VI Plan period. The main objective of the

scheme is to support protection and conservation measures in these areas with a view to mitigate

any adverse impact of biotic pressure and allowing the areas to rejuvenate through habitat

manipulation and infrastructure development. During the VIII Plan Rs. 49.5 crores have been

spent under this scheme and for IX Plan the outlay is Rs. 110 crores. Assistance is also provided

for eco-development programmes around National Parks and Sanctuaries in order to achieve a

ecologically sustainable economic development.These protected areas harbour large varieties of




medicinal plants. In-situ conservation programmes for medicinal plants in the National Parks and

Sanctuaries could be taken up through Chief Wild Life Wardens. The programme needs to be in

consonance with the objectives of the national parks and Sanctuaries.

Ethnobiological Studies

An All India Coordinated Research Project of Ethnobiology (AICRPE) under the Man and

Biosphere was funded by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The programme was executed

by Tropical Botanical Garden Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram and in association with

other institutions such as Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, Ethnobiology and

Plant Systematic Laboratory, Garhwal, Botanical Survey of India, International Institute of

Ayurveda, Coimbatore, etc. The first phase of the programme was completed in 6 years and was

extended into the second phase. The study has covered about 80% of the tribal areas. The data

recorded on Indian ethnobiology is invaluable giving a status on the tribal communities along

with the information on the ethnobiological inventorisation and their documentation. The study

provides information on the wild plants used by the tribal communities as food, fodder etc., which

also includes a large number of medicinal plants. The study reveals the sustained usage of the

local resources and the natural system of conservation. However, this natural balance is being

disturbed due to the intervention by other communities exploiting the medicinal plant resources.

Data obtained from this study needs to be used in the process of planning and programme to

conserve the rich biodiversity in our country. The focus on the medicinal plants resources and

further investigation in these areas may lead to concrete programme for the conservation of

medicinal plants.

Sacred Groves

There is no separate scheme for the Conservation or restoration of sacred groves under National

Afforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB). Documentation of the Sacred Groves have

been carried out by the Regional Centres of the NAEB under the scheme to "Support to Regional

Centres". There are seven regional centres and their activities include helping the State/UT Forest

Departments and Forest Development Corporation in formulation of projects, conduct study

research and educational programmes for the protection, development and improvement of forest

area and the degraded forest areas.

MEDICINAL PLANT CONSERVATION AROUND THE GLOBE [11]

Medicinal plant conservation strategies need to be understood and planned for based on an

understanding of indigenous knowledge and practices.




1. Many drugs contain herbal ingredients, and it has been said that 70–80% of the world's

population relies on some form of non-conventional medicine

2. Around 25–40% of all prescription drugs contain active ingredients derived from plants in

the United States alone.

3. Many countries rely on these medicinal plants for the health and well being of its

population.

4. But the market demand has led to an increased pressure on the natural resources that lend

to the production of some of these plants.

5. The most serious proximate threats when extracting medicinal plants generally are habitat

loss, habitat degradation, and over harvesting.

6. Developing markets for natural products, particularly those that are harvested from the

wild, can trigger a demand that cannot be met by available or legal supplies and demands

a conservation initiative.

7. So the local populations are not exploited, causing more damage to their resources.

8. Many times populations are taken advantage of for their resources and knowledge, which

can often be for financial gain.

9. Conservation of medicinal plants in its biocultural perspective not only implies

conservation of biodiversity but also places an equal emphasis on conservation of cultural

diversity.

Asia represents one of the most important centers of knowledge with regard to the use of plant

species for treatment of various diseases. It has been estimated that the Himalayan region harbors

over 10,000 species of medicinal and aromatic plants, supporting the livelihoods of about 600

million people living in the area. In Nepal they use a traditional healing system that is called

Ayurveda, which is influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism’s central ideas of balance in life. High

altitude medicinal plants provide quality products, and this is the reason why they are often the

first choice of local users as immediate therapy and by pharmaceutical companies as precious

ingredients. When it comes to profits made in the communities up to 50% of the Nepal’s rural

household’s income is derived from commercial collection of medicinal and aromatic plants.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa community of Mnoqobokazi has high unemployment rates in the

area and reliance on subsistence agriculture and wild produce is still high. Socioeconomic factors

such as low education levels and lack of access to western health care have been cited as

important reasons for reliance on indigenous medicine in South Africa. Both villagers and healers

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in the area would cultivate one or more species because they could only be found far away, or

were frequently used, or had to be fresh when used, or they were planted as protection against

witchcraft. Also there were ten people from Mnqobokazi, mainly women, who harvested plants

on a commercial basis to conserve. An interview with a conservation officer at the Wetland Park

claimed that harvesting of medicinal plants was not a problem in this part as it was further north.

In other parts of South Africa the most frequently used medicinal plants are slow-growing forest

trees, in which the bark and underground parts are mainly the parts utilized. Because there is a

high demand for such resources, the trees are becoming endangered and a lot of the collection is

unrestricted. Regulations are now being placed on some of the resources that originally had been

exploited and many schools and research facilities are working together to come up with new

ways to foster their beloved trees and still manage to get what is needed from the trees as well by

proposing the idea of substituting the bark or underground parts with leaves of the same plant.

Samoa has had a great influence on western medicine when it comes to finding a cure for

HIV/AIDS. New research has shown that the isolation of prostratin, found in the bark of the

Samoan mamala tree, from Homalanthus nutans has led to the extreme potency against HIV-1.

Both the National Cancer Institute and Brigham Young University have guaranteed to return to

the Samoan people a significant portion of any royalties. Paul Alan Cox, an American

ethnobotanist, raised money based on awareness of environmental degradation due to logging, in

order to protect the 30,000-acre (120 km2) lowland forest of Falealupo village on the island of

Savai'i. The Swedish Society for the Conservation of Nature established three new indigenously

controlled preserves. Controlled preserves cause controversy because in traditional Polynesian

societies, land, including the natural plant and animal populations, which occupied it, were

viewed as sacred and an ancestral inheritance. Western approaches to conservation on indigenous

land and within an indigenous community must collaborate and understand indigenous knowledge

systems in order to conserve cultural identity. Paul Cox stated that, “the loss of these indigenous

knowledge systems may yet prove to be one of the greatest tragedies of our age”. The U.S

National Park Service officials, the American Samoan Government, and the traditional chiefs

(matai) and orators of the villages of Tafua had agreed to lease their lands for 50 years to the U.S

National Park Service in order to protect American Samoa’s rain forests. The Tafua rain forest

received funding from the Swedish International Development Authority, which was used to

secure water supply, improve roads, and used for assistance in the development of village-based

environmental tourism in Tafua. Cox explains, “all parties to these agreements agree that any

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development of tourism must be village initiatives, rather than foreign initiatives, and must be

carefully planned and controlled so that the Samoan culture in these areas is not jeopardized”.

Medicinal plants represent not only a valuable part of India’s biodiversity but also a source of

great traditional knowledge. Knowledge-rich companies and researchers from the developed

world have been attracted to the wealth of the poorer countries have in their biodiversity and the

traditional knowledge systems. Some argue that the access to such biodiversity and community

knowledge by the industrially developed nations is necessary for the larger welfare of mankind as

this advances knowledge and leads to new products which contribute to the well being of global

consumers. The point is that this access to the resources of the poor does not benefit in any way,

while their natural resources and intellectual property continues to be appropriated and exploited

[14].

MODERN STUDY OF PLANT MEDICINES [10]

Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal

remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine. The World Health Organization

(WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and African countries presently

uses herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care. Pharmaceuticals are prohibitively

expensive for most of the world's population, half of which lives on less than $2 U.S. per day. In

comparison, herbal medicines can be grown from seed or gathered from nature for little or no

cost. The use of, and search for, drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have

accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists, and natural-products

chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for

treatment of various diseases. In fact, according to the World Health Organisation, approximately

25% of modern drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants. Among the 120

active compounds currently isolated from the higher plants and widely used in modern medicine

today, 80 percent show a positive correlation between their modern therapeutic use and the

traditional use of the plants from which they are derived.More than two thirds of the world's plant

species - at least 35,000 of which are estimated to have medicinal value - come from the

developing countries. At least 7,000 medical compounds in the modern pharmacopoeia are

derived from plants.

In many medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) significant variations of

plants characteristics have been ascertained with varying soil traits, and the selective recovery and

subsequent release in food of certain elements have been demonstrated. Great attention must be

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paid to choose soil and cropping strategies, to obtain satisfactory yields of high quality and best-

priced products, respecting their safety and nutritional value.

a) Phytochemistry

b) Clinical tests

c) Prevalence of use

d) Safety

a) Phytochemistry:

All plants produce chemical compounds as part of their normal metabolic activities. These

phytochemicals are divided into

1) Primary metabolites such as sugars and fats, which are found in all plants.

2) Secondary metabolites compounds which are found in a smaller range of plants, serving a more

specific function. For example, some secondary metabolites are toxins used to deter predation and

others are pheromones used to attract insects for pollination. It is these secondary metabolites and

pigments that can have therapeutic actions in humans and which can be refined to produce drugs

examples are insulin from the roots of dahlias, quinine from the cinchona, morphine and codeine

from the poppy, and digoxin from the foxglove. Toxic plants even have use in pharmaceutical

development.

Plantssynthesize a bewildering variety of phytochemicals but most are derivatives of a few

biochemical motifs:

Alkaloids are a class of chemical compounds containing a nitrogen ring. Alkaloids are

produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, and

are part of the group of natural products (also called secondary metabolites). Many alkaloids

can be purified from crude extracts by acid-base extraction. Many alkaloids are toxic to other

organisms. They often have pharmacological effects and are used as medications, as

recreational drugs, or in entheogenic rituals. Examples are the local anesthetic and stimulant

cocaine; the psychedelic psilocin; the stimulant caffeine; nicotine; the analgesic morphine; the

antibacterial berberine; the anticancer compound vincristine; the antihypertension agent

reserpine; the cholinomimeric galatamine; the spasmolysis agent atropine; the vasodilator

vincamine; the anti-arhythmia compound quinidine; the anti-asthma therapeutic ephedrine; and

the antimalarial drug quinine. Although alkaloids act on a diversity of metabolic systems in

humans and other animals, they almost uniformly invoke a bitter taste.

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Polyphenols (also known as phenolics) are compounds contain phenol rings. The

anthocyanins that give grapes their purple color, the isoflavones, the phytoestrogens from soy

and the tannins that give tea its astringency are phenolics.

Glycosides is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to a non-carbohydrate moiety, usually a

small organic molecule. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many

plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme

hydrolysis, which causes the sugar part to be broken off, making the chemical available for

use. Many such plant glycosides are used as medications. In animals and humans, poisons are

often bound to sugar molecules as part of their elimination from the body. An example is the

cyanoglycosides in cherry pits that release toxins only when bitten by a herbivore.

Terpenes are a large and diverse class of organic compounds, produced by a variety of plants,

particularly conifers, which are often strong smelling and thus may have had a protective

function. They are the major components of resin, and of turpentine produced from resin. (The

name "terpene" is derived from the word "turpentine"). Terpenes are major biosynthetic

building blocks within nearly every living creature. Steroids, for example, are derivatives of

the triterpene squalene. When terpenes are modified chemically, such as by oxidation or

rearrangement of the carbon skeleton, the resulting compounds are generally referred to as

terpenoids. Terpenes and terpenoids are the primary constituents of the essential oils of many

types of plants and flowers. Essential oils are used widely as natural flavor additives for food,

as fragrances in perfumery, and in traditional and alternative medicines such as aromatherapy.

Synthetic variations and derivatives of natural terpenes and terpenoids also greatly expand the

variety of aromas used in perfumery and flavors used in food additives. Vitamin A is an

example of a terpene. The fragrance of rose and lavender is due to monoterpenes. The

carotenoids produce the reds, yellows and oranges of pumpkin, corn and tomatoes.

b) Clinical tests:

Many herbs have shown positive results in-vitro, animal model or small-scale clinical tests, while

studies on some herbal treatments have found negative results. In 2002, the U.S. National Center

for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health began funding

clinical trials into the effectiveness of herbal medicine. In a 2010 survey of 1000 plants, 356 had

clinical trials published evaluating their "pharmacological activities and therapeutic applications"

while 12% of the plants, although available in the Western market, had "no substantial studies" of

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their properties.According to Cancer Research UK, "there is currently no strong evidence from

studies in people that herbal remedies can treat, prevent or cure cancer". Some herbalists criticize

the manner in which many scientific studies make insufficient use of historical knowledge, which

has been shown useful in drug discovery and development in the past and present.They maintain

that this traditional knowledge can guide the selection of factors such as optimal dose, species,

time of harvesting and target population.

c) Prevalence of use

A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative

Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicines (CAM), what was used,

and why it was used. The survey was limited to adults, aged 18 years and over during 2002, living

in the United States. According to this survey, herbal therapy, or use of natural products other

than vitamins and minerals, was the most commonly used CAM therapy (18.9%) when all use of

prayer was excluded. Herbal remedies are very common in Europe. In Germany, herbal

medications are dispensed by apothecaries (e.g., Apotheke). Prescription drugs are sold alongside

essential oils, herbal extracts, or herbal teas. Herbal remedies are seen by some as a treatment to

be preferred to pure medical compounds which have been industrially produced. In India, the

herbal remedy is so popular that the Government of India has created a separate department -

AYUSH - under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The National Medicinal Plants Board

was also established in 2000 by the Govt. of India in order to deal with the herbal medical system.

Avid public interest in herbalism in the UK has been recently confirmed by the popularity of the

topic in mainstream media, such as the prime-time hit TV series BBC's Grow Your Own Drugs,

which demonstrated how to grow and prepare herbal remedies at home.

d) Safety

A number of herbs are thought to be likely to cause adverse effects. Furthermore, "adulteration,

inappropriate formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led to

adverse reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal. Proper double-blind clinical trials

are needed to determine the safety and efficacy of each plant before they can be recommended for

medical use. Although many consumers believe that herbal medicines are safe because they are

"natural", herbal medicines and synthetic drugs may interact, causing toxicity to the patient.

Herbal remedies can also be dangerously contaminated, and herbal medicines without established

efficacy, may unknowingly be used to replace medicines that do have corroborated efficacy.

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Standardization of purity and dosage is not mandated in the United States, but even products

made to the same specification may differ as a result of biochemical variations within a species of

plant. Plants have chemical defense mechanisms against predators that can have adverse or lethal

effects on humans. Examples of highly toxic herbs include poison hemlock and nightshade.They

are not marketed to the public as herbs, because the risks are well known, partly due to a long and

colorful history in Europe, associated with "sorcery", "magic" and intrigue.Although not frequent,

adverse reactions have been reported for herbs in widespread use. On occasion serious untoward

outcomes have been linked to herb consumption. A case of major potassium depletion has been

attributed to chronic licorice ingestion., and consequently professional herbalists avoid the use of

licorice where they recognize that this may be a risk. Black cohosh has been implicated in a case

of liver failure. A 2013 study published in the journal BMC Medicine found that one-third of

herbal supplements sampled contained no trace of the herb listed on the label. The study found

products adulterated with filler including allergens such as soy, wheat, and black walnut. One

bottle labeled as St. John's Wort was found to actually contain Alexandrian senna, a laxative. Few

studies are available on the safety of herbs for pregnant women, and one study found that use of

complementary and alternative medicines are associated with a 30% lower ongoing pregnancy

and live birth rate during fertility treatment. Examples of herbal treatments with likely cause-

effect relationships with adverse events include aconite, which is often a legally restricted herb,

ayurvedic remedies, broom, chaparral, Chinese herb mixtures, comfrey, herbs containing certain

flavonoids, germander, guar gum, liquorice root, and pennyroyal. Examples of herbs where a high

degree of confidence of a risk long term adverse effects can be asserted include ginseng, which is

unpopular among herbalists for this reason, the endangered herb goldenseal, milk thistle, senna,

against which herbalists generally advise and rarely use, aloe vera juice, buckthorn bark and

berry, cascara sagrada bark, saw palmetto, valerian, kava, which is banned in the European Union,

St. John's wort, Khat, Betel nut, the restricted herb Ephedra, and Guarana. For example,

dangerously low blood pressure may result from the combination of an herbal remedy that lowers

blood pressure together with prescription medicine that has the same effect. Some herbs may

amplify the effects of anticoagulants.

LIST OF IMPORTANT MEDICINAL PLANTS AND THEIR USES [12, 13]

Medicinal plants are valuable resources for our health care system since ancient period.

These natural herbs are important source of drugs for alternative medicine systems like Ayurveda,

homeopathy, Unani and even allopathy. They are thought to constitute 80% of total drugs used by




humans. These natural healing herbs are used in treatment of many diseases and disorders. Their

specialty is advantages like better compatibility in the body, easy metabolism, low side effects

and also less expensive than synthetic drugs. Further they are not harmful to environment after

disposal. They don’t require heavy manufacture, expensive analysis and storage facilities.

So below chart gives an idea of the List of Medicinal Plants and uses.

LIST OF IMPORTANT MEDICINAL PLANTS AND THEIR USES













SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

From the literature review of this topic it can be concluded that the medicinal plant sector in

world used by the folks usually which supports the primary health care needs of most of the

country’s population. Added to this scenario is the practice of Western medicine and past efforts

to change indigenous medicine:in fact both have benefited from each other since indigenous

systems introduced drugs to the western pharmacopoeias while western medicine helped upgrade

a few important raw plant products to some degree of standardization.Nonetheless,India exports

significant quantities of raw materials to other Asian countries and some of these exports are

associated with traditional medicine.However,India’s comparative advantage in producing

materials for export has not been exploited to the at all.With the exception of a limited number of

plant species, the production bases rely mainly on materials harvested from the

wild.Nonetheless,India known to be a storehouse of biological diversity,has to focus on sustain

the resource base of medicinal plants.Efforts to relive pressure on wild plants through cultivation

have made a good start but have a long way to go.This is a complex issue by virtue of the sheer

number of plant species and the needs for sustainable propagation,suitable agronomic practice,the

selection of superior genotypes and linking production to people.Medicinal plants fall into

segments of these formal sectors and receive more or less attention depending on policy.For

instance,they are one of the most valuable components of the nontimber forest products

sector,being important generators of revenue.Most of the available data regarding the formal

sectors are in aggregate from and such statistics supply little information about how the market

actually works;they rely solely on market price as an indicator of value.Much more attention

therefore needs to be given to the socio-intuitional context of the market. It is clear that a set of

interventions at various levels could lead to the promotion of the sustainable and equitable

development of the sector and help to avert a crisis. With the tremendous increase in the global

use of medicinal plants, several concerns regarding the safety and quality of herbal medicines

have also been observed.hence it has become necessary to standardize the quality and safety

assurance measures so as to ensure supply of pharmaceutical industry has been focusing on herbal

drugs, it is generally belived that standardization is not required when used by the rural

community of their primary health care. Therefore it is a very important point for clarify the main

active ingredients which can be extracted from medicinal plants.




FUTURE GUIDELINES

Though the forest Departments and conservationists are trying to make their best in their

protection, physicians dedicated for medicinal and plant studies along with NGO’s should take

initiatives to plants the sapling of this plant in schools, colleges, parks temple premises, avenues

etc., which are artificial reserves and would assure its safety growth, thereby serving the purpose

and preventing it from extinction in the near future. Over exploitation, loss of habitats, poor seed

germination rate etc., are the major factors of decline of the important medicinal plant

species.Several attempts have been made to conserve the most threatened and endangered plant

species either by in situand ex-situ or in vitro conservational strategies. It is to be noted that the

tribal use of the plant species must be verified by further scientific experimentation and this rich

folklore can be utilized in herbal thereby and drug discovery. Medicinal plants have a promising

future because there are about half million plants around the world, and most of them their

medical activities have not investigate yet, and their medical activities could be decisive in the

treatment of present or future studies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are thankful to Mr. Shubhrajit Mantry, Dept. of Pharmaceutics, Kottam Institute of

Pharmacy, for his encouragement for carrying out this review work.

REFERENCES

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10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinal_plants#Modern_study_of_plant_medicines

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinal_plant_conservation

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358962/

http://eatt1.tripod.com/amp1.html

Documents

International Journal of Innovative Pharmaceutical … Department of Pharmacognosy, Kottam Institute of Pharmacy, Mahaboobnagar - 509125, Telangana, INDIA Email: [email protected]