Medicinal, herbal and aromatic plants constitute a large segment of the flora, which provide raw materials for use by pharmaceutical, cosmetic, fragrance and flavour industries. They have been used in the country for a long time for their medicinal properties.
India is considered as a treasure house of valuable medicinal and aromatic plant species. It has 15 agro-climatic zones, 47000 different plant species and 15000 medicinal plants. About 2000 native plant species have curative properties and 1300 species are known for their aroma and flavour. The Indian systems of medicines, popularly known as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha drugs are of great demand in the country. It has identified 1500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are mostly used in the preparation of drugs.
The medicinal plants contribute to cater 80% of the raw materials used in the preparation of drugs. The effectiveness of these drugs mainly depend upon the proper use and sustained availability of genuine raw materials. The domestic market of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy is of the order of Rs. 4000 crores (2000), which is expanding day by day. The Ayurveda drug market alone is of the order of Rs. 3500 crores (2000). Besides this, there is also a growing demand for natural products including items of medicinal value/ pharmaceuticals, food supplements and cosmetics in both domestic and international markets.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests have identified and documented over 9500 plant species considering their importance in the pharmaceutical industry. Out of these, about 65 plants have large and consistent demand in world trade. In terms of market share in production value, India holds the 6th place. India, with its diversified biodiversity, has a tremendous potential and advantage in the export area. India’s export from medicinal and herbal plants is Rs. 446 crores (2000).
Some commercially important Medicinal Plants are:- Aconitum heterophyllum,Saffron cashmerina, Rumex cashmeriana , Zingiber officinale, Emblic indica, Cuscut, Chirata, Kalmegh, Safed Musali, Ashok, Daruhaldi, Kokum, Sarpgandha, Ashwagandha, Giloe, Kuth, Senna, Reetha, Ginkgo biloba, Kewi, Atees, Gudmar Kutki, Shatavari, Bael, Guggal, Makoy, Tulsi, Bhumi, Amlaki, Isabgol, Mulethi, Vai Vidang, Brahmi, Jatamansi, Patharchur (Coleus), Vatsnabh, Chandan, Kalihari, Pippal, etc.
According to WHO report, over 80% of the world population relies on traditional medicine largely plant based for their primary healthcare needs. The international market of herbal products is estimated to be US $ 62 billion which is poised to grow to US $ 5 trillion by the year 2050. The EXIM bank of India, in its report (1997), has reported that the value of medicinal plants related trade in India is of the order of 5.5 billion US dollars and is growing rapidly.
Further, India presents a great investment and business opportunity in the herbal sector, with the prospects of the country emerging as a global leader in the field. In recent times, there has been an enlightened awareness among the citizens of the country about the natural advantages that this country is endowed with. Herbal Tea is one of the most commonly used aromatic herbs, which has its own importance. It is gaining popularity due to its multipoint effects. The thrust area is to develop the disease-specific herbal tea.
All this proves that India has one of the richest plant medical cultures in the world. There exists innumerable opportunities in the various segments of aromatic, medicinal and herbal plantations. Various efforts, both at the Central and State level, have been actively undertaken to attract significant investments into the sector and promote entrepreneurial activities therein.
Presently, at the national level, 32 Medicinal Plants have been prioritised for development. They have actively formulated schemes and guidelines for financial assistance in different areas of medicinal plants sector covered under Promotional and Commercial schemes applicable both for Government and non-government organizations. (i) Promotional scheme mainly includes survey, conservation, herbal gardens, extension activities, demand-supply studies, R&D, value addition, etc.; and (ii) Commercial scheme mainly includes production of quality planting material, large scale cultivation, post harvest technology studies, innovative marketing mechanism, etc. Further, Regional workshop for creating awareness, discussing uniform monitoring mechanism and sensitising the Principal Investigators of the projects have been organized in six selected places in the country.
Details on multiplication and distribution of open polinated planting/seed materials of medicinal and aromatic crops at
