Industrial utilization of medicinal and aromatic plants
Most developing countries are endowed with vast resources of
medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) which have been used as food,
health care products, flavours and fragrances over the millennia
for human welfare. In spite of tremendous advances made in the
development of synthetic drugs, the modern pharmaceutical drug
armamentarium still contains at least 25% drugs derived from
plants. Traditional systems of medicine operating in certain
countries use primarily medicinal and aromatic plants as source of
drugs. Governments are neither aware of the real potential of the
plants as raw materials for processing into value-added products
nor have the facilities, trained man power and technology to
harness this potential. Traditional medicines which contain mainly
plant constituents have not kept pace with scientific and
technological advances. Another problem is the non-availability of
information on quantum of availability and consumption of medicinal
and aromatic plants material. Today, countries are requiring urgent
technical assistance in conducting R&D on plant-based products.
This need is being felt by the current resurgence of interest in
the use of "natural products" in developed countries. Free market
economy brings greater openness, expanding markets and demand for
new resources, materials and goods. The search for new
phytopharmaceuticals for prevention and cure of fatal diseases such
as AIDS, cancer and metabolic disorders, the increasing awareness
regarding biodiversity conservation and therefore leading to
sustainable and protective use of forest resources. Products that
can improve quality of life and contribute to the income of people
in developing countries need to be made readily available in a more
scientifically and technologically sound, effective and acceptable
form.
ICS projects aimed to assist this process. Focus was on an
action-oriented plan to initiate, promote and develop activities
for the sustainable exploitation of the full potential of these
resources, taking conservation issues into account. One outcome
should be an increase in incomes of rural household and a boost in
national economies. Main emphasis will be on developing human
resources, technology transfer, R&D support for institutes and
provision of access to scientific, technical and marketing
information through networking.
General approach adopted
- Establishment of a network of R&D institutes for maximizing co-ordination of activities and encouraging technical cooperation both South-South and North-South.
- Development of a networking database system to enable personnel from developing countries to access global databases and exchange technical and market information.
- Promotion of publications in the area of MAPs for dissemination of information to stakeholders.
- Strengthening of know-how of scientific and technological personnel in selected countries to initiate and develop MAP-based industries.
- Sensitization of policy makers/Governments to the sustainable utilization of MAPs for the development of safe, efficacious and affordable drugs and nutraceuticals for the human and animal health care.
Multimedia
Standardization Techniques for Medicinal and Aromatic
Plants
It is a video course on standardization techniques of medicinal and
aromatic plants, a self-learning tool to check and assure the
quality of raw materials from medicinal plants. It gives practical
demonstrations of various techniques and methods used in the
identification and standardization of medicinal plants. The methods
demonstrated are used in routine analysis and quality checking of
the raw materials.