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South Asia region is extremely rich in medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) and India has a rich and varied heritage of biodiversity, encompassing a wide spectrum of habitats from tropical rainforests to alpine vegetation and from temperate forests to coastal wetlands. However, due to years of unsustainable extraction, supply of raw materials in desired quality, quantity, regularity and market standards have become difficult raising serious doubt about the potential of the region to be a preferred supply source of MAPs. While a number of government and donor supported programs are being launched to enhance production through improved in-situ and ex-situ management, marketing is being perceived to be a major problem in future. The global market size for the traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TM/CAM) has been conservatively estimated to be between US$ 42 to 60 billion and the region’s current share is negligible. In order to take advantage of regions’ rich resource and low cost of production advantages, an approach is required to promote a standardized and quality-certified supply system of medicinal plants raw materials to ensure better market returns to the collectors and growers. The approach to apply value chain analysis to access niche market and capture price premium by growing organic and other high-value-low-volume forest-based medicinal products is required. The Ayurvedic system has described a large number of such medicines based on plants or plant product and the determination of their morphological and pharmacological or pharmacognostical characters can provide a better understanding of their active principles and mode of action. In these countries the market for traditional medicines is US $ 500 million while Western type medicine account for only 300 million US $. In Singapore 50 percent and in Australia 60 percent of population uses alternative medicine. Around 17,000 herbal products are registered in these countries. In Belgium 40 percent contemporary but 84 percent home medicines and 74 percent acupuncture medicine is utilized. In France 50 percent of the people take advantage of complementary medicine. In Germany 10,000 to 13, 000 alternative medical practitioners are thriving well and 75 percent of them utilize complementary medicines. The growing demand of consumers worldwide for herbal and natural products to meet both their healthcare needs and dietary supplements has opened up new opportunities for the medicinal plants-based industries. However, this market-propelled demand has created tremendous pressure on the natural resources, which contribute more than 90% of the current demand for the raw materials of medicinal plants. The local communities mostly belonging to tribals and rural poor are not benefited from the increased commercial activities as only a fraction of the total markets return reaches them.
Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com
Author, Dr. Preeti Kachroo Bhagat, (BAMS , MD (AM), CFN) is a renowned Ayurvedic Physician. With an expertise in the field of ayurveda research and development, presently working in clinical research. Her work on chronic diseases has given a way to successful products in market. Contact mail:- ayurvedoconline@rediffmail.com Dr. Abhishek Bhagat, (MBBS), the second author of article is a clinical research scientist. Contact mail:- docmail@rediffmail.com
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