Lakhasly

A medicinal plant is any plant which, in one or more of its organs, contains substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or which are precursors for the synthesis of useful drugs.A definition of medicinal plants for the purpose of this presentation should include the following (Sofowora 2008; Evans, 2008):

plants or plant parts used medicinally in galenical preparations (e.g. decoctions, infusions, etc.) e.g. Cascara bark; plants used for extraction of pure substances either for direct medicinal use or for the hemi-synthesis of medicinal compounds (e.g. hemi-synthesis of sex hormones from diosgenin obtained from Dioscorea yams); food, spice, and perfumery plants used medicinally, e.g. ginger; microscopic plants, e.g. fungi, actinomycetes, used for isolation of drugs, especially antibiotics.Examples are ergot (Claviceps purpurea growing on rye) or Streptomyces griseus; and fibre plants, e.g. cotton, flax, jute, used for the preparation of surgical dressings.The term 'crude drugs of natural or biological origin' is used by pharmacists and pharmacologists to describe whole plants or parts of plants which have medicinal properties.Such plants should qualify as medicinal plants.

A medicinal plant is any plant which, in one or more of its organs, contains substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or which are precursors for the synthesis of useful drugs. This description makes it possible to distinguish between medicinal plants whose therapeutic properties and constituents have been established scientifically, and plants that are regarded as medicinal but which have not yet been subjected to a thorough scientific study.

A number of plants have been used in traditional medicine for many years. Some do seem to work although there may not be sufficient scientific data (double-blind trials, for example) to confirm their efficacy. Such plants should qualify as medicinal plants. The term ‘crude drugs of natural or biological origin’ is used by pharmacists and pharmacologists to describe whole plants or parts of plants which have medicinal properties. A definition of medicinal plants for the purpose of this presentation should include the following (Sofowora 2008; Evans, 2008):

plants or plant parts used medicinally in galenical preparations (e.g. decoctions, infusions, etc.) e.g. Cascara bark;
plants used for extraction of pure substances either for direct medicinal use or for the hemi-synthesis of medicinal compounds (e.g. hemi-synthesis of sex hormones from diosgenin obtained from Dioscorea yams);
food, spice, and perfumery plants used medicinally, e.g. ginger;
microscopic plants, e.g. fungi, actinomycetes, used for isolation of drugs, especially antibiotics. Examples are ergot (Claviceps purpurea growing on rye) or Streptomyces griseus; and
fibre plants, e.g. cotton, flax, jute, used for the preparation of surgical dressings.
The growing importance of medicinal plants can be appreciated from the economic stand point when the following facts are considered:

Global trade in herbs is over USD 100 Billion per annum
India and China's medicinal plant trade is about two to five billion US dollars annually
In Germany, it is over one billion US dollars annually
Rose Periwinkle which is endemic to Madagascar fetches US$100 million per annum
China trades in 7,000 species and 700,000 tons of medicinal plants per annum
India trades in 7,000 species of medicinal plants
Morocco exports 58.7 tons of medicinal plants annually
In the last 5 years, sales of medicinal plants doubled in China, tripled in India and grew by 25% in Europe.