Conserving medicinal species: securing a healthy future (original) (raw)
Conservation of Medicinal Plants: A Major Issue
Research & Reviews: Journal of Agriculture and Allied Sciences, 2015
The safeguarding of therapeutic herb species is critical in light of the fact that we are all around familiar with the unfathomable recuperating properties of herbs utilized everywhere throughout the planet. There is a consistently expanding measure of examination affirming the restorative force of herbs. Nonetheless, there is a tremendous measure of information plants have yet to uncover to us. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) "upwards of 80% of the world's populace relies on upon customary pharmaceutical for their essential health awareness needs." most of conventional treatment includes the utilization of plant concentrates or their dynamic standards. The preparatory consequences of a study done by WHO, has demonstrated that the quantity of people utilizing restorative plants has expanded to a great extent. It is not simply in creating nations that therapeutic plants are vital. In the USA, for instance, 25% of all medicines from group drug stores between19...
Approaches and policy's for medicinal plants conservation
The Pharma Innovation Journal, 2022
Medicinal plant conservation is challenging, since the taxa occur during a wide selection of habitats and geographic regions. Their conservation threats and supreme use are diverse and users aren't only local rural communities but also distant urban citizens. Ex situ conservation remains the most remit and area of experience of botanic gardens. In situ conservation is the preferable methodology, since ex situ conservation tends to take place outside the range state of the target species. The preservation of species in place offers all the benefits of allowing survival to act, which can't be recreated ex situ. A policy trend positively linking biodiversity conservation by CBD, WTO,TRIPS, UNCTAD Bio Trade Initiative, MEA, Doha Declaration, GSPC,WHO, CITES with human development is gaining momentum and people's access rights to natural resources necessary for his or her survival have improved with policy provisions.. In India a unique and pioneering program for conservation of wild medicinal plants has been initiated and it has involved establishment of a network of MPCA focused on conservation of prioritized wild medicinal plants. Seed banking was a vital backup to other conservation methodologies, and one that should be supported and expanded for medicinal plants.
3 Health , Habitats and Medicinal Plant Use
2008
Medicinal plants are the roots of medical practice. Of the 12,807 species used in traditional Chinese medicine, for example, 11,146 are plant species (Zhao, 2004). Medicinal plant uses range from anti-microbial 'chewing sticks' for dental care and the treatment of internal parasites to symbolic uses. In fact, of the global total of 422,000 flowering plant species, more than 50,000 are used for medicinal purposes, with an estimated 2500 species of medicinal and aromatic plants traded worldwide, most still collected from wild sources (Schippmann et al, 2003). Across all cultures, for most of human history, all doctors effectively were botanists, using medicinal plants as the primary source of medicines to treat disease. In Europe and North America, however, commercial pharmaceutical production since the 1950s, a medical 'effectiveness revolution' (Stevens and Milne, 1997) and randomized clinical trials have altered attitudes towards the botanical roots of medicine. Nevertheless, public healthcare programmes involving traditional medicines and traditional healers have been implemented in many parts of the world (see Chapter 14, this volume). In China and Vietnam, for example, a long, well-documented history of medicine linked with significant policy support has resulted in public health programmes that use herbal treatments for many common illnesses (Wahlberg, 2006). These programmes often include collaborations with local universities and research institutes, which study and sometimes standardize traditional medicines (Balick et al, 1996). In Nigeria, collaborations between local universities, NGOs, traditional healers' associations and government have helped create the scientific and legal foundation for broader dissemination of traditional medicine as part of primary health care (Iwu and Laird, 1998). In the Caribbean, a programme called TRAMIL (Traditional Medicine in the Islands) has focused on medicinal plants used in households, promoting the safest and most significant species for primary health care (Lagos-Witte et al, 1997). In Brazil, primary health-care programmes are being developed using traditional medicines to meet the needs of communities that lack basic pharmaceutical medicines (Silva et al, 2005), and in the Peruvian Amazon, a regional indigenous federation known as FENAMAD is addressing local health-care needs (Alexiades and Lacaze, 1996). The legal and ethical implications of researching and commercializing traditional knowledge associated with medicinal plants have received extensive attention in recent years from indigenous peoples' groups, researchers, NGOs, governments and others, including as part of the policy process growing from the Convention on Biological Diversity (e.g., Posey, 1999; ten Kate and Laird, 1999; Laird, 2002). But it is beyond the scope of this chapter to review these issues here.
Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants: problems, progress, and prospects
Chinese Medicine, 2016
Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of herbal products, and they are disappearing at a high speed. This article reviews global trends, developments and prospects for the strategies and methodologies concerning the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plant resources to provide a reliable reference for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. We emphasized that both conservation strategies (e.g. in situ and ex situ conservation and cultivation practices) and resource management (e.g. good agricultural practices and sustainable use solutions) should be adequately taken into account for the sustainable use of medicinal plant resources. We recommend that biotechnical approaches (e.g. tissue culture, micropropagation, synthetic seed technology, and molecular marker-based approaches) should be applied to improve yield and modify the potency of medicinal plants.
Conservation of Biodiversity with Reference to Indigenous Herbal Therapeutic Agents
Biodiversity with reference to ethnic therapeutic agents is a much studied phenomenon. In the present study, commonly available herbs like Aloe vera, Andropogum citratum, creeper like Piper betel and tree like Terminalia arjuna, known to have healing effects, were checked for their antimicrobial activity. Aqueous extracts of suitable plant parts were checked for antimicrobial activities against selected Gram positive and Gram negative microbial pathogens. Maximum activity was shown by Terminalia arjuna against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activity of plant extracts was compared with that of standard antibiotics. Piper betel inhibited maximum number of pathogens showing equivalence to Nalidixic acid. The study emphasizes the fact that nature has cure against most natural invasions and the need for preserving and propagating such ethnic medicinal agents once again comes to fore.
2017
Biodiversity conservation through effective use and management of Medicinal plants has become a passionate agenda of many scientists and development practitioners. Medicinal plants greatly contribute in to improve livelihood, nutrition and play a key role in the development and advancement of modern studies by serving as a starting point for the development of novelties in drugs. Despite these benefits, Medicinal plants are increasingly faced with major threats from various environmental, socio-economic and institutional factors. The review aims to address the biodiversity conservation of medicinal plants for harnessing medicine, poverty reduction, and public health prevention and to link the biodiversity conservation of valuable medicinal plants with commercial development. The major focus of this review involves home nursery of medicinal plants, cultivation of medicinal plants in both private and public lands, cooperative formation and linkage with big companies. This will contrib...
Setting priorities for conservation of medicinal plants –– a case study in the Indian Himalaya
Biological Conservation - BIOL CONSERV, 2000
The paper analyses available information on various aspects of medicinal plants (MPs) of the Indian Himalaya region (IHR). Among the identified gaps in knowledge, lack of objective assessment of threats was considered a major impediment in setting conservation priorities. The paper addresses this issue keeping in view the needs of users (industry) and conservation concerns of academics (biologists). An approach for prioritisation of MPs for conservation was thus developed. Prioritisation based on three indices: (i) use value index (UVI) indicate threats imposed by users, (ii) sensitivity index (SI) reflect conservation concerns of biologists, and (iii) importance value index (IVI) is the cumulative value of (i) and (ii) to prevent biased approach. Dependence of pharmaceutical industry on only 10% of the available stock and that too on non-native elements suggest that the potential of true Himalayan MPs has not been harnessed as yet. However, increased dependence on exclusive wild forms (64.6%), dominance of destructive harvest trend (69%) and restricted distribution range of most MPs used by the industry is a pointer to the intensity of threat. The paper identifies 20 top ranking MPs for conservation in each life form.
Medicinal plants, conservation and livelihoods
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2004
Many types of action can be taken in favour of the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants. Some of these are undertaken directly at the places where the plants are found, while others are less direct, such as some of those relating to commercial systems, ex situ conservation and bioprospecting.
African Journal of History and Culture, 2023
The conservation of medicinal plants must be an all-inclusive endeavor that factors in the contribution of all stakeholders, both formal and informal. This paper highlights the importance of sociocultural aspects in the conservation of medicinal plant sources and resources using both traditional and modern conservation strategies. Efficacious traditional conservation strategies that featured prominently in the study include cultural methods of preventing overharvesting, enforcing social and cultural taboos, totemism, rituals and norms. Modern conservation strategies are mainly in situ and ex situ refined with education and research. The paper underscores the application of both local and modern conservation approaches ensuring a multipronged measure to have a sustainable traditional medicine trade and practice alongside market expansion. There is need for a well-structured harmonization of both traditional and modern conservation strategies for a holistic conservation of medicinal plant species.
Conservation of Botanical Biodiversity of Medicinal Value: An Anthology of CCRAS Contribution
2017
Introduction: Medicinal plants have been used in the mitigation and treatment of various ailments since ancient time. Several medicinal plants described in various traditional medicine systems serve as a potential lead for the development of lead compound in drug discovery process. Identification of the crude drug is the fundamental step in the formulation of plant-based drugs. The preeminent objectives for cultivation of medicinal plants include the adaptability, growth, flowering and fruiting time of medicinal plants, and suitable maturity time. Considering these facts, the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has initiated the steps for developing of medicinal plant gardens at different geographical zones for demonstrative purposes, which are used in the traditional systems of medicine.
Medicinal Plants: An Expanding Role in Development
Papers, 1996
All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing April 1996 Technical Papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's work to the development community with the least possible delay. The typescript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to fornal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. Some sources cited in this paper may be informal documents that are not readily available. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this volume do not imply on the part of the World Bank Group any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
This paper was an attempt to assimilate the medicinal plant status of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by analyzing their diversity and conservation status against the knowledge management practices of traditional medicine practitioners. Information was gathered through extensive literature survey, field trips and semi structured questionnaire. A total of 132 plants (nearly 20% of total species) were found to possess medicinal properties in the UAE traditionally, a rich density considering the hyper-arid conditions that prevail in the region. These plant species belongs to 115 genera and 49 families. Asteraceae and Fabaceae families have the maximum number of species. The medicinal plants were categorized into various life forms such as chamaephyte (41%), therophyte (36%), phanerophyte (11%), hemicryptophytes (4%), geophytes (4%) and lianas (4%). Maximum number of medicinal plant species were recorded from mountains and wadi habitat (44.7%). This study revealed the diversity in plant parts used in the treatment of different ailments. The traditional knowledge gathered here can be considered a good starting point for effective in situ conservation, which requires accurate and up-to date information on the status of medicinal plant populations, extent and nature of plant use by local communities.