Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
more of its organs contain substances that can be used for
therapeutic purposes or which are precursors for the syn-
thesis of useful drugs. This definition distinguishes those
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 thorough investigation. Furthermore, WHO (2001)
defines medicinal plant as herbal preparations produced
by subjecting plant materials to extraction, fractionation,
purification, concentration or other physical or biologi-
cal processes which may be produced for immediate
consumption or as a basis for herbal products. Aromatic
plants have a pleasant, characteristic fragrant smell.
12.1
Introduction
The origin of the medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) is as
old as agriculture, as is its essences and extracts. There utili-
zation begins from wild harvest of plants than selection and
cultivation of useful plants and finally extending them as crop.
MAPs are important in economic, social, cultural and ecologi-
cal aspects of local communities around the globe. In one form
or another, they benefit practically everyone on Earth through
nutrition, toiletry, body care, incense, and so on. Worldwide, it
is estimated that up to 70,000 species are used in folk medicine
(Farnsworth and Soejarto, 1991). The WHO reports over 21,000
plant taxa used for medicinal purposes (Groombridge, 1992).
In India, which is said to have probably the oldest, richest and
most diverse cultural traditions in the use of medicinal plants;
about 7500 species are used in ethno-medicines (Shankar and
Majumdar, 1997) which is almost half of the country's 17,000
native plant species. In China, the total number of medicinal
plants used in different parts of the country add up to some
6000 species according to Xiao (1991) and to over 10,000
according to He and Sheng (1997). Of these, approximately
1000 plant species are commonly used in Chinese medicine,
and about half of these are considered as the main medicinal
plants (He and Sheng, 1997). In Africa, over 5000 plant spe-
cies are known to be used for medicinal purposes (Iwu, 1993).
In Europe, with its long tradition in the use of botanicals,
about 2000 medicinal and aromatic plant species are used on
a commercial basis (Lange, 1998). In Germany, Lange (1996)
identified not less than 1500 taxa as sources of medicinal and
