Phytochemicals are employed either directly or indirectly by a large number of industries including pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, agrochemical and chemurgic industries. Economically important plants serve as irreplaceable sources of several industrial phytochemicals (exclusive of plant-derived products such as wood, cork, paper, etc., and whole plant-based foods such as whole grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits and spices). Table…

Considerable volumes of plant material are used in traditional systems of medicine, particularly in Asia. China’s total output of medicinal plants from both cultivated and wild-harvested sources is 1,600,000 tonnes. In comparison, that of Germany is relatively small at 40,000 tonnes. China is also a significant exporter of medicinal materials with export sales in 1993…

Certain plants are rich sources of intermediates used in the production of drugs. For e.g., plant saponins such as Dioscin (from Dioscorea tubers) can be extracted and altered chemically to produce sapogenins (diosgenin) required to manufacture medicinally important steroids. Steroidal saponins are of great pharmaceutical importance because of their relationship to compounds such as sex…

Phytochemicals from medicinal plants are receiving ever greater attention in the scientific literature, in medicine and in the world economy in general. According to Farnsworth out of 1.532 billion prescriptions dispensed in the United States in 1973, 41.2% contained one or more constituents derived from plants. An analysis of such plant derived medicines used in…

The use of galenicals or plant extracts directly for therapeutic purpose in modern medicine stems from the herbal remedies of the Middle Ages. In addition to this such extracts may provide the first stage in the isolation of active ingredients. With the resurgence of interest in herbal medicine several of these plant extracts have regained…

Medicinal plant material is used by a large number of industries including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents, dyes, insecticides, foods and paints. Demand for medicinal plants is undoubtedly increasing in the medicinal and health-related sectors and this growth is fuelling an increase in both the number of species and volume of plant material being traded. It is…

The two sources of supply of medicinal plants are collection from the wild and cultivated material. In many traditions of medicine, wild harvested material is considered to have higher therapeutic benefits, and therefore commands a higher price. Plant material sourced from the wild such as bark, leaves, fruits, herbs, flowers, wood or roots are collected from many locations including…

International trade in medicinal plants is expanding with increasing market for plant materials that are used in health and medical products. Most developing countries endowed with vast resources of medicinal and aromatic plants have immense opportunity for utilizing this growing market value of these resources. Countries such as China, India and Sri Lanka have officially…

According to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, global sales of herbal products totalled an estimated US $ 60 billion in 2002 and it is expected to get higher at 6.4 per cent average growth rate. This figure represents the world market for all plant-derived chemicals – pharmaceuticals, industrial ancillary products, pesticides, fragrances, flavours…

Using plants for medicinal purposes has a long tradition dating back thousands of years in countries such as China and India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) they still form the basis of traditional or indigenous health systems for majority of populations in most developing countries. Today in several parts of the world, there…