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 Prospects in conservation of
Medicinal Plants

Editors
Raghu A. V.
Amruth M.
Muhammed Kunhi K. V.
Raveendran V.P.
S. Viswanath

Government of India Kerala State KSCSTE -

Ministry of Council for Science Kerala Forest
Environment Forest Technology and Research Institute
and Climate Change Environment Peechi

2018
©Copyright with respective authors. Opinions expressed are those of the authors
and not of the publisher or the editors.

This is a compendium of writings brought together to serve as a course material for

the one-week training programme organised at KSCSTE-KFRI on ‘Conservation and
Development of Medicinal Plants and Benefit Sharing with Local Communities’ for the
officers of the Indian Forest Service during 22-26 October 2018, sponsored by Min-
istry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India.

Published by:
KSCSTE-Kerala Forest Research Institute
Peechi 680 653. Kerala, INDIA
URL: http://www.kfri.res.in

Editors
Raghu A. V.
Amruth M.
Muhammed Kunhi K. V.
Raveendran V.P.
S. Viswanath

PoD October 2018

ISBN: 81-85041-99-7

Book design and layout by Ashokkumar P K, ashokkumarpk@gmail.com

Cover design: Flemin Simon, angelsandprophets@gmail.com
.
EDITORIAL
This volume features some of the emergent themes in conservation
of medicinal plants. As per the widely agreed narratives on the
decline of wild populations of the medicinal plants, a combination
of their early, destructive and over-harvesting in the context of
unregulated markets and inadequate institutional arrangements
have pushed an alarming number of species into the vortex of
extinction. In this context, maintaining viable populations of
medicinal plants in the wild poses an extremely complex challenge
for the conservation scientists and resource managers. One of
the sources of the complexity is the multi-disciplinary nature of
the problem, which requires inputs from various disciplines such
as population ecology, resource economics and policy analysis.
Chapters in this volume is a response to this challenge, where the
medicinal plants are treated as a social object rather than as a
mere biological entity. This approach has aided in posing fresh
questions, forging innovative approaches, putting forth better
tools and perspectives for a more comprehensive understanding
of the issue. The volume presents novel tools and policy framework
for ensuring sustainability and benefit sharing by working with
medicinal plant cultivators, traditional collectors of medicinal
plants, traders and manufacturers of plant based medicinal
formulations.
Editorial team is thankful to all authors who contributed to this
volume and we gratefully acknowledge Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change for the funding which enabled
compilation of this volume as part of the one-week training
programme on ‘Conservation and Development of Medicinal
Plants and Benefit Sharing with Local Communities’ for the officers
of the Indian Forest Service during 22-26 October, 2018 at the
Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi. We are gratified if this
volume succeeds in unsettling some of the pre-existing notions of
its readers in favour of institutional solutions of benefit sharing
with the local people in trade, cultivation and marketing of
medicinal plants to fulfil the greater objective of medicinal plants’
conservation.

Peechi Editors
15 October 2018
Contents
Dna Barcoding: A Prospective Tool to Address Illicit Trade
and Conservation Issues in Medicinal Plants
Suma Arun Dev, Remya Unnikrishnan, Jayaraj R., Sujanapal P., Anitha V. 7

Biotechnological Approaches in Conservation of Medicinal Plants: A Review

Rini Vijayan K.P., Sreeja C.S., Raghu A.V., 13

The Medicinal Plants Sector Supporting Livelihoods And Industry

Problems and Probable Explanations In Kerala, India
V. Anitha, Nidheesh Joseph, J. Krishnakumar, Nipin M., Divya Soman 30

Sustainable Harvesting of NTFPS and Medicinal Plants: A Participatory Process

Deepa G.B., Arthur Selwyn Mark, Jagannatha Rao R. 43

Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants: The MSSRF Experience

Girigan Gopi, V.V. Sivan, C.S. Dhanya, Jayesh P. Joseph 57

Protected Cultivation of Medicinal Plants in Polyhouses: Prospects and Limitations

Sadheeshnakumari S., Rahul P.R., Mahesh Kumar M.K., Geetha S.P.,
Indira Balachandran
Home Herbal Gardens: Scope and Prospects in Health and Livelihood Security
K. Haridasan 76

Cultivation of Medicinal Plants: Challenges and Prospects

A.V. Raghu, M. Amruth 85
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

01
DNA barcoding
a prospective tool to address illicit trade
and conservation issues in medicinal plants
ABSTRACT

Suma Arun Dev* Medicinal plants are valuable source for traditional as well
as modern medicines and its demand has been steadily
Remya Unnikrishnan
increasing worldwide. Overexploitation and unsustainable
Jayaraj R. extraction owing to huge market demand has resulted in
Sujanapal P. the depletion of the existing natural resources which neces-
Anitha V. sitate immediate conservation/restoration efforts. This has
also instigated a recent trend to substitute/adulterate the
available resources with plant materials which are inferior
in properties. Authentication of raw medicinal plants is
thus a fundamental requirement for quality assurance in
Ayurvedic drug formulations. Conservation of CITES listed
species requires identification at the micro-level from a small
tissue or dried plant parts involved in illegal trade, which
are extremely difficult to authenticate using traditional
taxonomic tools. DNA barcoding is a relatively new concept
for providing rapid, accurate and automatable species
identification using short standard region of the genome.
Unlike morphological signatures, unique DNA barcodes
remain the same and can serve as an abbreviated label
for the genome of species. Even though absence of a
universal barcode locus is one of the major impediments
and a challenging task ahead in plant DNA barcoding,
the recent advancements in DNA sequencing technologies
including Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) can over-
Kerala Forest Research Institute come the limitations and contribute significantly towards
Peechi, Thrissur, Kerala, India conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal plant
*sumadev@kfri.res.in resources of the region.
8 DNA barcoding: a prospective tool
for conservation
BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGE
About 80 per cent of the population in
developing countries depends on traditional
medicines, mostly herbal drugs, for primary
healthcare needs (WHO, 2003). Although use
of traditional medicine has become commer-
cialized over the last few decades, the major-
ity of medicinal plants are still harvested from
the wild (Veldman et al., 2014). According
to the International Union for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) and World Wildlife Fund
(WWF), 50,000 to 80,000 species of flow-
ering plants are used for medicinal purposes
worldwide. Among these, about 15,000 species
are threatened with extinction owing to their
restricted distribution, overexploitation, unsci-
entific extraction and/or habitat destruction
(Bentley, 2010). India is considered as the hub
of medicinal plants with 3000 species known
for medicinal uses, out of these more than half
of the wild medicinal plants used are in the
endangered or threatened category.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
and the Convention on International Trade of
Endangered Species (CITES) have been estab-
lished for sustainable conservation by regulating
trade in threatened species (Cunningham, 1993;
Hamilton, 2004). Since medicinal plants are
usually traded as dried, shredded or powdered
plant parts, it is hard to trace the exact iden-
tity of endangered species involved in trade,
which consequently result in the extinction of wild
resources (Coghlan et al., 2012). Over exploita-
tion, extinction and incorrect identification of
many species owing to exorbitant demand also
cause frequent adulteration and substitution of
traded ayurvedic raw drugs (Roy et al., 2013).
Some of these adulterations in the herbal mar-
kets are unintentional since the dried parts of
different plant species look alike (Ouarghidi
et al., 2012). Consequently, there has been a
growing concern among general public about
the quality/safety of ayurvedic formulations
and accurate identification of medicinal plants
has become an absolute necessity (Techen et al.,
2004). Researchers have recommended various
means to authenticate the genuine material from
common adulterants of less therapeutic potential
(Kumar, 2014).
DNA BARCODING: FROM SEQUENCE TO
SPECIES
Taxonomic species identification requires
high level of taxonomic expertise which employs
vegetative or/and floral characteristics at a
particular stage of development (Hebert et
al., 2003). DNA barcoding is a relatively new
concept that has been developed for provid-
ing rapid, accurate and automatable species
identification using short gene sequence from a
standard region of the genome (Vijayan et al.,
2010). Advances in molecular biology made it
easier and cost effective to use DNA sequences
for species identification (Li et al., 2015). This can
resolve inherent problems associated with tra-
ditional taxonomic identification, such as wrong
identification of species owing to unavailability
of morphological characteristics, phenotypic
plasticity, species complexities, among others
(Hebert et al., 2003). Unlike morphological
signatures, unique DNA barcodes remain the
same, irrespective of the developmental stages,
and can serve as an abbreviated label for the
genome of species.
In recent years, the barcoding movement
has grown substantially, through the co-ordi-
nated worldwide efforts of Consortium for the
Barcode of Life (CBOL) (Hollingsworth, 2011).
DNA barcoding in plants is more challenging
task than those in animals owing to the inherent
diversity of plant kingdom (Ragupathy et al.,
2009). The chloroplast genome shares several

of Medicinal Plants’ KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
features of animal mitochondrial genome such
as conserved gene order, high copy number
per cell, amenability to PCR amplification and
availability of universal primers (Kress et al.,
2005). Accordingly, CBOL (2009) Plant Working
Group evaluated seven leading candidate plas-
tid gene regions for locating universal barcode
locus in plants. The result of their evaluation
showed the suitability of three loci viz. matK,
rbcL and trnH–psbA, and recommended the
use of a more reliable core barcode system
matK+rbcL (Kress and Erickson, 2007; Fazekas
et al., 2008; Hollingsworth et al., 2009). Based
on further refinement, other markers have also
been proposed which include: atpF–atpH spacer,
rpoB gene, rpoC1 gene psbK–psbI spacer and
trnL (Hollingsworth et al., 2009; Taberlet et al.,
2007). In addition to plastid barcodes, CBOL
recommended supplementary barcodes viz.
nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer
regions (ITS 1 & ITS 2) also proved to be poten-
tial, especially in identifying medicinal plants
and their close relatives (Chen et al., 2010).
However, unlike the mitochondrial universal CO1
locus used in most animal system, the lack of
consensus barcode region for plant DNA bar-
coding is one of the key limitations.
DNA BARCODING FOR AUTHENTICATION
OF BOTANICAL IDENTIFY
DNA barcoding is a cheap, quick and objec-
tive method with great potential to generate
intraspecific genetic variability and diversity
of species within an ecosystem. Inter and intra
specific genetic distance measures generated
through DNA barcode sequence at varied
geographic scales can provide evidence in
describing new cryptic/sibling species, assess-
ing species boundaries and relationships. The
accelerated method of barcode sequence data
generation can complement the current species
extinction rate and to decide on the appropriate
Prospects in Conservation 9
scales for prioritizing conservation efforts. DNA
barcodes are being increasingly utilized for
determining the specific micro-habitats for in
situ and ex situ conservation and delineating
protected areas across the landscape. Thus an
integrated approach linking DNA barcoding
and taxonomy can significantly contribute to
gear up the process of biodiversity inventory
and conservation of resources (Faith, 2009).
Conservation of RET species, for which trade
is regulated by the CITES, requires identification
at the micro-level from a small tissue or dried
plant parts. The intrinsic limitations of the tra-
ditional identification methods in this context
often challenge the accuracy and performance
of identification process. Accurate taxonomic
species identification for resource validation
and enforcement of regulations thus is often
a cumbersome process. The conservation and
management of critically endangered and
threatened medicinal plant resources majorly
depends on the accurate species identifica-
tion which can eventually improve their global
biodiversity status to attain the target of
Convention on Biological Diversity 2025. In
the past decade, genetic barcoding proved
to be a valid approach towards conservation
and sustainable utilization of extensively traded
wild medicinal plant resources. A reference DNA
barcode database can serve as a supportive
tool for conservation of critically endangered
and overexploited species as well as for biodi-
versity assessments in areas with a rich amount
of endemism/endangerment (Kress et al., 2015;
Mishra et al., 2017). The precision of barcoding
technique has been exploited for its discrimi-
natory power to detect illegal trade in CITES
species, rare, endangered and threatened (RET)
species as well as for forensic identification
purposes at various levels (Techen et al., 2014;
Li et al. 2015; Mishra et al., 2017).
10 DNA barcoding: a prospective tool
for conservation
Indian scientists have developed a DNA
barcode reference library to provide molec-
ular identity of a threatened plant spe-
cies,  Decalepis,  found in peninsular India
(Mishra et al., 2017). Decalepis  is an IUCN
red listed medicinal plant and a species of
high conservation concern by the National
Biodiversity Authority of India. Likewise, wild
species of Paphiopedilum are highly endangered
and currently listed in Appendix I of CITES and
international trade of the naturally occurring
wild species is strictly prohibited (Sun et al.,
2011). DNA barcodes were also developed for
tracking illegal trade involving Indian species of
Paphiopedilum and their three natural hybrids
(Iffat et al., 2012). Similar case studies using
DNA barcodes were reported for tracking trade
in endangered species of the genera Rhodiola,
Ferula, Nitaria and Cynara (Fan et al., 2015;
Zhang et al., 2015; Mohammed, 2018).
Another major concern of herbal industry is
adulteration of medicinal plants with lookalike
species or species with inferior quality, which
substitute for endangered or rare ones in the
market. Ayurvedic raw drugs are dried parts
and not the whole plant, often look alike and
are extremely difficult to authenticate using
taxonomic tools. DNA barcoding as well as
integrated approach coupled with biochemical
tools has been adapted to detect plant based
adulterants in the traded ayurvedic raw drugs
(Srirama et al., 2010; Parvathy et al., 2014).
Recently, DNA barcode database for 400
medicinal plants in India was developed using
core barcode (rbcL-matK) for tracing the illegal
market adulteration (Nithaniyal et al., 2017).
DNA barcodes were successfully adopted to
identify the original raw drug in Salacia spp.
(Dev et al., 2015) and Sida cordifolia (Vassou et
al., 2015). In a similar way, DNA barcoding could
successfully detect adulterants of Saraca asoca
and Rauvolfioidae sp. (Mahadani et al., 2013;
Kumar et al., 2016). DNA barcode analysis of
market samples quantified 25 per cent adul-
teration in the traded samples of Phyllanthus
amarus which did not even contain the curative
elements of phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin
(Mishra et al., 2017). The expansion of trade
and commercialization leads to adulteration and
overexploitation of endangered wild resources
to meet the huge demand in national and
international markets. Accurate authentication
can streamline illegal substitutions which is the
basic requirement for the quality assurance in
the herbal drug industry. DNA barcoding was
already proven as an effective tool to ensure
the quality in many of the medicinal as well as
culinary species viz. Crocus sativus, Curcuma
longa, Piper nigrum, Cinamomum verum and
Myristica fragrans (Parvathy et al., 2014, 2015;
Swetha et al., 2014, 2016; Huang et al., 2015).
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
Accurate, reliable and rapid identification
of plant and animal species is always a chal-
lenge in biosystematics and conservation of wild
resources. In this context, the DNA barcoding
provides an innovative and automatable species
identification tool using short conserved region
of the gene. The past decade had witnessed a
variety of methodological advancements in DNA
barcoding besides drastic reduction in the cost
of Sanger sequencing, leading to the generation
of an immense reference barcode database for
all sorts of organism. The DNA barcode data-
base in the accessible public domain (https://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) is expected to expand
in the coming years as well and advances in
sequence data handling will enable us to assign
sequences of unknown species with great amount
of accuracy. High rates of intra-specific diver-
gence in geographically isolated populations of
species and low inter-specific genetic distance
in recently evolved species are some of the
serious limitations in DNA barcoding which can
be overcome through exhaustive taxon sampling.

of Medicinal Plants’ KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Besides species inventory, understanding
species relationships and forensic uses involving
endangered species and detection of illegally
traded species, the concept DNA barcoding has
been refined further to DNA metabarcoding,
wherein component species of an environmental
mixture can be identified (Taberlet et al., 2012).
Even though the absence of a universal barcode
locus is one of the major impediments and a
challenging task ahead in plant DNA barcod-
ing, coupled with Next Generation Sequencing
(NGS) platform, DNA barcoding can capture
enormous sequence data which can contribute
immensely to the fields of biodiversity conser-
vation and to unravel the biological attributes
of any species on the planet.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the financial support
provided By National Medicinal Plant Board
(NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India
(F.No. Z.18017/187/CSS/R&D/KE-01/2016-17-
NMPB-IV A).
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 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

13

02
Biotechnological approaches in conservation of
medicinal plants: a review

INTRODUCTION
According to the World Health Organization
Rini Vijayan K.P.
(WHO) the majority of the world’s human
Sreeja C.S.
population, especially those in the developing
Raghu A.V.*
countries, depends on traditional medicine based
on medicinal and aromatic plants (WHO 2002).
Between 50,000 and 70,000 plant species are
known to be in use in various traditional and
modern healing systems throughout the world
(Schippmann et al., 2006). About 3,000 medic-
inal and aromatic plants species are traded
internationally (Lange and Schippmann, 1997),
while an even larger number of medicinal and
aromatic plants species are traded in local,
national, and regional markets. However, only a
few Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’ (MAP) spe-
cies are cultivated. The great majority of MAP
species traded are collected from wild habitats
(Lange and Schippmann 1997; Srivastava et
al., 1996; Xiao Pen-Gen, 1991).
In spite of all the advantages we derive out
Kerala Forest Research Institute, of the medicinal plants, overexploitation and
Peechi, 680653, Kerala, India habitat loss has lead most of the important
Email: dravraghu@gmail.com
medicinal species to the verge of genetic erosion
14 Review of biotechnological approaches
and extinction. The primary factors triggering
the extinction vortex are habitat loss, competition
from introduced invasive species and over-ex-
ploitation of the wild populations. Typically
these factors reduce population sizes making
the sepcies vulnerable to stochastic effects and
environmental catastrophe (demographic or
genetic) such as inbreeding depression, loss of
genetic variation and accumulation of delete-
rious mutation (Frankham, 1995).
In the guidelines on the on the conserva-
tion of medicinal plants by the WHO and
IUCN suggest in situ conservation as the ideal
approach for conservation of medicinal plants.
in situ conservation is best operationalised by
setting aside large areas as nature reserves and
national parks (collectively termed “Protected
Areas”) and also by ensuring that as many wild
species as possible is made to survive in man-
aged habitats, such as farms and plantation
forests. Even though the fragmented habitats,
decreased genetic diversity, persisting conditions
which threatens the existence of the species
under conservation and the damages caused
by poachers and ecotourists may still cause
problems in in situ conservation.
Medicinal plant conservation can also be
accomplished by adopting several kinds of ex
situ conservation techniques which include culti-
vating and maintaining plants outside the natural
habitat such as botanical gardens, parks etc.
and by long-term preservation of propagules
by different scientific techniques. This makes ex
situ conservation a combination of conventional
and scientific techniques. Wherever conventional
methods are difficult to pu into practice due to
limited land area and threat due to environ-
mental hazards, scientific techniques such as in
vitro conservation, DNA storage etc. can be
employed as a means to same end.
IN VITRO CONSERVATION
The most preferred in ex situ conservation
method is seed gene bank or seed storage,
however, this is not practical for germplasm from
plants that are either clonally propagated or
that do not produce seeds or produce recalci-
trant seeds. Clonally propagated plants thus
require special conservation approaches such
as maintenance in field gene bank and the
conservation in cold stores of dormant vegetative
propagules (Reed, 2001). Though field gene
banks are simple and can fulfil the immediate
conservation needs, this method possesses its
own drawbacks in the economic and practical
sides (Withers, 1991). In vitro storage of ger-
mplasm was first reported by Henshaw et al.
in 1975. In case of vegetatively propagated
plants the clonal material carries variable gene
combinations which have been maintained by
the avoidance of sexual reproduction. In case of
field gene banks the traditional procedures tend
to be expensive due to high labour cost, vulnera-
bility to environmental hazards, the requirement
of a large amount of space, vulnerability to
pests and pathogens and natural disasters etc.
(Rajasekharan, 2015). Under these circumstances
in vitro conservation is complementary to field
gene banks, seed gene banks and pollen/DNA
preservation which along with in situ conservation
measures provide an integrated conservation
strategy (Rajasekharan, 2015). Nowadays in
vitro conservation is preferentially applied to
clonal crop germplasm as it also supports safe
germplasm transfer under-regulated phytosani-
tary control (IBPGR, 1998). This technique, where
plant material is stored in a nutrient medium
under artificial conditions, are being increasingly
used as an alternative to conserve vegetatively
propagated species and threatened plant spe-
cies (Fay1994; Bhat et al., 1995; Sharma and
chandel 1996). Now it is possible to provide a
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
germplasm storage procedure which uniquely
combines the possibilities of disease elimination
and rapid clonal propagation (Henshaw and
grout 1977). The basic objectives of in vitro
conservation technology are the maintenance
and exchange of germplasm in disease-free and
genetically stable state through tissue culture
(Rajasekharan, 2015).
The facilities for tissue culture, storage
facility, green/glasshouse facility, and facility
for monitoring genetic stability, the presence
of trained scientists and technicians, and link-
age with farmer’s field etc. are the essential
prerequisites for the successful establishment
of an in vitro conservation system. An in vitro
conservation programme consists of two main
stages.
1) In vitro multiplication of selected species
2) In vitro storage or preservation
The duration of storage may vary depending
upon the requirement, the technique applied as
well as the infrastructure availability.
IN VITRO CULTURE SYSTEMS
Tissue culture techniques help to propagate
plants of economic importance such as orna-
mental plants, medicinal plants and forestry
species in large numbers by different in vitro
methods. Plant tissue culture and other in vitro
conservation methods has also contributed in
larger extent for the conservation of threatened,
rare and endangered medicinal plant species
(Raghu, 2017). Even though tissue culture is an
essential component in the in vitro conserva-
tion of plant material, the technique should be
employed cautiously as there are no universally
applicable procedures. In some cases it may
even be necessary to employ different proto-
cols for the species and varieties in a single
collection (George and Sherrington, 1984).
Under in vitro condition, the cultures should be
15
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
transferred to fresh media in every few days
or weeks. Each transfer event carries the risk
of contamination with microbial organisms. The
procedure itself is labour intensive and there
should be strict monitoring for maintaiing ade-
quately controlled culture conditions over a very
long period of time (Withers, 1991). Apart from
this, the genetic instability due to somaclonal
variation also aggravates the problem. Due
to this instability callus cultures are generally
considered unsuitable for germplasm storage
(George and Sherrington, 1984). The source
of explant, the age of culture, hormones used,
genotype and ploidy status etc. also act as a
source of variation in some cases (Rajasekharan,
2015). But the use of highly organized shoot or
embryo culture reduces the risk of somaclonal
variation (Withers, 1991). Shoot tip cultures are
the most recommended culture system for long-
term conservation. A survey of the available
prorocols for the in vitro conservation of the
Important medicinal species are summerised
in the Annexure-I.
The cultures can be initiated from two types
of explants that retain developmental integrity
such as meristems, shoot tips and axillary buds
and explants that differentiate to a more or
less organized state such as somatic embryos
and adventitious buds through a disorganized
callus phase (Rajasekharan, 2015). One of the
important requirement of in vitro conservation
is to get high frequency regeneration of plants
from organized explants such as meristems, shoot
tips, embryos, embryonic axes and plantlets
as they offer the lowest frequency of genetic
variation during conservation (Karp 1989).
According to Grout (1995) for a successful in
vitro conservation system, the cultures should
have the following properties:
• Should have minimal growth and develop-
ment in vitro.
16 Review of biotechnological approaches
• Should maintain viability of stored material
at the highest possible level along with the
minimum risk of genetic variation.
• Should maintain full developmental and func-
tional potential of the stored material when
it is returned to physiological temperature.
• Should make significant savings in labour
input, material and commitment of special-
ized facilities.
The following are certain advantages of in vitro
conservation (Rajasekharan, 2015)
• Reduction of space requirement.
• Production of pathogen-free stocks.
• The collection may occur at any time inde-
pendent of flowering and fruiting season.
• Viruses can be eliminated through meristem
cultures.
• Rapid multiplication if necessary is possible.
• Seeds difficult to germinate can be germi-
nated through embryo rescue.
• Distribution across borders may be safer.
IN VITRO CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
The most important stage of in vitro con-
servation comes after the successful establish-
ment of in vitro culture of the desired plant and
getting sufficient multiplication ie. an effective
method for in vitro storage. In some cases, it can
be achieved by simply subculturing regularly
into fresh media. But this process is itself labour
intensive and the chance for microbial contami-
nation is high during the transfer. In some cases,
loss of morphogenic capacity and somaclonal
variation may occur. The best strategy for in vitro
conservation is to reduce frequent demand for
subculture and this can be achieved in cultures
maintaining under normal growth or by using
some growth limiting factors (Grout 1995).
Cultures under normal growth
In certain plants, it is possible to maintain
cultures under normal growth conditions for long-
term and this method is preferred for inherently
slow growing, stable systems and for cultures
for which there is no other method is possible
(Rajasekharan, 2015). Even though this method
is not universally advisable, it has some ben-
efits of its own, which includes minimizing the
requirement of a low - temperature facility for
storage, avoiding stress inducible variability
and the possibility for continues multiplication
and exchange.
Cultures under slow growth
Slow growth method is the most suitable
and widely applicable and most recommended
method for in vitro conservation as it reduces the
requirement for subculture and restricts growth
and development without causing any damage
to the tissue. The reduction of growth can be
achieved by modifying the culture condition or
through the reduced culture condition (RCC); for
instance by lowering the temperature, sucrose
and mineral element concentration or by lim-
iting the quantity of oxygen available to the
culture or another method consists of lowering
the partial oxygen pressure, by reducing the
atmospheric pressure in the culture chamber or
by injecting a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen
(Engelmann, 1991).
The slow growth method is practiced by
applying the following conditions in single or
in combination (Rajasekharan, 2015).
• By changing the type of enclosures
• By reducing temperature/ light
• Use of growth retarders
• Use of minimal media
• Addition of osmotica
Type of enclosures
The type of enclosures used in in vitro cultures
plays an important role in subculture period. The
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
replacement of cotton plugs with polypropyl-
ene caps can reduce evaporation rate of water
from media and thereby increases the storage
time. It is one of the simple and cost-effective
method for increasing the subculture period or
storage time. (Balachandran 1990; Sharma and
Chandel 1992b).
Reducing temperature
The very common method to reduce the
growth of tissue under in vitro condition is to
reduce the temperature in which the culture is
maintained. A reduced temperature lower than
required for normal growth would reduce the
metabolic activities and leads to the reduced
growth. In most cases, the storage temperature
is species specific. Most temperate species are
grown at a temperature in the range of 20°C to
25°C. But for storage purpose, it is reduced to
6°C to 10°C for temperate plants and between
15°C to 25°C for tropical plants (Withers, 1991).
This process will extend the subculture period
up to 1 – 2 years in some plants. One of the
additional facility required for low-temperature
storage is the provision of a controlled envi-
ronment cabinet or room normally maintained
below ambient temperature. Care must be taken
to avoid temperature below freezing or where
chilling injury can occur. (Lyons et al., 1979). In
some cases, low temperature is accompanied
with a reduction of light intensity. One of the
disadvantages of low-temperature storage is
that this stressful condition may have detrimental
effects upon the tissue under culture and can
negatively affect the ability to reestablish in
the field and the risk of genetic instability is
also problematic. However low-temperature
incubation is one of the most recommended
and highly promising methods for long-term
in vitro storage.
17
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Addition of osmotica
Addition of osmotica with or without low-tem-
perature incubation has also proved to be an
important technique to prolong subculture period
(Rajasekharan, 2015). High concentration of
sucrose In media can also have an inhibitory but
non-toxic effect on plant cell growth. This can
be a successful method in in vitro conservation.
Change of the source of carbon in media such
as the addition of non-metabolizable sugars
like mannitol and sorbitol also has a remarkable
effect on growth rate (Rajasekharan, 2015).
The response of tissues to this treatment will
be species specific. However, a combination of
osmiotica and reduced temperature treatment is
the most realistic and cost-effective procedure.
Use of growth retardants
Chemicals such as abscisic acid, N-dimethyl
aminosuccinamic acid, maleic hydrazide (MH),
Trans-cinnamic acid (TCA), chlorocholine chlo-
ride (CCC), phosphon-D, daminozide (B995)
and cycocel etc. can have a positive effect in
reducing growth of in vitro cultures and thereby
increases the subculture period up to 6-12
months. Compared to low-temperature treatment
this method is simpler and cheaper. By using
these chemicals cultures can be stored at normal
culture room, thus eliminates the requirement
for low temperature. But the addition of these
chemicals can cause certain negative effects in
culture tissue such as inducing stunted growth,
regeneration of abnormal plants, inducing tol-
erance to growth retardants and induction of
genetic variation etc.
Some of the other approaches to slow growth
storage include mineral oil overlay, reduced
oxygen tension, and defoliation of shoots etc.
(Withers, 1991).
18 Review of biotechnological approaches
CRYOPRESERVATION
Cryopreservation is a routine method for the
preservation and maintenance of type cultures
in microbiology and in animal cell culture. Less
attention has been given to the development
of cryopreservation method for plant materials
(Withers, 1991). Higher plant culture systems
vary enormously in size, complexity, culture
requirements and responses to freezing and
thawing. It is, therefore, impossible to gener-
alize about the cryopreservation conditions
appropriate for each type of culture system
or the progress achieved in their development
(Withers, 1991). In cryopreservation experiments
with plant cell cultures, the most widely studied
system is the cell suspension cultures. Suspension
of young cells in an exponential growth phase,
provide the best starting material and has shown
the best response to cryopreservation (George
and  Sherrington, 1984). The introduction of
methods like PVS2 solution (Sakai et al., 1990)
and encapsulation-dehydration technique (Fabre
and Dereudde, 1990) has made this technique
more acceptable for in vitro preservation. PVS2
is a highly concentrated cryoprotective solution
containing glycerol, ethylene glycol and DMSO.
This solution helps sufficient dehydration from
cells and thereby permitting vitrification during
freezing and subsequent steps in cryopreserva-
tion. Whereas the encapsulation-dehydration
technique involves encapsulation of plant mate-
rial in a protective matrix and its subsequent
controlled dehydration. The easier manipulation
of delicate tissue and direct protection during
dehydration and thawing process are the main
advantages of the second technique (Paul et al.,
2000). During the development of the procedure
for cryopreservation, it is important to assess
the condition of the specimen at various stages.
The structural damages can be examined by
direct microscopic examination. Ultrastructural
examination with electron microscopes is also
helpful to provide information regarding cellular
damage (George and Sherrington, 1984). If
the problems regarding genetic variability and
difficulties faced during the development of
whole plant from cell suspension cultures can
be solved, the suspension culture system seems
likely to provide the most generally applica-
ble material for cryopreservation (George
and Sherrington, 1984). A list of the medicinal
plants under cryopreservation is available in
the Annexure-II.
The procedure for cryopreservation can be
divided into the following stages: - Pregrowth,
cryoprotection, cooling, storage, thawing, post-
thaw treatment, and growth recovery (Withers,
1991).
Pregrowth
During pregrowth treatments the cell aggre-
gates are fractionated by physical treatments
for reducing the cell size and subjected to a
passage through a medium containing manni-
tol, sorbitol, or proline to increase the freeze
tolerance.
Cryoprotection
During this stage the cultures are subjected
to treatment with cryoprotectants such as DMSO
(Dimethyl sulphoxide). In some cases a mixture
of DMSO with glycerol and sucrose or man-
nitol, amino acids and methanol are usually
more effective. The pH of the culture medium
containing cryoprotectant chemicals should be
adjusted to that of the standard culture medium
and it should be filter sterilized and chilled
before applying to the culture system. After
the incubation with cryoprotectant, the cells are
transferred to sterile ampoules. According to
Bajaj and Reinert (1977) the efficient cryopro-
tectant should possess the following properties.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
»» Should be non-toxic
»» Should have low molecular weight
»» Should be readily miscible with water
»» Should have an ability to permeate cells
rapidly and
»» Should be easily washed away from cells.
Cooling
To enable the process of protective dehy-
dration slow cooling is carried out. During this
process, the extracellular medium freezes first
and this causes the extraction of water from the
cell. This is carried out for reducing the amount
of intracellular water which could produce ice
damage when freezing take place.
Storage
After cooling the cryopreserved material is
stored at low temperature in a vacuum insulated
refrigerator.
Warming
To avoid any damage created by recrystal-
lization warming is normally carried out rapidly.
It is carried out by agitating the ampoules in
a container of sterile warm water at approxi-
mately 40°C. During this step, care should be
taken to avoid overheating.
Post thaw treatment
In this step the cells are layered on to a plate
of semi-solid medium. This is done to avoid the
damages caused by deplasmolysis. The direct
transfer to liquid medium will severely affect
the viability and can cause delayed growth
recovery.
Growth recovery
The cells are left to remain in the semisolid
media for a few days and allowed to reabsorb
the liquid in which they were suspended. After
the careful removal of the left media containing
19
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
cryoprotectant, the cells are left for a few more
days or weeks to continue growth recovery. Once
growth is clearly established, the cells can be
transferred to liquid media and subjected to
normal subculture periodically.
As the cell suspension culture is not normally
the system of choice for conservation work, the
widest application of cryopreservation is likely
to be in the field of secondary product industry
and in some applications of biotechnology for
crop improvement (Withers, 1991). However,
researchers are actively undergoing to explore
and exploit the full potential of this technique
for in vitro conservation of plant materials.
CONCLUSION
Significant advances have been made during
the past decade in the development of in vitro
techniques for the conservation of plant genetic
resources. In vitro collecting, slow-growth and
cryopreservation procedures are now available
for a wide range of plant species. There is an
increasing number of cases where slow growth
and cryopreservation could be used to improve
the conservation of genetic resources of problem
species (Engelmann, 1991). Since the medicinal
plant biodiversity is facing a critical stage of
exploitation, the advanced methods like in vitro
conservation can be a complementary tool with
the conventional methods for developing the
effective conservation strategies.
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 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 25
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
ANNEXURE-I

Important medicinal species under in vitro conservation

Storage
Species Storge Condition Reference
Period
Slow growth
Achillea frarantissima Younis (2012)
conservation using ABA
10°C and reduced
Acorus calamus 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
light intensity
4°C (Encapsulated
Adhatoda vasica 45 days Anand and Bansal (2002)
shoot buds)
Aegle marmelos 10°C and SCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Alpinia galanga 10°C and SCC 3 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Aristolochia indica 10°C and SCC 4 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Artocarous heterophyllus 10°C 4 years Ganeshan et al., 2010
Artocarpus heterophyllus 10°C and SCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Bacopa monnierii 10°C and SCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
6 -24 and
Bacopa monnieri 2°C Sharma et al., 2016
months
Cannabis sativa L. Encapsulation 24 weeks Lata et al., 2012
Centella asiatica 10°C and SCC 2 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Slow growth
Chrysanthemum
conservation using Shibli, et al., 1992
morifolium
osmotic agents
Cissus quadrangularis 10°C and SCC 3 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Citrus 10°C and SCC 2 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Coleus forskohlii 10°C and SCC 2 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Coleus zeylanicus 10°C and SCC 2 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Coleus sp. 10°C 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Curculigo orchioides 10°C and SCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Curcuma aromatica SCC 379 days Tyagi et al., 2004
up to 12
Curcuma longa SCC Tyagi et al., 2007
months
264-279
Curcuma malabarica SCC Tyagi et al., 2004
days
Cyclea peltata 10°C and SCC 3 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Decalepis hamiltonii 10°C and SCC 2 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Decalepis hamiltonii 2°C 6 weeks Sharma and Anwar (2012)
Dioscorea bulbifera 10°C and SCC 5 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Elettaria cardamomum Slow growth 18 months Tyagi et al., 2009
Eleutherococcus
2°C 4 weeks Yang et al., 2012
senticosus
Hemidesmus indicus 10°C and SCC 3 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
26 Review of biotechnological approaches

Storage
Species Storge Condition Reference
Period
Holarrhena
10°C and SCC 4 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
antidysentrica
Slow growth
Ipomea batata Gopal et al., 2004
conservation using ABA
Kaempferia galanga 10°C and RCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2009
Lippia nodiflora 10°C and SCC 3 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Momordica sahyadrica 10°C and SCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2012
Nothapodyes nimmoniana 10°C and SCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Ocimum 10°C and SCC 1 month Rajasekharan et al., 2010
4°C (Encapsulated
Ocimum sp 60 days Mandal et al., 2000
shoot buds)
6 weeks –
Pelargonium sidoides 2°C Moyo et al., 2013
12 months
Piper aduncum Slow growth Silva et al., 2011
Piper hispidinervum Slow growth Silva et al., 2011
Piper longum SCC 4- 8 weeks Rani and Dantu (2012)
Slow growth
Piper nigrum conservation using Silva and Pereira, 2011
ABA
Rauvolfie serpentina 10°C and SCC 1 year Rajasekharan et al., 2007
Taxus media 5°C 180 days Li et al., 2013
Slow growth
Teucrium polium L conservation using Rabba’a et al., 2012
osmotic agents and ABA
Tylophora indica 10°C and SCC 4 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Tylophora indica 10°C and RCC 6 months Rajasekharan et al., 2009
10months
Vanilla planifolia 2°C Divakaran et al., 2006
to 7 years
Vitex negundo 10°C and SCC 3 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Wedelia chinensis 10°C and SCC 2 months Rajasekharan et al., 2010
Zeyheria Montana Slow growth 6months Bertoni et al., 2013
Zingiber sp. 10°C and SCC 2-3weeks Tyagi et al.,2006

SCC: Standard culture condition, RCC: Reduced culture condition


MEDICINAL PLANTS UNDER CRYOPRESERVATION
Species
Achillea fragrantissima L.
Ajuga reptance
Anemarrhena asphodeloides
Anisodus acutangulus
Artemisia annua
Artemisia herba-alba
Artemisia herba-alba
Astragalus membranaceus
Atropa belladonna
Atropa belladonna
Berberis dictyophilla
Berberis wilsoniae
Capparis spinosa
Capparis spiunosa
Catharanthus roseus
Catharanthus roseus
Cichorium sp.
Cinchona ledgeriana
Citrus aurantium
Citrus sinensis
Citrus spp.
Coleus blumei
Crocus hyemalis
Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 27
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
ANNEXURE-II
Storage period Referennce
Vitrification Younis, 2012
Hairy root culture
Hirata et al., 2002
inencapsulation -Dehydration
Embryogenic calli under
Sen-Rong et al., 2012
vitrification
Cryopreservation of suspension Zheng Guang-zhi et al.,
culture 1983
Hairy root culture
Teoh et al., 1996
inprogrammed freezing
Vitrification Sharaf, et al., 2012
Encapsulated shoot tips
Sharaf, et al., 2012
Cryopreservation
Hairy root culture
Xue et al., 2008
inencapsulation - vitrification
Hairy root culture inVitrifi
Touno et al., 2006
cation
Protoplast and cell Bajaj, 1988Nag and
cryopreservation Street (1975)
Cell suspension in
Withers, 1985
cryopreservation
Cell suspension in
Reuff, 1987
cryopreservation
Encapsulated shoot tips
Shatnawi, 2011
Cryopreservation
Vitrification Shatnawi, 2011
Cell suspension in Kartha et al., 1982Chen
cryopreservation et al., 1984Withers, 1985
Chen et al., 1984 Bachiri
Cryopreserved cells
et al., 1995
Demeulemeister et al.,
Cryopreserved shoot tips 1993Vandenbussche et al.,
1993
Protoplast Hunter, 1986
Vitrification Al-Ababneh, et al., 2002
Somatic embryos in Marin & Duran-Vila
cryopreservation (1988)
Pollen embryos in
Bajaj, 1984
cryopreservation
Cryopreserved cells Reuff et al., 1987
Encapsulated embryonic callus
Shibli et al., 2009
Cryopreservation
28 Review of biotechnological approaches

Species Storage period Referennce

Encapsulated embryonic callus
Crocus hyemalis Shibli et al., 2009
Cryopreservation
Encapsulated embryonic callus
Crocus moabiticus Shibli et al., 2009
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation ofCell Buutenko et al.,
Datura deltoidia
suspensionshoot tips 1984Dixit, 2001
Datura floribunda Cryopreservation of shoot tips Mandal, 2000Ahuja, 2001
Cryopreservation of suspension
Datura stramonium Bajaj, 1976
culture
Weber et al.,
Dature inoxia Protoplast
1983Bajaj,1988
Diettrich et al.,
Digitalis lanata Cell cultures
1982Goldner et al., 1991
Digitalis thapsi Cell cultures Moran Cacho, 1999
Hairy root culture
Eruca sativa Xue et al., 2008
inencapsulation - vitrification
Eucalyptus sp. Leaf Paques et al., 1996
Gentiana scabra Axillary bud Suzuki et al., 1998
Holostemma annulare Shoot tips Decruse et al., 1999
Adventitious root culture in
Hyoscyamus niger Jung et al., 2001
Vitrification
Hairy root culture inVitrifi
Maesa lanceolata cation Encapsulation - Lambert et al., 2009
dehydration
Mentha sp. Shoot tip Towil, 1990
Nicotaina sylvestrys Suspension culture Maddox et al., 1983
Nicotiana plubajinifolia Suspension culture Maddox et al., 1983
Cell suspension in
Nicotiana plumbaginifolia Maddox et al., 1982-83
cryopreservation
Hairy root culture
Nicotiana rustica Benson andHamill (1991)
inprogrammed freezing
Nicotiana tabacum Suspension culture Sami et al., 1998
Olea europaea Shoot tips Martinez et al., 1999
Adventitious root culture in
Panax ginseng Oh et al., 2009
Vitrification
Hairy root culture inVitrifi
Panax ginseng Yoshimatsu et al., 1996
cation
Cell suspension in
Panax ginseng Butenko et al., 1984
cryopreservation
Yoshimatsu et al.,
Panax ginseng Hairy root cells
1996Joshi and Tang, 2000
Species Storage period Referennce
Papaver somniferum Transformed cells Gazeau et al., 1998
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 29
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

Species Storage period Referennce

Encapsulated embryonic callus
Phoenix dactylfera Subaih et al., 2007
Cryopreservation
Phoenix dactylifera Vitrification Subaih, et al., 2007
Polygonum avuculare Suspension cell culture Swan et al., 1998
Cell suspension in
Rhazia orientalis Withers, 1985
cryopreservation
Droplet vitrification of hairy
Rubia akane. Kim et al., 2012, 2014
root culture
Satureja spicigera Callus vitrification with PVS3 Namazi et al., 2016
Meristem culture in
Solanum goniocalix Grout & Henshaw (1978)
cryopreservation
Cell suspension in Schrijnemakers et al.,
Tabernaemontana divaricata
cryopreservation 1990
Encapsulated shoot tips
Teucrium polium Rabba’a, et al., 2012
Cryopreservation
Teucrium polium Vitrification Rabba’a, 2010
Trifolium repens Shoot tips Yamada et al.,1991
Hairy root culture in
Vinca minor Hirata et al., 2002
encapsulation - dehydration
Encapsulation -dehydration
Ziziphora tenuior L. Al-Baba et al., 2015
andencapsulation - vitrification
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

30

03
The medicinal plants sector supporting livelihoods
and industry
problems and probable explanations in Kerala, India
ABSTRACT
V. Anitha* This chapter attempts an exploration of synergistic
opportunities for livelihoods and industry linked with the
Nidheesh Joseph*
medicinal plants sector in lieu of ever-growing demand
J. Krishnakumar** for these resources in the local, regional and international
Nipin M.* markets. The collection of medicinal plants has been an
Divya Soman* important source of livelihood to the forest dependent
communities’ world over. Medicinal plants make a key
source of sustenance to the dependent communities. Markets
and trade in medicinal plants have been growing over
the years valued at millions of dollars. However, various
economic and market studies on medicinal plants indicate
inconsistencies in terms of the profit shares received by
the primary collectors versus the traders at the end of the
supply chain. Furthermore, owing to the market pressures
combined with poor or ineffective management of medic-
inal plants and perverse incentive mechanisms, medicinal
plants are under threat. One of the best example of this
is the Ayurvedic industry, which has a substantial base in
Kerala. Approximately 80 per cent of the raw materials
to the industry are wild harvested medicinal plants. With
the growing international popularity of Ayurveda, and
roping in of international icons as brand ambassadors
for Ayurveda, the market demand on medicinal plants are
Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI)*, expected to increase. In addition, unclear property rights
Peechi, Thrissur, India. have further disenfranchised the traditional communities
School of Environmental and Forest Sciences,** from effectively managing these natural resources, and
University of Washington, Seattle, USA. poor management may result in resource depletion and
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
associated ecological consequences. Studies have reported
on how market pressures are affecting the industry in the
form of adulteration of raw materials and poor returns. In
response to this, various policies, management and market
strategies have been recommended and tested. Furthermore,
a macro-scenario of the medicinal plants Industry in Kerala,
and key issues and opportunities are also discussed. Using
the specific case of the wild harvested medicinal plant sector
in Kerala, it is highlighted that a growing informal sector,
market failure and institutional overlaps are the key issues
facing the medicinal plants sector. Further chronicled and
discussed is the recently implemented Forest Rights Acts
2006 and its implications. In addition, traditional linkage
to these resources by tribal communities across the State
continues to exist and with new policies ensuring greater
autonomy in access and management of these common
pool resources, livelihood and conservation outcomes
are expected to be influenced. Lastly, it is proposed that
improved mechanisms towards sustainable management
of medicinal plants and economic outcomes focusing on
social development of the primary stakeholder are pivotal
to Conservation and Development of Medicinal Plants and
Benefit Sharing with Local Communities.
INTRODUCTION
Global market for medicinal plants (MPs) has
been growing at a brisk pace of seven per cent
annually, capitalising on the growing awareness
of herbal and aromatic plants worldwide. The
United States accounted for nearly 50 per cent
of the export of Indian medicinal plants and
products. India’s share in the US imports of
pharmaceutical preparations had steadily been
increasing since 1998. One of the problems
faced by the sector is destructive harvesting,
inefficient, imperfect market, and informal trad-
ers (Times of India, 2005). Medicinal Plants
have been an important source of livelihood
to the forest dependent communities in India.
They not only contribute to poverty alleviation
through income generation but is also a key
source of sustenance to the dependent com-
munities. The pivotal question today is whether
synergetic opportunities between MPs livelihood
and conservation continues to hold relevance
31
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
considering the growing market presence of MPs
as well as the growing concern over resource
use and its impact on biodiversity conservation.
Various policy and institutional arrangements
over the years have been tried and tested to
address this contradicting and challenging yet
unavoidable situation. Beginning from exclusive
arrangements through creation of Protected
Areas to inclusive arrangements that focused
on participatory approaches were introduced as
efforts to address this dilemma facing the MPs
sector. Over time the role of community, espe-
cially those directly dependent on MPs for their
sustenance and livelihood in ensuring the sus-
tainable use and conservation of MPs began to
gather importance. Participatory arrangements
began to take shape that emphasized the role
of community in decision making concerning use
and management of this resources. The focus was
on use rights over the resources rather than full
property rights to the traditional communities.
Community based natural resource management
(CBNRM) became the prescribed approach to
ensure positive livelihood as well as conservation
outcomes (Krishnakumar et al., 2014; Agrawal,
2005). However, with the weakening of partici-
patory approaches, ensuring a win-win situation
became challenging. As a result, new policies
and institutional arrangements began to take
shape. The ratification of the Convention on
Biological Diversity in 1992 and the implemen-
tation of the Biodiversity Act 2002 are examples
of these changes (Krishnakumar et al., 2014).
Despite various policies, market pressures
and oversimplification of policy prescriptions
were beginning to have set backs on the MPs
sector in India (Arjunan et al., 2006). In addition,
with increasing knowledge on forest ecology,
it became apparent that harvesting of MPs
to meet market demand might have negative
consequences on conservation of resources and
32 Medicinal plants sector supporting livlihoods
and industry
ultimately the ecology of the region (Ticktin,
2004). Following these realizations, it became
clear that MPs management requires a more
nuanced approach where the products and
its use are contextualized. This meant not only
focusing on the economic or ecological value
of these resources but also incorporating its
socio-cultural value. Incorporating these multi-di-
mensional aspects required greater stakeholder
engagements that enhanced the feeling of
ownership, participation and decision making
among them. New market strategies began
taking shape and were being recommended.
For example, certification of MPs that requires
multi-stakeholder cooperation with the potential
to improve both livelihood and conservation
outcomes is being recommended in India con-
sidering the increasing international demand
for MPs as raw materials to the traditional
medicine industry as well as pharmaceutical
and cosmetics companies. However, lessons from
implementing MPs certification stresses on the
need to tailor the certification standards to meet
local conditions. Else, it can become too complex
and expensive to adopt by the local stake-
holders, particularly the primary stakeholders.
Recent studies have suggested certification as
an effective approach to tackle some of the
dilemmas facing the MPs sector (Krishnakumar et
al. 2014; 2015). Simultaneously, the concept of
property rights underwent change from partial
access rights to the idea of full ownership and
entitlements to the stakeholders (Anitha, 2016).
Subsequently, the Forest Rights Act 2006 (FRA)
was implemented that provided full property
rights to the eligible stakeholders that included
individual rights as well as community rights.
THE LINKAGES
The vast natural resources of India’s forests,
including non-timber forest products, such as,
medicinal and aromatic plants, leaves, fruits,
seeds, resins, gums, bamboos, and canes, offer
employment that provides up to half the income
of about 25 per cent of the country’s rural labour
force. However, poor harvesting practices and
over-exploitation in the face of increasing mar-
ket demand are threatening the sustainability
of these resources, and thus the livelihoods of
forest-dependent tribal communities. Medicinal
plants have been known for millennia and are
highly esteemed all over the world as a rich
source of therapeutic agents for the prevention
of diseases, nature has bestowed our coun-
try with enormous wealth of medicinal plants;
therefore, India has often been referred to as
the medicinal garden of the world (Sharma
Alok et al., 2008).
There are around 100 million forest dwellers
in India, of which about 54 million belong to
tribal communities. The forests provide them
with sustenance, providing both timber and
non-timber forest produce. According to the
Forest Survey of India 2017, forests comprise
almost one quarter of India’s geographical area,
and of these 95 per cent are ‘owned’ by the
state. There are about 45,000 medicinal plant
species in India, with concentrated spots in the
region of Eastern Himalayas, Western Ghats
and Andaman and Nicobar Island. The officially
documented plants with medicinal potential are
3000 but traditional practitioners use more than
6000. India is the largest producer of medici-
nal herbs and second largest medicinal plants
exporter (Ganesan et al., 2016). Medicinal
plants that are significant to the rural poor, as
per Hamilton (2004), 80 per cent of world’s
population relies on traditional medicine systems
for health and livelihood. The value of medicinal
plants related trade in India is in the order of
US $ 5.5 billion and is growing rapidly (Business
Knowledge Resource, GOI., 2017) mainly due
to the presence of the Ayurvedic industry, 80
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
per cent of which is situated in Kerala (Nath,
2010; Jayaraman and Anitha 2010, Anitha et
al., 2013, Anitha , 2015, 2016).
Kerala is considered the home of traditional
ayuvedic system, with a rich biodiversity and nat-
ural ingredients based on plant species. Kerala
has the second largest number of ayurvedic
manufacturing units (12 %) next to Uttar Pradesh
(Harilal, M.S., 2009). As per drugs control
department there are about 800 and above
medicine manufactures having drug license in
Kerala and a major amount of medicinal plants
(90 %) used by these firms are collected from
the wild. According to Harilal (2009) ayurvedic
manufacturers in Kerala could be classified as (a)
Household level, run by traditional practitioners
(Vaidya) to cater local needs, (b) Large-scale
units purely producing ayurvedic medicines as
per texts, (c) Firms, which mainly concentrate
on the nutraceuticals and cosmetics along with
medicines. These are the most common type of
Ayurveda Manufactures in Kerala.
PROCUREMENT AND MARKETING OF ME-
DICINAL PLANTS
Commercially important medicinal plants
33
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
are identified based on the quantity collected
as reflected by high demand and among
the institutions dealing with procurement and
marketing of medicinal plants (Figure 1). The
Kerala State Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
Tribe Cooperative Federation, the apex body
of tribal cooperatives in Kerala concerning
NTFP collection, sale quantity and items clearly
depicted a continual market propelled demand
of commercially important species during the
period from 2006 to 2016. In Kerala, Sida
rhombifolia (Kurumthotti), Pseudarthria viscida
(Moovila), Desmodium gangeticum (Orilaveru),
Solanum indicum (Putharichunda), Strobilanthes
ciliates (Karimkurinji), Acacia sinuate (Cheenikka),
Adhatoda zeylanica (Adalodakam), Symplocos
cochinchinensis (Pachotti Patta), Parmelia dilatata
Vainio (Kalpasam), Phoens pusida (Choolppullu),
and Sterculia foetida (Peenari) are the key
medicinal plants identified. Figure 2 depicts the
average collection charge and sale value. These
are the highly traded and extracted medicinal
plants in Kerala via the formal and informal
route. Key among them, i.e., Sidarhombifolia,
Desmodium gangeticum and Pseudarthriaviscida,
and as reflected in Figure 3, it depicts a not so
steady pattern in its collection and trade in the
formal sector which is indicative of them being
nature based products and their supply can
never be regular and fully reliable. The trade
volume of commercially important medicinal
plants of last ten years, traded via the formal
34 Medicinal plants sector supporting livlihoods
and industry
marketing channels, depicts Sida rhombifolia
as the highly demanded commercial medicinal
plant as it is an important ingredient in most of
the ayurvedic products. These three species of
plants are largely being used in all types of
ayurvedic tonic (kashayam).
The top ten leading firms, namely, Nagarjuna,
Dhanwathari, Oushadi, Vaidyaratnam, Kottakkal
AVS, AVP, SNA, Sitharam Kerala Ayurveda, and
SD Pharmacy firms hold more than 80 per cent of
the market share in the industry. Table 1 depicts
their annual consumption of commercially import-
ant medicinal Plants and its price. Kottakkal AVS
is the largest raw material consuming industry
Figure 4: Annual Requirement of raw drug
and the biggest manufacturer in Kerala. While
SD pharmacy gives highest price for MPs in
the case of Desmodium gangeticum and and
Primary Collectors
CHANNEL 1 CHANNEL 2
Auction Sale
1st Wholesaler Wholesaler
2nd Wholesaler Retailers
End user Export/Industry/
Consumers
Figure 5. The formal and informal marketing
Pseudarthria viscida, Oushadhi gives Rs 117/
kg for Sida rhombifolia, which is highest price
in the state. This clearly indicates the lack of
proper pricing policy supporting the MPs sector
leaving scope for growing informal sector and
market anomalies. Selected raw drug annual
requirement of leading firms depicts in Figure
4. Among these species, Sidarhombifolia is high
in demand while Desmodium gangeticum and
Pseudarthriaviscida are required in same quan-
tity for most others except Sithram pharmacy.
Kottakkal AVS and AVP need more quantity
as they cover 60 per cent of the market share
in the industry.
MARKET ANOMALIES AND THE SUPPLY ROUTE
The medicinal plants market is an example
of imperfect competition as the market structure
is a continuum between ideals of perfect com-
petition and monopoly. The market structure is
oligopolistic in nature characterized by (a) an
industry dominated by a small number of large
firms, (b) large number of small firms, (c) firms
sell either identical or differentiated products,
and (3) the industry has significant barriers to
entry. Large number of marketing channels have
been identified covering the formal and informal
markets (Figure 5).
CHANNEL 3 CHANNEL 4
Auction
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 35
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
There are several minor and major markets collection in Kerala), agents/middlemen, Vana
existing in the state (Map 1). These markets are Samrakshana Samithies/Village Forest com-
located nearby Protected Areas and rural areas mittees/Ecodevelopment Committees, local
due to the availability of medicinal plants. Major contractors, regional wholesale markets, large
market is located in Central Kerala, Thrissur, wholesale markets, and specific suppliers. This
owing to the presence of leading manufacturers contributes to the low prices primary stakehold-
as they are able to easily cater to the raw ers (collectors) and producers (farmers) receive
material requirement of the manufacturing firm. for their products.
Key markets identified in Kerala are Kotoor,
Table 2. illustrates twelve trade supply chains
Thrissur and Wayanad in South, Central and
under three routes, i.e., the formal, partially
Northern Kerala respectively. Raw drugs sources
formal and informal trade route developed
are many from the agricultural farmers to the
based on the Figure 1. A formal sector of
Federation, i.e. the formal and informal sources.
the economy is a well-defined sector or an
Many supply chains exist (Figure 6) with organized sector functioning through govern-
as many as five to six or more marketing ment formed institutions that contributes to
stages starting with the primary stakeholder the gross national product (GNP) and gross
who is the primary collector/producer (the domestic product (GDP) of the country. The
Scheduled Tribe have monopoly rights to informal sector, informal economy, or grey econ-
omy is neither taxed nor
monitored by any form of
government and unlike the
formal economy, it does
not contribute to the coun-
try’s GNP or GDP. Partially
Formal indicate partial
involvement of public
institutions in the medic-
inal plants trade. Length
of supply chain is long in
the case of informal this
lead to exploitation and in
the case of formal supply;
chain is short and getting
better returns to primary
stakeholder. Here there
is an inverse relationship
between length of supply
chain and returns.
Collection of commer-
cially important species
Map1: Medicinal Plants’ Markets in Kerala continues to be more tha
36 Medicinal plants sector supporting livlihoods
and industry

Forest

Non Tribe
Non-Tribal Society

Merchants
Manufacturer

VSS/EDC

Tribe
Middlemen
Homested
Tribal Society

Figure 6 Supply chain of Medicinal Plants

cultivation leading to visible differences in the
raw materials quality, locale of cultivation,
extraction procedure, parts used, storage, and
value addition among others. Medicinal plants
is often also adulterated, as collection from the
wild cannot assure the uniformity of raw mate-
rial, for instance, shortage of Sida rhombifolia
is often substituted with other species like sida
alnifolia (Anitha, 2016).
Given innovative market mechanisms, such
as branding, eco-labelling, certification among
others and to ensure output quality traceability
becomes crucial. The small numbers of large
industries given the oligopolistic market structure
illustrates Industry sourcing their requirements
from the suppliers and wholesalers rather than
directly from the primary collectors or small-
holders for the need of substantial quantities
and a broad range of raw material. Product
traceability here becomes virtually impossi-
ble. Currently, contract farming and buy-back
arrangements provide the only practical alter-
natives for those who insist on traceability. For
example, Oushadhi sources 60 per cent of their
raw drug requirement from outside state from
major suppliers.
THE SECTOR
Formal sector: Trade through government
formed institutions without interventions of pri-
vate individuals/institutions is known as formal
trade channel. Which are, the Kerala SC/ST
Cooperative Development Federation, Vana
Samraskshana Samithi (VSS) / Eco Development
Committee (EDC), Forest Right Committee (FRC).
These are the existing institutions engaged in
the procurement and marketing of medicinal
plants in Kerala. Thus, Kerala SC/ST Cooperative
Development Federation is an apex body, at
the state level was established in 1981.
These formal marketing institutions were cre-
ated as part of different policies of state and
central government during various time period.
The Federation was constituted with the goal
of managing tribal cooperative societies and
these primary cooperatives were executed for
supporting livelihood activities through financial
inclusion. The vana samrakshana samithies /
ecodevelopment Committees (VSS/EDC) were
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 37
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

Table 2: Identified trade routes of Medicinal Plants in Kerala

Sl. Trade
I II III IV
No Route
Manufacturer/
1 Tribal a Middlemen a Informal
End user 
Manufacturer/End Partially
2 Tribal a VSS/EDC a Middlemen a
user Formal
3 Tribal a Manufacturer a    Formal
Manufacturer/
4 Tribal a Local Merchants a Informal
End user 
Manufacturer
5 Tribal a Tribal Society a Formal
/ End user 
Manufacturer/End Partially
6 Tribal a Tribal Society a Middlemen a
user Formal
Non-Tribal Manufacturer
7 Tribal a a Formal
Society / End user 
Non- Manufacturer
8 a Middlemen a Informal
Tribal / End user 

Non- Manufacturer/End Partially

9 a VSS/EDC a Middlemen a
Tribal user Formal

Non-
10 a Manufacturer a    Formal
Tribal
Non- Manufacturer
11 a Local Merchants a Informal
Tribal / End user 
Non- Non-Tribal Manufacturer
12 a a Formal
Tribal Society / End user 

formed with the implementation of Participatory
forest management in the year 1996. The aim
of the policy is inclusion of local people in con-
servation and management of forest resources
with practicing traditional livelihood activities.
This was followed by the creation of the Forest
Rights Committee, an institution formed in 2009
as part of FRA a milestone legislation in the
history of Indian constitution. The objectives of
FRA 2006 was legalizing traditional livelihood
activities and land holding by many generations
of forest dwellers. The issue is all these insti-
tutions working parallel to each other without
any collaboration. This institutional overlap and
its ineffectiveness is also a causative for the
growing informal sector in the medicinal plants
trade in the state.
Informal sector: The MP sector is best depicted
as having a three-core scenario: private sec-
tor dominance; market force dominance and a
growing informal sector (Jayaraman and Anitha,
2010 & 2016). The gaps between the payment
received by the collectors and the retail price of
the commodities and absence of pricing policy
does not help the matter. Weakening of the
formal economy and a growing dependency on
the informal sector has resulted in unsustainable
extraction of the resources impacting its environ-
mental as well as social values. As a result, avail-
ability and quality concerns are impacting the
38 Medicinal plants sector supporting livlihoods
and industry
resource, its trade and ultimately the Ayurvedic
(industry) sector (Madhavan, 2008). Although
new market strategies are urgently needed to
tackle these issues, a thorough understanding
of the existing market arrangements is needed.
Adulteration and substitution are a common phe-
nomenon. Due to the ineffectiveness of existing
marketing arrangements, the livelihood returns
to communities are also impacted. In fact, one
of the major concerns facing the sector is the
growing informal sector where market chains
or trade linkages are ambiguous and unac-
counted for (Anitha, 2016). Medicinal Plants
sector has not received the kind of support given
to agriculture and forestry sectors. Most of the
farmers lack the necessary skills in processing;
packaging and labelling the products which
make them sell the product in their raw form
without adding value which affects the market
of (Ahenkan and Boon, 2010). Market failure
is another major constraint in MPs sector. Lack
of proper market for sale of MPs and lack of
price standardization for a product adds to the
constraints. Lower market efficiency is a major
problem in MPs sector. A market is said to be
efficient when the producer’s share is high and
involves less marketing costs.
Previous studies have shown a strong eco-
nomic and livelihood dependency of indigenous
and other traditional communities on MPs. It is
also important to bear in mind that an impact
on the forest sector will have a ripple effect
on various other associated sectors in the state.
However, institutional inefficiencies have ren-
dered the sector rather weak and vulnerable to
external forces. Furthermore, fluctuating market
influences is adversely impacting the sector as
well as resource availability. For example, under
the policy provisions that was passed in the
1990s, as reported by the Planning Commission
it was decided that approximately 80 per cent
of the sales value from MPS must reach the col-
lector. An analysis carried out by Krishnakumar
et al. (2014), demonstrates how this condition
has been consistently violated. It is evident from
the price received by the collectors from the
government approved cooperative societies and
Challenges of the MPs sector
• Collectors, processors and traders face
problems in finding favorable markets
due to price factors, quality and quan-
tity considerations.
• Local and regional price fluctuations
as well as the lack of current market
and price information affect the in-
come of the actual local collectors who
are dependent on the intermediaries
or village traders.
• Growing informal sector that is larger
than the formal sector.
• Financial and logistic constraints
make it difficult for local producers
and collectors to interact more closely
with prospective clients.
• Inadequate knowledge and incom-
plete information on products,
markets and prices on the part of
collectors/producers.
• No proper access to appropriate
markets and market information of
environmentally and commercially
sound MPs.
• Market inconsistencies and lack of
standardization and consistency in
quality for marketing
• Lack of appropriate pricing policy and
storage facility
• Uneven distribution of benefits.
• Lack of innovative market mecha-
nisms to streamline both environ-
mental and social equity
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
the calculated price gaps. It is also evident
when calculating the price gaps between what
is received by the collectors and the sales prices
of the products at the retail end. For example,
Krishnakumar et al.’s (2014) assessment focusing
on the five key MPs collected by the traditional
collectors in Thrissur region revealed that in terms
of returns, the collectors receive on an average
only 52 per cent of returns from goods sold at
the wholesale level. This is evident from the large
price gaps between the collection end and the
sales end where products are auctioned off
to government approved collection societies,
despite. These price gaps become even wider
(only an average of 20% of returns) when
the collection rates are compared to the rates
received by those selling the products at the
retail end. These discrepancies are attributable
to the collectors’ lack of market knowledge and
their lack of bargaining capacity considering
their comparatively weak socio-political and
cultural status due to inefficiencies in policy
implementation.
Institutional overlaps and poor function-
ing of existing marketing channels have also
contributed to the problem. These issues have
pushed the collectors into exploring and opting
for alternative channels for improved and quick
monetary returns. These alternative market chan-
nels are also referred to as the informal sector
that is showing no signs of slowing down if the
current inefficiencies within the MPs sector pre-
vails. Our assessments and interactions focusing
on a local tribal community that largely depend
on MPs for their income and livelihood revealed
also 62 per cent of respondents directly sold
to private traders, in other words, informally.
The presence of the informal trade sector within
MPs and the local medicine industry –Ayurveda
have been previously reported as well. The issue
with this is that quality levels are constantly
39
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
compromised, leading to adulteration as has
been discussed earlier. Also, despite the quick
returns and higher prices received, it is promot-
ing a culture of indebtedness- a social crisis.
Consequently, the collectors are trapped in a
vicious cycle of debt and forced to resort to
unsustainable collection or harvesting practices
to meet the payment demands. With the growing
market demand for MPs, unless appropriate,
legitimate and economically sustainable market
approaches are set, the informal sector will
grow uncurbed and unregulated. It may be
unreasonable to expect these market channels
and traders to disappear and hence it is rec-
ommended to explore mechanisms where all
stakeholders involved in the trade are consid-
ered and a fair system put in place that ensures
win-win outcome to all.
PROBABLE EXPLANATIONS
Probable solutions exist given the current
increase in the worldwide consumption and use
of ‘green’ products, especially drugs, flavours
and fragrances of natural origin, has indeed
amplified the scope of the use of indigenous
flora and collection & trade of exotic species.
The gaps between the producers/collectors
and traders or buyers need to be minimized
as these are at present very wide and often
inequitable. Linkages should be developed in
order to have better understanding about the
MPs business and between the businesses and
the producers/collectors.
A holistic management action plan is nec-
essary to formulate for assessment and man-
agement of resource base; best harvesting and
processing practices; trade issues and aspects
dealing with the intellectual property rights on
the traditional medicines by the tribal people.
Investments are needed for the development of
appropriate conversation, cultivation harvesting
40 Medicinal plants sector supporting livlihoods
and industry
strategies, which will simultaneously meet the
demand for low-cost and locally available medi-
cines. At the same time, there must be immediate
efforts to ensure the conservation of diverse
biological resources and the preservation and
application of local and cultural knowledge on
the use of these resources.
Some of the key strategies for improving the
sector are:
1. Innovative market mechanism: Forest certi-
fication has emerged as a marketing tool
(Mallet and Karmann, 2000) for linking the
sustainable forest management practices
(Rametsteiner, 2000; Rametsteiner and
Simula, 2003) with the environmentally con-
scious consumers. Forest certification refers to
two separate processes viz. forest manage-
ment unit certification (FMU) and chain-of-
custody certification (CoC). Certification of
MPS products is needed to ensure access of
primary collectors to better markets to have
reasonable prices for their products.
2. I n Chhattisgarh, there is a certification
body The Chhattisgarh Certification Society
(CGCERT) under Societies’ Registration Act.
Protocols for organic certification of honey,
anola, lac, tamarind and other herbs were
developed in accordance with the standards
of the National Programme for Organic
Production (NPOP). In India, various certifi-
cation arrangements are in place and being
developed for MPs. The rules associated with
the certification framework are theoretically
in place in the form of policies, provisions
and institutions. The challenge is to adopt a
mechanism to implement those (Krishnakumar
et al., 2014).
3. Proper marketing channel for Medicinal Plants
trading: A chain of intermediaries, through
whom the various MPs pass from producers to
consumers, constitutes the marketing channel
of MPs. Marketing is vital not only to medium
and large scale industrial enterprise, but also
in helping small family and forest communities
to enable them to switch to more sustainable
and profitable enterprise from a subsistence
economy. Three main players operate in the
marketing of MPs; they are Cooperatives,
Forest department in the case of nationalized
products and private traders. Marketing of
MPs is done in an unorganized and dispersed
manner and producers lack the necessary
marketing skills and information required for
optimal performance. Improving the market
helps in uniform pricing of the products bought
and sold in the market. Inadequate market
information, contacts and knowledge consis-
tently constrain MPs producers, processors and
traders from advancing the MPs value chain.
4. Medicinal plants supply value chain : A value
chain is a set of activities that a firm operating
in a specific industry performs in order to
deliver a valuable product or service for
the market. An MPs value chain can be bro-
ken down into several sub-sets of activities:
production, collection, processing, storage,
transport, marketing, and sale. Taking a value
chain approach to economic development
and poverty reduction involves addressing
the major constraints and opportunities faced
by farmers and producers, processors, trad-
ers and other businesses at multiple levels
and points along a given value chain. In a
value chain marketing system, farmers are
linked to consumers’ needs, working closely
with suppliers and processors to produce the
specific goods consumers demand. Under
this approach, the returns to farmers can be
increased and livelihoods enhanced.
5. Improving harvesting, processing and market-
ing skills among the primary collectors: Lack
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
of proper storage facility in case of perish-
able products and lack of processing facil-
ities adds to the low price of MPS products.
Value addition of the products can improve
the market value of the MPS. The function is
largely performed by market intermediaries
and manufacturers and there is little value
addition at the primary collector’s level. This
must improve and there should be value addi-
tion at the collector level itself.
6. C ommunity Based Natural Resource
Management: Community based natural
resource management (CBNRM) is an effort to
incorporate local communities into guardian-
ship of their immediate environment (Agrawal
and Gibson, 1999). In CBNRM, communities
develop internal systems of rules to regulate
extraction of timber, fuelwood, fodder, and
MPs (Pandey &Yadama, 1990; Murali, et al.,
2006; and Pagdee et al., 2006). In India,
CBNRM has been implemented in the form of
Community Forest Management. Community
forest management (CFM) is an approach to
natural resource management that takes into
account the human communities living around
or within a resource. In Kerala Joint Forest
Management which is a part of CFM is named
as Participatory Forest Management (PFM).
The PFM guideline was established later in
1998. The implementation body of PFM is
called Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS). The
adoption of CBNRM can help in the livelihood
improvement through natural resource man-
agement and conservation activities.
In conclusion, one of the expected outcomes
from adopting these suggested strategies is
the collapse of the informal sector and instead
emergence of market opportunities that are
more streamlined, organized and sustainable.
This is not to imply that those entities who are
part of the informal sector will be rendered
41
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
without opportunities to market and earn a living
from the Medicinal Plants sector. Rather, what
is envisaged is a more inclusive arrangement
where all those linked to the Medicinal Plants
sector may benefit from participating in these
sustainable market practices provided they are
well informed of the rules and abide by the rules.
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 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

43

04
Sustainable harvesting of NTFPS
and medicinal plants: a participatory process
Sustainable use is defined as “The use of components of biological diversity in a way and
at a rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biological diversity, thereby main-
taining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations”
– Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992, Article 2.

ABSTRACT
Deepa G B* Good collection practices or sustainable collection practice
is the method(s) of extraction of NTFP/ medicinal plants
Arthur Selwyn Mark** or wild resources from the forest areas without causing
Jagannatha Rao R*** any damage to its reproduction while avoiding damages
to its associates. Applying sustainable collection practices
in the wild is significant in conservation of resources and
to fulfil the needs of forest dependent people and other
stakeholders who directly or indirectly benefit from harvest-
ing of NTFPs including medicinal plants. TDU initiated the
development of multi-dimensional, participatory, scientific
Assistant Professor* and institutional framework for participatory approach
Senior Research Associate** for sustainable harvesting of NTFPs. The rationale behind
Associate Professor designing the methodology for sustainable harvesting of
and corresponding author*** medicinal NTFPs through participatory approach emerges
Centre for Conservation of from the fact that local people possess an immense wealth
Medical Resources of traditional knowledge on the best practices and meth-
The University of Trans Disciplinary ods for sustainable harvesting of quality products. In this
Health Sciences and Technology (TDU), context, a methodology for designing participatory man-
Foundation for Revitalisation of agement and planning for sustainable harvest of medicinal
Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), NTFPs has been taken-up in India. This paper elaborates
Bengaluru – India. on these design principles for sustainable harvesting of
Website: www.tdu.edu.in NTFPs leading to development of sustainable harvesting
Email: j.rao@tdu.edu.in protocols for 48 species in India.
44 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants

INTRODUCTION has been aggravated by unsustainable harvest-

Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), more
particularly those of medicinal value, are among
major produces contributing to the economic
development. NTFPs also play a major role in
upliftment, enhancement of cultural life style
and healthcare of tribal and rural population.
Large number of local communities who have
access to wild areas, rely upon forest products
for bonafide use and commercial purpose to
generate livelihood. The value chain of NTFPs
has diverse spectrum of stakeholders ranging
from those who collect resources from wild up
to the consumers of end products including
proprietary medicines. Important stakeholder
groups are:
Rural populations, who traditionally
depended these resources for livelihood,
socio-economic and cultural purposes
Traders, industry and product processors
for value addition and sale
Consumers, who purchase them for medicinal,
spices, cosmetic and ‘nutraceutical’ uses
Ever growing demand for NTFPs has put a
great pressure on these resources. The situation
ing and inefficient trade practices. The impacts
of these practices are relatively less under-
stood and there is a general lack of strategies
for achieving sustainability in collection and
conservation.
Unscientific collections from wild had led
to the threat of species extinction and inflicted
severe genetic impoverishment among the wild
populations. There is an urgent need to frame
strategies for appropriate management of
NTFPs growing under widely varying habitat
conditions in the country to meet the local needs
while maintaining the biodiversity. Sustainable
harvesting can improve the livelihoods of people
by ensuring continued supply of biomass and
through supplementary income and employment.
All this can and should be organised with active
involvement of the local people with the cooper-
ation of all relevant stakeholders of the sector.
Complex system of sustainable harvesting,
processing and trade have always been hard
to understand without standard methods and
models, and has been a challenge in introducing
transparency in marketing, proper quality con-
trol and standardisation. The decisive factors in

NTFP – A POTENTIAL SECTOR TO GENERATE INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT:

The NTFP sector accounts for over 80% of India’s net forest annual export earnings (Jain,
2000). India is the second largest exporter of medicinal plants as raw material in the world
after China. The estimated annual domestic trade in plant raw drugs in the year 2005-06
amounted to about 319,500 tons with a value of Rs. 1,069 crores (Ved and Goraya, 2008),
and the demand rose to 5,12,000 MT dry weight in 2014-15 (Goraya and Ved, 2017).
Collection and processing of medicinal plants contributes to at least 35 million work days of
employment per annum in India (Kinhal and Rao, 2008). Around 80% of export raw material
from India comprise dried plants, extracts and isolated ingredients, and rest of the exports
are final proprietary medicinal products in homeopathy and Ayurveda. There is always a
potential for local processing and value addition of raw materials, there by generating
employment to the rural poor.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
developing sustainable harvest methodologies,
such as local knowledge, tenure rights, empow-
erment and autonomy to local institution, insti-
tutional capacity, political system affecting the
equity and resource access, market policy, trade
linkages, etc., need to be taken care through a
well-developed and operationalised adaptive
management strategy.
PERCEPTION OF SUSTAINABILITY AT NA-
TIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS
Several regional and global initiatives pro-
vide guidance to countries and stakeholders on
sustainable use and sustainable management
of biological resources and ecosystem goods
and services. The Aichi biodiversity targets
adopted in 2010 by the parties to CBD focus
on sustainable use through goal B and target 7.
The National Biodiversity Strategies and Action
Plans (NBSAPs) also recognize the need to focus
on sustainable use of biological diversity.
In 2007, under the aegis of IUCN, German
Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
(BfN),TRAFFIC International andWWF framed
principles which are known as International
Standard for Sustainable Wild Collection of
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP).
ISSC-MAP provide guidelines and tools to
collectors, producers and decision makers for
the planning and implementation of a sustain-
able resource management system based on
the Good Agricultural and Collection Practices
(GACP). Fair trade version 1.0, 2006 focused on
relation between collectors and buying company,
and introduced the concept of fair trade to the
wild plant collection. In 2010, a comprehensive
standard Fairwild standards (Version 2.0) was
developed combining the guiding principles
of ISSC-MAP and Fairwild Standards (Ver
1.0, 2006) by including elements such as fair
trade and certification. The University of Trans
45
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology
(TDU) formerly known as Foundation for
Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT)
was one of the members in the advisory board
for drafting ISSC-MAP and field testing of the
standard in 2007.
IUCN has exclusively formed a Specialist
Group on Sustainable Use and Livelihoods to
promote conservation and livelihoods through
enhancing equitable and sustainable use of
wild species and their associated ecosystems.
CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING
Destructive collection practice is one of the
major factors which influence the depletion of
plant resource in wild. Lack of awareness on
good collection practices, growing industrial
demand for the wild resources, weak guidelines
and monitoring mechanisms for wild resource
collection and management, competition among
the local collectors, non- availability of better
price/ incentive for primary collectors and
insufficient policy environment are some of the
reasons for destructive collection.
Good collection practice or sustainable
collection practice pertains to the protocols of
collection of NTFPs or wild resources from the
forest area while maintaining the regenerative
capacity of wild populations of the species and
its associates. Applying sustainable collection
practices in the wild is significant in conserving
the resource and also in fulfilling the needs
of forest dependents communities and other
stakeholders who directly or indirectly benefit
from collection of NTFPs/ medicinal plants.
The basic idea behind sustainable har-
vesting is that a biological resource should be
harvested within the limits of its capacity for
self-renewal. More than that, the manner of its
harvest should not degrade the environment in
46 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants
any ways (Hamilton 2005). The simplest defi-
nition for sustainable harvesting is ‘the use of
plant resources at the levels of harvesting in such
a way that the plants are able to continue to
supply indefinitely’ (Wong, et al, 2001), which
places an emphasis on maintenance of pop-
ulation of the species in the wild irrespective
of high demand from across the globe. It is
important to conserve the populations of many
commercially exploited species in the wild, which
face the threat of extinction on the grounds of
cultural, ecological and commercial pressures.
The challenges in framing the participatory
sustainable harvesting protocols and their prac-
tices include (1) large numbers of species belong
to ‘threatened’ category and traded in large
volumes leading to extractive pressure which
depletes their viable population in wild; (2)
the need to develop good collection practices
specific to each species and situation; (3) unpre-
dictable and often unrecognised environmental
factors that influence annual yield of wild pop-
ulations; (4) unclear land and resource tenure
and management authority; (5) the large number
and variety of products, uses and markets; (6)
long, complex supply chain between source
and market. Added to these challenges, there
is limited recognition of economic, social and
ecological value of wild resources, and a wide
spread uncertainty as to who is responsible for
ensuring sustainable use of wild resources?
GENESIS OF PARTICIPATORY SUSTAINABLE
HARVESTING
The experience of TDU
A decade and a half back, TDU (Formerly
Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health
Traditions - FRLHT) recognised the global con-
cern on sustainable use of wild medicinal NTFP
resources and initiated designing methodology
for participatory sustainable harvesting.
TDU initiated the development of multi-di-
mensional, participatory, scientific and institu-
tional framework for sustainable harvesting of
NTFPs/ medicinal plants. The rationale behind
designing a methodology for sustainable har-
vesting of medicinal NTFPs/ medicinal plants
through participatory approach emerges from
the fact that there is an immense traditional
knowledge base with the local people on the best
practices and methods for sustainable harvest-
ing of quality products. Under this pretext, a
methodology for designing participatory man-
agement and planning a sustainable harvest
of medicinal NTFPs/ medicinal plants has been
taken-up in India.
This framework provides for a decision mak-
ing matrix (DMM) for sustainable management,
which emphasises on optimisation of quality as
well as the quantity of produce, since sustainable
harvesting is a function of quantity and quality.
While the quantity is a function of biological/
ecological potential, the quality reflects the
economic concerns.
Initially, the TDU team worked with Oxford
University and Department for International
Development (DFID), for developing participa-
tory approach in planning methodology and
field implementation for sustainable harvesting
of 6 species viz., Decalepis hamiltonii, Limonia
acidissima, Gymnema sylvestre, Cinnamomum
malabatrum , Garcinia gummi-gutta and Vateria
indica. Following this a national level programme
known as “National Programme on Promoting
Conservation of Medicinal Plants and Traditional
Knowledge for Enhancing Health and Livelihood
Security” was initiated with support from United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) and
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change, Government of India, where sustain-
able harvesting practices for 17 species were
developed. Thereafter, the concept and field
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 47
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Figure 1: Action Flow Chart for practicing sustainable harvesting of wild species

Not less than 250/500 ha as a Unit of

Selection of a site
effective collection area
PHASE I

Demarcation and mapping Governing body to declare the site as Administrative

of area with GPS Participatory Management Area action
Responsible
a

agency
Identification of CBOS & Issue of Identity Cards & NTFP Pass Governing bodies
NGOS &CBOs
NTFP collectors book for collectors

a
Selection of species for Based on conservation status, trade
sustainable collection and part collected/harvested
a

Preparation of Manage- Development of area and

ment Plan for five year species profile
a

PHASE II
Signing of MoU between CBOs and
Constitution of Task Team Technical
governing body/industry action
a

Responsible
Documentation of Revive of scientific information; litera- agency
traditional knowledge ture, studies & observations NGOS &CBOs
Governing bodies
a

Research
organizations
Design methodology for
development of sustainable
collection harvesting protocol
Development of formats, data sheets,
by merging traditional and PRA tools
scientific knowledge
a

Training and capacity building Biometric and participatory protocol,

of different stake holder Disseminations and Advocacies
a

PHASE III
Organising collection/harvest Providing necessary equipment, tools for
as per protocol collection Implementation
action
a

Responsible
agency
Announcement of collection schedule, CBOs, Governing
Monitoring & issuing neces-
checking over harvest/unscientific bodies, NGOS &
sary instructions
collection Institutions
a
48 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants

Figure 1: Action Flow Chart for practicing sustainable harvesting of wild species (Continued)

Collection, storage & Collection at CBO level, governing

semiprocessing of raw drug
a bodies, state & national level federations
PHASE IV

Marketing of raw drugs Marketing

Price fixed based on open market action
through open markets
Responsible
a

agency
Certification of sustainably Governing bodies
NGOs, CBOs &
collected product & linking Application of national and interna- Industries
National and International tional standards & mandates
markets

a
Estimation of potential yield,
impact of harvesting on Community assessment of resource,
Ecological, Social & yield & regeneration status of species
Economic dimensions
a

Analysis of Principal Ingre-

Laboratory Analysis and certification PHASE V
dients for fixing of price
a

Research &
Development
Intervention of value Linking industries for value addition, Responsible
addition & generating buyback arrangements & capacity agency
employment & income buildings NGOs & Research
Institutions
a

Governing bodies

Augmentation Afforestation Planting of species- which have threat-

of targeted species ened and highly traded

Development of Adaptive Spread over larger area and

Management Plan- preparing plan for long term (10 years)
Advocacy and CTCTS on dynamic mode

implementation of sustainable harvesting of 11
species was developed as part of a Global
Environment Facility (GEF) supported program
for “Mainstreaming Conservation and sustain-
able use of medicinal plants in three Indian
states”.
The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB),
Government of India, has recognized these
efforts and valuable lessons on conditions in
various states in India were learned under the
central scheme of “Sustainable collection, value
addition, ware housing and marketing of RET
and high traded medicinal plants” (FRLHT, 2012).
TDU currently plays a vital role in developing
sustainable harvesting techniques for species of
conservation concern and which are traded in
high volumes in the states of Karnataka, Kerala,
Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
TDU had collaborated with various interna-
tional and national agencies in framing the prin-
ciples and practices for sustainable harvesting
of wild species and till date it has developed
species specific sustainable wild collection proto-
cols for 48 species for different parts harvested
at diverse geographical locations in India (See
Annexure 1). The lessons learnt during the field
implementation of sustainable harvesting meth-
ods have been consolidated and a 5 phase
implementation practice has been evolved by
providing the description of the process and
stakeholders involved in practice of sustainable
harvesting (Figure 1).
PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE HARVESTING
The following are a set of principles that
were developed using the above framework,
complementing the already available guidelines
and other frameworks.
Principle 1: Resource mapping, estimation
and value analysis
This principle enables the local community to
understand the availability of resources, potential
quantity that can be harvested, their conditions
in the wild and impacts of destructive harvest-
ing. Further, it also provides for understanding
the value of products harvested through value
chain and the benefits realised by the different
stakeholders involved and their roles and respon-
sibilities in conservation of resources.
Through this Principle, involve the local com-
munity in estimation of resources, preparation
of resource map and value chain assessment.
They should also observe business as usual
approaches, impacts of destructive harvesting
and existing value chains. Such actions enable
them to develop alternative value chain models
along with sustainable harvesting of selected
species to prepare participatory management
49
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
plan for its execution on the basis of adaptive
management strategy.
Principle 2: Participatory approach involving
local community in conservation
Participatory approach integrates people of
different socio-economic status, establish a need
based and objective oriented local institution,
thereby identifying roles and responsibilities, their
dependency on the resource and their contribu-
tion towards conservation and sustainable use
of wild resources.
This principle enables the local community
in the identification and selection of species
and site for sustainable collection based on
the criteria and, planning the methodology
for sustainable harvesting by considering the
traditional knowledge. The criteria for selec-
tion of species include: (a) species providing
higher livelihood opportunities so that the local
community takes responsibility in sustainable
management of the resource; (b) highly traded
species; (c) species with different parts har-
vested; (d) species collected only from wild;
(e) endemic species.
Principle 3: Documentation, assimilation
and application of traditional harvesting
knowledge
Documentation of indigenous knowledge
related to phenology of the species, distribu-
tion, climate and productivity, animal interac-
tion, regeneration, propagation, cultural and
spiritual relevance, building local and species
profile, medicinal values and traditional uses,
harvesting patterns and processing.
This principle helps the local people for doc-
umentation of traditional knowledge related
to harvesting practices, ensuring customary
rights of forest dwellers by involving them
only without external labour forces, merging
50 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants
scientific information with traditional knowledge
to develop good harvesting practices, and rec-
ognising the association between community
and the resources.
Principle 4: Development of sustain-
able harvesting protocols, tools and field
implementation
To evolve species specific and location specific
sustainable harvesting practices/ good collection
practices/ best practices by consulting traditional
knowledge and academic knowledge, that will
be implemented in the field by establishing insti-
tutional mechanisms.
What
Part harvested
What
kind When
Collection/
Harvesting
Quality Practices
Time/season of collection
How
much
How
Quantity
Techniques/Methods
Figure 2: Elements for sustainable harvesting
framework
This principle enables to develop species
specific sustainable harvesting practices (SHPs)
which are comprehensive and holistic that has
ecological understanding of species, its collec-
tion, value addition and marketing.
4.1 Development of sustainable harvesting
protocols: The components of SHP include spe-
cies and location profile, distribution, phenol-
ogy, morphology, threat status, medicinal uses,
propagation technique, resource assessment,
good collection practices and post harvesting
technique. Five core elements of sustainable
harvesting framework are: (i) What to collect
(part harvested)? (ii) What stage to collect (qual-
ity)? (iii) When to collect (season and frequency)?
(iv) How to collect (method of harvest)? and (v)
How much to collect (quantity)? (see Figure 2)
4.2 Institutionalization: Field implementation
of sustainable collection methods requires the
participation of the local community. Enabling
the local community-based organizations (CBO)
to involve in planning, field execution of sustain-
able harvesting and monitoring socio-economic
and ecological impacts of harvesting, thereby
reconsider the Decision-Making Matrix (DMM)
under adaptive management strategy.
4.2.1 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU):
The CBO can enter MoU with governing body
such as Forest Department or local Forest
Management Committee for their mutual roles
and responsibilities to be exercised by ensuring
the participation of other stakeholders viz., trad-
ers, self-help groups, Biodiversity Management
Committee (BMC) members, local administrative
bodies and industries. This brings transparency
in the process where different stakeholders are
involved. MoU is also signed between resource/
knowledge providers (individuals and/ or group)
and the user of such resources for sharing the
benefits arising from the use of bio-resources
and related knowledge.
4.2.2 Identification and registration of col-
lectors: The CBO will ensure identification and
registration of local collectors, undertake the
capacity building, issue identity cards, orga-
nize collection, post harvesting interventions,
marketing and benefit sharing.
4.2.3 Task Team: A multi stakeholder task team
representing the intergeneration and gender
equity, which undertakes resource assessment,
implementation of sustainable harvesting
techniques and monitor impacts of sustainable
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
harvesting of resources. The activities of the task
team are guided and monitored by the BMCs
and/ or local forest management committees.
Principle 5: Training, Capacity building and
dissemination
This principle describes various dissemination
and capacity building programs for different
stakeholder groups involved in the process.
They are designed to develop and enhance the
adaption of sustainable harvesting methodology.
The importance of developing a communi-
cation strategy for different stakeholder groups
engaged in the process is of critical impor-
tance. This enables sharing of information on
methodology and its achievements to seek their
suggestions in order to reconsider the adaptive
management strategy. Interpersonal commu-
nication is useful at the local community level
where as other stakeholders can be effective
reached through group/ mass communication.
Principle 6: Interventions for post harvesting
techniques and market linkages
Post harvesting techniques such as drying,
storage, value addition, labelling and branding
fetch higher price in the market, also generate
additional income and employment to the local
people. Value added products linked directly
to the herbal industries to ensure supply of
quality raw material and provide health secu-
rity. Marketing is an important intervention for
sustainably harvested produces, as this is the
only available opportunity to generate economic
incentive to the stakeholders that compensates
for their involvement in the sustainable collection
activities.
Need assessment for post-harvesting tech-
niques has to be undertaken and species-specific
protocols can be developed based on the market
requirement.
51
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
The economic value chain involves multiple
actors from collection to the industry/ end
product. To maximise the economic benefits to
the grassroots level stakeholders (collectors),
direct linkage with the industry is essential.
As industry is the ultimate stakeholder of this
sector, it can be engaged directly in the value
chain to exercise the roles and responsibilities in
conservation, resource augmentation, utilisation
and monitoring.
Principle 7: Linking trade, price and conser-
vation principles and practices
It is to integrate stakeholders having dif-
ferent roles and responsibilities in the value
chain of the resource collection, value addition
and marketing. The idea is to directly link the
primary stakeholders (collectors and village
level institutions) from the resource base into
marketing and trade of sustainably collected
resources by assimilating possible value addi-
tion technologies at the local level to generate
additional income and employment, thereby
encouraging and enhancing the participation
of stakeholders in conservation of resources. The
capacity of the primary stakeholders is built on
negotiation on price fixing and benefit sharing.
Enhancement of skills of different stakehold-
ers on the importance of sustainable harvest-
ing, post harvesting techniques, marketing and
certification improves the economic value chain
and the economic incentives directly reaches the
primary stakeholders and the dependent com-
munity. Certification of the sustainably harvested
produces is one of the important aspects to fetch
higher prices at national and international mar-
kets. Price fixing and benefit sharing is another
crucial area in the trade of natural resources.
Empowering the local dependent community on
these issues will provide good economic bene-
fits to them, thereby aiding in conservation of
52 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants
the resources. As the proverb ‘Nature pays so
it stays’ goes, sustainable harvesting provides
livelihood by offering additional employment
and income, so conservation of resources is taken
care for long term use by the current and future
generations.
SUCCESS STORY
Sustainable harvesting, semi processing and
marketing of Fruits of Terminalia chebula
Terminalia chebula commonly known as
Myrobalan is a deciduous tree, fruits which have
high medicinal value. Apart from this, the fruits
of chebula are used in tanning industry. In India,
it is traded more than 10000 MT/ year.
Due to the high demand for fruits in the
herbal as well as in tanning industries, the fruits
are collected by following destructive harvest-
ing methods such as lopping the branches and
plucking immature fruits. This has resulted in
increased mortality of the trees and decreased
regeneration, thereby decreasing the fruit yield
year by year. Regeneration in Terminalia cheb-
ula is also difficult as the percentage of seed
germination is very low. As it is a tree species,
fruiting starts at the age of 10-15 years.
A pilot project was undertaken in the state
of Karnataka to study the quantity of fruits
available for collection, development of sus-
tainable harvesting technique and marketing
of the collected fruits (FRLHT, 2012).
The study area was mapped at the onset
of the study for understanding the resource
availability. Later traditional collection prac-
tices were documented. By merging traditional
collection practices and the modern scientific
techniques, sustainable harvesting techniques
were developed for collection of fruits of
Terminalia chebula. The sustainable harvest-
ing techniques emphasised collection of 80%
matured/ fallen fruits. During the process of
drying, it was observed that the fruits were
turning to black. This deteriorates the quality of
the fruits and the collector gets lesser price in
the market. Trainings were organized to orient
the collectors on sustainable and efficient post
harvesting techniques. The intervention made for
effecting drying the fruits on a rock or concrete
platform helped retaining the golden colour
of the fruits and thereby ensuring the quality.
A market survey was undertaken to deter-
mine marketing and pricing of the fruits. Before
the project intervention, local traders were pur-
chasing at Rs. 5-6 for a kilogram (kg) of fruits.
After implementation of sustainable harvesting
and post harvesting techniques such as drying
on the rock and grading the fruits based on size
and colour, the fruits were directly marketed
to an herbal industry in Kerala through Forest
Development Agency (FDA), which is a govern-
ment agency for collection and marketing of
Non-Timber Forest Produces (NTFPs/ medicinal
plants). After deducting the expenditures on
transportation and other administrative costs,
each collector received Rs. 10.35 per kg of fruit.
This study demonstrated >75% price appreci-
ation by adapting sustainable harvesting and
post-harvest methods.
CONCLUSION
Emphasis must be given to the local com-
munity participation in decision making as
sustainable harvesting of medicinal NTFPs is
linked to health and livelihood security of the
local community. After signing CBD, India for-
mulated Indian Biodiversity Act in 2002 and
Rules in 2004, which largely covered the impor-
tance of sustainable use of biological diversity.
The National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP)
was ready by 2008 and addendum in 2014
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
ensures conservation of biodiversity, thereby
appreciating its importance with the health
and livelihood of the dependent communities.
National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) has
developed guidelines for good collection prac-
tices for medicinal plant species harvested for
different parts. In spite of all these actions at
policy level, not much emphasis has been given
to modalities and mechanisms for field imple-
mentation and monitoring.
Any adverse impacts on ecosystems can also
have an adverse impact on those cultures, societ-
ies and communities. Governments and civil soci-
eties should therefore consider the promotion of
sustainable harvesting principles and guidelines
as key instrument for conservation, protection
and maintenance of traditional cultures and
diversities. The benefit sharing from harvesters to
higher level traders of NTFPs/ medicinal plants
need to be regulated and an equitable sharing
of benefits should be assured at all levels. Any
conservation measure will remain abstract until
knowledge concerning NTFPs/ medicinal plants
with respect to ecology, economy, politics and
cultural conditions is documented and their
interrelationship incorporated into the decision
making process. The principles and practices for
sustainable harvesting of wild NTFP resources
that are developed by TDU, adhere and link
to the international conventions and guidelines.
Therefore, at the national, regional and local
levels, these principles can be adopted as
adaptive management strategy.
53
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This paper is the modified version of the report
titled “Principles and Practices of Sustainable
Use and Sustainable Harvesting” prepared by
TDU and FLEDGE for Twenty Second Meeting
of Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and
Technological Advice (SBSTTA 22) of the UN
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
REFERENCES
FRLHT, 2012. Sustainable Harvest, Augmentation and
Marketing of Selected Medicinal plants raw material
(Collected & Cultivated) through Forest Development
Agency (FDA) structure of Forest Department, Final
Technical Report of the Project No. NMPB KR-02/2007,
Bengaluru. https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf
Goraya, G. S. and Ved, D. K., 2017. Medicinal Plants in
India: An Assessment of their Demand and Supply.
National Medicinal Plants Board, Ministry of AYUSH,
Government of India, New Delhi and Indian Council
of Forestry Research & Education, Dehradun.
Hamilton, A., 2005. Resource assessment for sustainable
harvesting of medicinal plants. In: The International
Botanical Congress (Vienna) on Source to Shelf:
Sustainable Supply Chai n Management of Medicinal
and Aromatic Plants. 21-22 July 2005.
Kinhal, G.A. and Jagannatha Rao, 2008. Adaptive man-
agement of medicinal plants and non timber forest
products. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra
Dun, India.
Ved and Goraya, 2008. Demand and supply of medicinal
plants. FRLHT, Bengaluru.
Wong, J.L.G., Thornber, K. and Baker, N., 2001. Resource
assessment of non-wood forest products. FAO. Rome,
Italy.
54 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants

ANNEXURE
Species for which sustainable harvesting techniques are developed in India
IUCN
Sl.
Name of the species Habit Part harvested Conservation
No
status*
1 Acacia concinna Liana Fruits Not assessed

2 Acacia pennata Liana Bark Not assessed

3 Aegle marmelos Tree Fruits Vulnerable-regional

4 Ailanthus triphysa Tree Resin Not assessed

5 Andrographis paniculata Herb Whole plant Not assessed

Underground
6 Asparagus racemosus Liana Not assessed
parts

7 Azadirachta indica Tree Fruits Not assessed

Underground
8 Baliospermum montanum Shrub Vulnerable-regional
parts
Near Threatened
9 Buchanania lanzen Tree Fruits
regional

10 Canarium strictum Tree Resin Vulnerable-regional

Near Threatened
11 Celastrus paniculatus Liana Fruits
regional
Underground Least
12 Chlorophytumtuberosum Herb
parts Concern-global
Cinnamomum sulphuratum/C. Vulnerable-global;
13 Tree Leaves
tamala regional
14 Cissus quadrangularis Climber Stem part Not assessed
Underground
15 Costusspeciosus Herb Not assessed
parts
Underground
16 Decalepis hamiltonii Liana Endangered-global
parts

17 Desmodium gangeticum Shrub Whole plant Not assessed

Underground
18 Dioscorea hispida Climber Not assessed
parts
Vulnerable-
19 Embelia tsjeriam-cottam Shrub Fruits
regional
Near Threatened
20 Garcinia gummi-gutta Tree Fruits
global

21 Garcinia indica Tree Fruits Vulnerable-global

 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 55
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

IUCN
Sl.
Name of the species Habit Part harvested Conservation
No
status*
Underground Vulnerable-
22 Gloriosa superba Climber
parts regional
23 Gymnema sylvestre Climber Leaves Not assessed
Underground
24 Hemidesmus indicus Climber Not assessed
parts

25 Illicium griffithii Tree Fruits Endangered-global

26 Limonia acidissima Tree Fruits Not assessed

27 Mammea suriga Tree Flower buds Not assessed

Vulnerable-
28 Myristica dactyloides Tree Fruits
regional
Underground
29 Nilgirianthus ciliatus Shrub Endangered-global
parts

30 Ocimum basilicum Herb Leaves Not assessed

31 Phyllanthus amarus Herb Whole plant ot assessed

Vulnerable-
32 Phyllanthus emblica Tree Fruits
regional
Climbing Near Threatened-
33 Piper longum Fruits
shrub regional
34 Piper nigrum Climber Fruits Not assessed

35 Pongamia Pinnata Tree Seeds Not assessed

Vulnerable-
36 Pseudarthria viscida Shrub Whole plant
regional
Endangered-
37 Rauvolfia serpentina Shrub Whole plant
regional
Underground 1Vulnerable-
38 Rubia cordifolia Climber
parts regional
Climbing Underground
39 Salacia chinensis/S. fruticosa Not assessed
shrub parts
40 Sapindus emarginatus Tree Fruits Not assessed

41 Semecarpus anacardium Tree Fruits Not assessed

Vulnerable-
42 Swertia chirayita Herb Whole plant
regional
43 Syzygium cumini Tree Fruits Not assessed
56 Sustainable harvesting of NTFPs and medicinal plants

IUCN
Sl.
Name of the species Habit Part harvested Conservation
No
status*
44 Tamarindus indica Tree Fruits Not assessed
Near Threatened
45 Terminalia arjuna Tree Bark
regional
Vulnerable-
46 Terminalia chebula/T. bellirica Tree Fruits
regional
Vulnerable-
47 Tinospora sinensis Liana Stem part
regional

48 Vateria indica Tree Fruits Vulnerable-global

* Based on IUCN Red List Criteria and Categories Version 3.1 assessed the conservation status through Conservation
Action Management Prioritisation Workshop organized regionally
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

57

05
Conservation and sustainable use of
medicinal plants: the MSSRF experience

ABSTRACT
Medicinal plants are high value resource, widely utilized as
Girigan Gopi*
source of herbal products. However, the accelerated loss of
V.V. Sivan species and destruction of habitat worldwide has increased
C.S. Dhanya the risk of extinction of medicinal plants. Further there is a
Jayesh P. Joseph growing concern over depletion of medicinal plants from
wild and forest fringes, which in turn negatively affect
the livelihood of people depended on this resource. The
situation warrants effective and wide-reaching strategies
to be implemented for the conservation and sustainable
utilization of medicinal plants. This paper illustrates the
experiences at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation
(MSSRF) in the conservation and sustainable utilisation
of medicinal plant wealth of Wayanad, Kerala.

MSSRF has adopted a C4 framework that pays concur-

Community Agrobiodiversity Centre,
M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation,
Kalppetta, Wayanad, Kerala.
*girigan@mssrf.res.in
rent attention to Conservation, Cultivation, Consumption,
and Commerce of (medicinal) plant genetic resource man-
agement by linking conservation with sustainable health and
livelihoods. The C4 framework integrats both eco-centric
and anthropocentric approaches in conservation i.e. conser-
vation, cultivation, consumption and commerce in a mutually
interlinked manner, and multi-pronged strategies were
adopted to promote sustainable use of medicinal plants.
The MSSRF had carried out research and documentation
for assessing the status of medicinal plants, current issues
58 Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants-
the MSSRF experience
related to conservation, cultivation, harvesting, use and
marketing of medicinal plants and involvement of local
communities in every stage of market chain. The results
indicate that C4 framework is capable to effectively address
multiple challenges including conservation, cultivation, utili-
zation and safeguarding traditional wisdom associated with
the conservation and sustainable utilization of medicinal
plant in our country.
The C4 continuum stands for creating economic stake
in conservation and equipping communities in exploring the
utilitarian value of medicinal plants. Rather than looking
for establishing sophisticated production units and capi-
talist mode of production, the C4 framework encourages
women, tribes and small landholders to engage in household
production of herbal formulations for their health security
and to explore local market for their produces by creating
awareness.
INTRODUCTION
Conservation of plant genetic resources of
food and medicinal value is critical for the exis-
tence and welfare of human beings. Generations
of tribal and rural folks all over the world have
acquired knowledge and skills for the conserva-
tion and sustainable utilisation of these valuable
plant genetic resources for their health secu-
rity. Global estimates indicate that 80% of the
world population relies on traditional medicines
which are mainly derived from medicinal herbs
(Kamboj, 2000). An estimated 138 million rural
households use herbs for their healthcare in
India (Goraya and Ved, 2017) and over 25 %
of prescribed medicines in developed countries
are derived from wild plant species (Chacko et
al., 2010). Traditional healthcare system, which
depends on plant genetic resources, continue to
be widely practiced in developing countries in
the light of inadequate supply of drugs, increase
in population and prohibitive cost of treatments
under allopathic system. The Indian systems of
medicine is heavily dependent on medicinal
plants, with about 2559 of the documented
medicinal plants being used in Ayurveda, 2267
in Siddha, 1049 in Unani, 460 in homeopathy
and 6403 by folk healers (NMPB, 2018). Due to
the perceived health benefits, there is a growing
demand for herbal drugs and natural health
products across the world. In response to this,
the demand for and trade of medicinal plants
is growing in a faster manner. Wild collection of
medicinal plants constitute major share of plants
traded locally and globally, which stimulate
destructive and unscientific harvest of medic-
inal plants. There is a growing concern over
depletion of medicinal plants from wild and
forest fringes, which in turn negatively affect the
livelihood of people engaged in the collection
of medicinal plants.
Despite of concerted efforts for its conser-
vation, genetic resources including of medicinal
and aromatic plants across the world face severe
threat. Reliable estimate states that current loss
of plant species is alarmingly higher than the
expected natural extinction rate and we are
losing at least one potential major drug every
two years (Pimm et al., 1995). This necessitates
effective strategies for the conservation and
cultivation of medicinal plants in order to tap
the growing international demand and sustain
the livelihood of the poor households engaged
in collecting medicinal plants. In order to arrest
the erosion of genetic resources, and to assist the
tribal and rural communities in their efforts to
conserve plant genetic resources in the Western
Ghat regions of India, M.S. Swaminathan
Research Foundation (MSSRF) has established
a Community Agrobiodiversity Centre in
Wayanad, Kerala. This paper illustrates the
experiences of MSSRF in the conservation and
sustainable utilisation of medicinal plant wealth
of Wayanad, Kerala.
STATUS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN INDIA
India is one of the top 12 mega biodiversity
nations in the world with the presence of over
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
45,000 different plant species. Between 7,000
to 7,500 species of plants are believed to be
used for medicinal purpose by different ethnic
communities and rural people across India. The
Indian medicinal plant database documents the
botanical names of 7263 species of plants in
India. Ethnic communities across India depend
on medicinal plants for their health security. The
Indian systems of medicine is heavily depen-
dent on medicinal plants, with about 2559 of
the documented medicinal plants being used
in Ayurveda, 2267 in Siddha, 1049 in Unani,
460 in homeopathy and 6403 by folk healers
(NMPB, 2018). Goraya and Ved, (2017) reports
a consolidated inventory of 1622 botanicals
correlated to 1178 plant species, belonging to
781 genera spread over 177 families. About
42% of the medicinal plant species identified
are herbs, 31% climbers and shrubs and 27%
are trees.
STATUS OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN KERALA
The medicinal plant wealth of Kerala is for-
midable and it is a focus of research for sev-
eral scholars and healers. The classical treatise,
Hortus Malabaricus by Hendrik Adriaan Van
Rheede published between 1678 and 1693 in
12 volumes has illustrations of 742 medicinal
plants and formed the main reference material
for Carl Linnaeus. The content of the book is
mainly based on ‘Kerala aramom’ written by
Itty Achuthan (a famous traditional physician of
Ayurveda who lived in Cherthala of Alappuzha
district of Kerala) in Malayalam.
Even though Kerala has rich floristic diversity
and presence of over 1000 medicinal plant
species, the state accounts for an insignificant
proportion of the total area under medicinal
plant cultivation in India. The total area under
cultivation of medicinal plants in India during
2016-17 is about 6.34 lakh hectares and
59
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
production is about 10.31 lakh tonnes (GoI,
2017). However, the total area under medici-
nal plant cultivation in Kerala during 2016-17
was 812 hectares. This indicates the fact that
plants harvested from wild are mostly traded
in the market and or consumed by pharmaceu-
tical industry in Kerala. If we cannot address
the depletion and destructive harvesting of
medicinal plants from wild, it will have mul-
tiple negative repercussions in domestic and
international trade as well as in the livelihood
security of people engaged in the collection
of medicinal plants.
It is in this context, MSSRF devised a stra-
tegic intervention to promote conservation
and cultivation of medicinal plants; research
and documentation of medicinal plant diver-
sity and ethnic knowledge associated with its
uses; capacity building of rural women in the
production and application of diverse herbal
formulations for primary healthcare; production
and marketing of herbal remedies by women
groups; and exploring commercial potential of
cultivation of medicinal plants by smallholders.
THE C4 FRAMEWORK
MSSRF has adopted a C4 framework that
pays concurrent attention to Conservation,
Cultivation, Consumption, and Commerce of
(medicinal) plant genetic resource manage-
ment by linking conservation with sustainable
health and livelihoods. The Centre had initiated
medicinal plant conservation programme since
1998 in Wayanad with the aim of conserving
and revitalizing traditional healthcare prac-
tices. Activities are visualized to attain one or
more pillars (Cs) of the C4 framework either
in isolation to the other or concurrently. The
C4 framework integrates both eco-centric and
anthropocentric approaches in conservation.
60 Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants-
the MSSRF experience
cultivation, harvesting, use and marketing of
medicinal plants and involvement of local com-
munities in every stage of market chain. Creation
of knowledge about medicinal plant wealth was
essential for planning conservation activities.
Awareness generation programmes were
conducted among different stakeholders and
convinced them about the importance of con-
servation and sustainable use of medicinal
plants as well as protection and transfer of
knowledge associated with medicinal plants.
Training and capacity building activities were
initiated to engage people in cultivation of
medicinal plants, sustainable harvest of these
Diagram 1. C4 Framework for conservation and sustain- resources from wild, and preparation of different
able utilization of medicinal plants
herbal formulations. They were also equipped
Creating economic stake in conservation is the to use such plants and formulations for their
ultimate goal of C4 framework. own healthcare needs.
The ultimate target of the framework is to Establishing linkage and network was another
facilitate conservation and sustainable utilisation strategy followed to ensure support of individ-
of medicinal plant wealth of southern Western uals and institutions (including Panchayath Raj
Ghats. This is done through integrating conser- Institutions) in conservation of medicinal plants.
vation, cultivation, consumption and commerce MSSRF worked in partnership with traditional
in a mutually interlinked manner. Multi-pronged healers, women self-help groups, panchayath
strategies have adopted to promote sustainable raj institutions, NGOs, various Government
use of medicinal plants. Departments and educational institutions for
The Centre conducted research and docu- the conservation of medicinal plants. The Centre
mentation for assessing the status of medicinal could also ensure participation of forest depart-
plants, current issues related to conservation, ment, Ayurveda hospitals, temple/ sacred grove
authorities and Grama Panchayaths in popular-
Table 1. Details of medicinal plant species reported from izing the conservation movement locally.
Wayanad
Following sections illustrates the activities
Nature Total No of No of En- conducted for the conservation and sustainable
of plants No of RET demic
species species species
utilization of medicinal plant wealth.
Trees 249 19 45 1.CONSERVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
Shrubs 116 3 7 Conservation of medicinal plants programme
Herbs 125 3 8 focused on the survey, collection, multiplication,
Climbers 105 1 4 preservation and reintroduction of endangered
Tubers 34 1 4 medicinal species of southern Western Ghats in
Total 629 27 68 their original habitats. The Centre has adopted
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
Diagram 2. Categorization of medicinal plants based on
their parts used
multi-pronged strategies to conserve important
medicinal species.
1.1. Inventory of medicinal plant species
Through exploratory surveys conducted
across Wayanad, it is learned that moist and
dry deciduous forests harbours rich diversity of
medicinal plants compared to evergreen forest.
A total of 629 medicinal plant species have
been reported from Wayanad.
61
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Out of this, 68 species are endemic to
Western Ghats and 27 species face threat of
extinction.
Ethnic communities, traditional healers and
rural women use various parts of the plants for
medicinal purpose. Pharmaceutical industry and
traditional healers use whole plant of 137 spe-
cies (especially the herbs). Roots, barks, leaves
and fruits of different species are also used by
local community.
1.2. Documentation of ethnobotanical practices
followed by the tribal communities
MSSRF put efforts in scientific documentation
of ethno-botanical practices followed by the
tribal communities. Ethnobotanical studies show
that major five tribal communities of the district
use over 300 medicinal plant species for their

Table 2. Revival of sacred forest and sacred groves for medicinal plant conservation
Place/ temple Focal Area Major species
name intervention covered
Cinnamon malabatrum, Celastrus
Maanikavu in paniculatus, Hydnocarpus pentand-
Sacred Forest
Meenangadi 10 Acre ra, Oroxulum indicum, Kingioden-
(Punyavanam)
Panchayath dron pinnatum,Ficus religiosa, Ficus
microcarpa, Vateria indica
Dipterocarpus indicus, Hydnocarpus
Valliyoorkavu pentandra, Oroxulum indicum, Kin-
Sacred Forest
in Manathavady 5 Acres giodenron pinnatum,
(Punyavanam)
Panchayath
Vateria indica

Kootakavu in Star Tree Vateria indica, Syzygium cuminii,

Pozhuthana (Nakshathrva- 2 Acres Aegle marmelos, Mangiferra indica,
Panchayath nam) Azadiracta indica

Butea monosperma, Cassia fistu-

Ramayanavani
Ponkuzhi in la, Crataeva magna, Dipterocarpus
– plants men- 0.50
Noolpuzha indicus, Mesua ferrea, Saraca aso-
tioned in epic Acres
Panchayath ca, Syzygium cuminii, Aegle marme-
Ramayana
los etc.
Sita, Lava, Kusha
Ashokavani 0.25
temple in Pulpal- Saraca asoca
(Ashokavanam) Acres
ly Panchayath
62 Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants-
the MSSRF experience
primary healthcare and traditional veterinary Apart from such efforts, MSSRF also extended
practices. While the Kurichiya and Kuruma tribal technical support for Biodiversity Management
communities depend on medicinal plants for Committees of Meenangadi, Vythiri, Noolpuzha,
curing and preventing ailments while the Paniya Poothadi and Nenmeni Grama Panchayath for
and Adiya communities are keen to consume wild protecting and strengthening of sacred groves
plants having food and medicinal values. Apart by planting medicinal and aromatic plants.
from survey and documentation of ethno-bo-
1.4. Conservation of germplasm of endangered
tanical practices followed by different ethnic
medicinal plants
As part of conservation of endangered
Table 3. Medicinal plant species in MSSRF
Botanical Garden plant species, the Centre maintains germ-
plasm of endangered medicinal plants at M.S.
Nature Total No of No of
of plants No of RET Endemic
Swaminathan Botanical Garden. Germplasms
species species species over 56 species are maintained at the Centre.
Trees 179 16 32 1.5. Medicinal plant garden at MSSRF
Shrubs 86 1 5 The garden, spread over more than two
Herbs 102 1 4 hectares of land conserve and exhibit 449 spe-
Climbers 54 1 2 cies of medicinal plants reported from southern
Tubers 28 1 1 Western Ghats. This includes medicinal trees,
Total 449 20 44 herbs, shrubs, tubers and climbers. There are
44 endemic and 20 threatened medicinal plant
species conserved in the garden.
groups, the Centre facilitated research and
documentation of ethnobotanical practices by 1.6. Field level medicinal plant garden for tradi-
Post Graduate students. Scientists from MSSRF tional healers
also supervised post-graduate level disserta- Apart from setting up a medicinal garden
tions and produced over 100 dissertations on at its premise, the Centre has also established
ethno-botany and other related areas. medicinal plant gardens in the homesteads of
selected healers or strengthened the existing
1.3. Reviving the cultural link in conservation of
garden with diverse species of healer’s pref-
PGR
erence. 20 such gardens were established
MSSRF has adopted a strategy to revive in Kottathara, Meenangadi, Pozhuthana,
cultural links in conservation of plant genetic Padinjarethara and Thariodu Panchayaths. These
resources, especially the medicinal plant diver- gardens consist of species that are commonly
sity. Sacred forests are part and parcel of Hindu used in traditional medicine and Ayurveda.
culture and people worship trees. Erosions of
such cultural links have led to depletion of floristic 1.7. Medicinal plant multiplication/ nursery
diversity in sacred groves and from worship A nursery has been established to multiply
places. The Centre could convince the temple and distribute important medicinal plants com-
authorities and ensured their support for the monly used in traditional medicine or Ayurveda.
conservation of plant genetic resources of cul- Purpose of this activity was to make available
tural and medicinal value. the plants for primary healthcare by promoting
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 63
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
their cultivation and avoiding destructive harvest self-governments. More than 10 such gardens,
of such species from the wild. Over 100 medici- located across Wayanad, Kannur, Kasargod and
nal plant species are multiplied and distributed Kozhikodu are conserving important medicinal
to farmers and others who wanted to conserve/ plants.
cultivate it. A list of 100 medicinal plants species
multiplied and distributed by MSSRF is provided 2.CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
in the Annexure-1. Indiscriminate collection of medicinal plants
from wild, destructive harvesting, habitat deg-
1.8. Re-introduction of RET medicinal plants in
radation and restriction on access to medicinal
their original habitats
plants from forest and their fringes made medic-
MSSRF works in partnership with the State
inal plants less available for healers and local
Forest Department for re-introduction of endemic
traders. Cultivation of medicinal plant is vital for
and threatened species including medicinal
ensuring local availability of most demanded
plants. The table 4. Provides summary of spe-
medicinal plants and to address the conservation
cies reintroduction efforts taken up as part of
issues aroused from destructive harvesting and
the programme.
habitat degradation. Concurrent attention was
1.9. Gardens at Institutions paid on promoting cultivation of medicinal plants
Medicinal plant gardens were established and imparting skills for the sustainable use of
in partnership with various institutions and local such species for healthcare.
Table 4. Re-introduction of medicinal plants in The Centre promoted medicinal plant cul-
their original habitats tivation as a source of supplementary income
No of No of Re-introduction
for the small farmers in future, especially in the
species medicinal locations context of climate change. Selected farmers
species and members of women self-help groups were
55 23 In Situ conservation given training in various aspects of cultivation.
zone at Vanaparvam bi- Attention was paid to develop organic package
ological park at Kozhi-
of practice. Training on cultivation focused on
kode Forest Division
cultivation of medicinal plant as an intercrop
20 6 Rare plants conser-
vation area at North in coffee plantation, optimizing yield param-
Wayanad forest Divi- eters for increased productivity and avoiding
sion destructive harvesting from wild. The Centre
20 10 Wayanad Wildlife ensured sufficient seed materials/ seedlings for
sanctuary promoting cultivation of medicinal plants. Based
15 6 In situ conservation on agronomic practices, potential yield, local
zone at Peruvanna-
demand, and usage in traditional healthcare
moozhy forest range
of Kozhikode forest formulations, 100 species have been identi-
Division fied for cultivation at household level. Since
25 10 In situ conservation there was no organized market for cultivated
area at Kunnambatta medicinal plants, farmers were initially hesi-
at Meppady range, tated to cultivate medicinal plants. They were
South Wayanad forest
also not willing to disturb their crops in their
Division
64 Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants-
the MSSRF experience
garden for the cultivation of medicinal plants. also encouraged to use these formulations
A criterion applied for the selection of species for catering own healthcare needs. The
was its suitability (adaptability) with the coffee
formulations include medicines for external
based homestead farming. The species that and internal applications, neutraceuticals,
tolerate shade and consume minimum space cosmetics and wellness products. Annexure-2
are selected for cultivation for market purpose.
provides details of 13 such wellness products
More than 500 home herbal gardens were and their uses and ingredients.
established in Wayanad for promoting the culti- 4.COMMERCE
vation of medicinal plants. Farmers and women
Creating economic stakes in conserva-
were also exposed on the usage of plants and
tion is an inevitable requirement to sustain
in producing herbal formulations. Home herbal
conservation of medicinal plants. Modest
gardens thus become instrumental in conserva-
attempt has been made to link medicinal
tion, cultivation and use of medicinal plants at
plant cultivators and women groups engaged
household level.
in producing herbal medicines with local
Formation of medicinal plant growers’ traders/market. The trained women and
association is a key future activity for linking women groups are engaged in producing
the small producers with market. Producing herbal medicines (cosmetic items, wellness
marketable surplus is a challenge, which can products, medicines for external applications
be addressed through attracting more and and consumption). The trained women were
more small farmers and engaging them in also engaged in marketing and household
medicinal plant cultivation. delivery of herbal medicines locally. Per
capita earning per year per person ranges
3.CONSUMPTION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS
from Rs. 5,000 to Rs.50,000/-. Imposing
The ultimate objective of the promotion GMP standards for production and market-
of household level cultivation of medicinal ing of herbal products was a major barrier
plants was to popularize herbal medicine for marketing locally produced herbal for-
in primary healthcare. The Centre also paid mulations. MSSRF facilitated a local herbal
necessary attention for the protection and manufacturer to secure GMP standard infra-
transfer of ethnobotanical knowledge per- structure and linked the trained women with
tained to the usage of important medicinal this herbal production centre.
plants. Understanding the importance of
revitalization of traditional primary health- CONCLUSION
care practices, MSSRF initiated a ‘Green The overarching goal of C4 continuum is
Health’ programme in 1998. The programme facilitation of conservation and sustainable
aimed for concurrent intervention for the utilization of medicinal plants. The strate-
conservation, cultivation and utilization of gies for conservation and cultivation were
medicinal plants for primary healthcare formulated in the backdrop of ongoing
needs. Over 1000s of women were trained destructive harvest and degradation of
on herb based local healthcare practices as habitats of medicinal plants. Ensuring the
well as production, use, and marketing of participation of local community (especially
36 simple herbal formulations. They were the tribes, women and small landholders) in
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
conservation and persuading them in culti-
vating medicinal plant was a challenge. The
C4 continuum stands for creating economic
stake in conservation and equipping com-
munities in exploring the utilitarian value of
medicinal plants. Rather than looking for
establishing sophisticated production units
and capitalist mode of production, the C4
framework encourages women, tribes and
small landholders to engage in household
production of herbal formulations for their
health security and to explore local market
for their produces through creating aware-
ness. The activities and achievements in
the field of medicinal plants prove that C4
framework can address multiple challenges
including conservation, cultivation, utilization
and safeguarding traditional wisdom asso-
ciated with the conservation and sustainable
utilization of medicinal plant in our country.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors acknowledge the Department of
Science and Technology, Government of
65
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
India for supporting medicinal plant con-
servation programme at MSSRF. Numerous
people including the members of tribal
communities, women folks, smallholders,
representatives of various institutions were
part and parcel of this project. We thank
them all and acknowledge their contribution.
REFERENCES
Chacko S.M., Thambi P.T., Kuttan R., Nishigaki I., 2010.
Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review.
Chin Med. 5:13.
Goraya, G. S. and Ved, D. K., 2017. Medicinal Plants in
India: An Assessment of their Demand, NMPB and
ICFRE.
GoI, 2000. Report of the Task Force on Conservation
and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants. Planning
Commission, Government of India.
Kamboj, V.P., 2000. Herbal medicine. Current Science;
78 (1): 35 – 39.
NMPB, 2018. Indian Medicinal Plants Factsheet, National
Medicinal Plant Board; Accessed from http://www.
nmpb.nic.in/content/medicinal-plants-fact-sheet.
Pimm S., Russell G., Gittleman J., Brooks T., 1995. The
future of biodiversity. Science; 269:347.

ANNEXURE-I

Medicinal plant species multiplied and distributed by MSSRF

Sl. Sl.
Botanical Name Botanical Name
No No
1 Acorus calamus L. 51 Lawsonia inermis L.
2 Aegle marmelos Correa ex. Roxb. 52 Maranta arundinacea
3 Aerva lanata (L.) Juss. ex Schult. 53 Mentha spicata L.
4 Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. 54 Morinda citrifolia
5 Alpinia calcarata Rosc. 55 Ocimum sanctum L.
Oroxylum indicum (L.) Benth. ex
6 Alstonia venenata R. Br. 56
Kurz
7 Ampelocissus latifolia (Roxb.) Planch. 57 Pandanus amaryllifolius
8 Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) 58 Phyllanthus emblica L.
66 Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants-
the MSSRF experience

9 Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk. 59 Piper bettle

10 Aristolochia indica L. 60 Piper longum L.
Pittosporum tetraspermum Wight &
11 Azadirachta indica A. Juss. 61
Arn.
Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.)
12 Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell 62
Spreng.
Plectranthus hadiensis (Forssk.)
13 Baliospermum montanum (Willd.) 63
Spreng.
14 Biophytum reinwardtii (Zucc.) Klotzsch. 64 Plumbago auriculata Lam.
15 Boerhavia diffusa L. 65 Plumbago zeylanica L.
16 Caesalpinia sappan L. 66 Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre
17 Calotropis gigantea (L.) R. Br. 67 Protasparagus racemosus (Willd.)
Pseudarthria viscida (L.) Wight &
18 Cardiospermum halicacabum L. 68
Arn.
19 Cassia fistula L. 69 Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.
20 Celastrus paniculatus Willd. 70 Pterocarpus santalinus L.f. 
Pterospermum
21 Centella asiatica (L.) Urban in Mart. 71
rubiginosum Heyne.
Cinnamomum malabatrum (Burm.f.)
22 72 Ruta graveolens L.
Blume
23 Cinnamomum verum J.Presl 73 Salacia reticulata Wight
24 Cissus quadrangularis L. 74 Santalum album L.
25 Clitoria ternatea L. 75 Saraca asoca (Roxb.) de Wilde.
26 Curculigo orchioides 76 Sarcostemma acidum (Roxb.) Voigt.
27 Curcuma aromatica Salisb. 77 Scoparia dulsis
28 Curcuma caesia Roxb. 78 Senna alata (L.) Roxb.
29 Datura metel L. 79 Simarouba Glauca DC.
30 Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC. 80 Solanum violaceum Ortega.
31 Eclipta prostate 81 Solanum xanthocarpum
32 Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton 82 Spilanthus calva
Spondias pinnata (L. f.) Kurz.
33 Embelia ribes 83
Prelim.
34 Eupatorium triplinerve Vahl 84 Sterculia urens
35 Evolvulus alsinoides 85 Stereospermum colais
36 Ficus benghalensis L. 86 Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.) Bertoni
37 Ficus microcarpa 87 Strobilanthes barbatus Nees
38 Ficus microcarpa L. 88 Strychnos nux-vomica L.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 67
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

39 Ficus religiosa L. 89 Symplocos cochinchinensis (Lour.)

40 Gloriosa superba L. 90 Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels
41 Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) R.Br.ex Schult. 91 Tabernaemontana heyneana Wall.
Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.)
42 Hemigraphis colorata Blume 92
Roxb.
43 Indigofera tinctoria L. 93 Terminalia cuneate
44 Ipomea maxima (L.f.) Don. 94 Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.)

45 Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq. 95 Vernonia cineria

46 Justicia beddomei (Clarke) Bennet 96 Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash.

47 Justicia gendarussa Burm.f. 97 Vitex leucoxylon L. f.

48 Justicia plumbaginifolia J.Jacq. 98 Vitex negundo L.

49 Kaempferia galangal L. 99 Vitex negundo L. var.
50 Kaempferia rotunda 100 Wrightia tinctorea

ANNEXURE-II

Important herbal formulations and related medicinal plants promoted by MSSRF

Herbal medicine Medicinal plants Uses

Useful for the treat-

Kattarvazha lehyam
ment of White dis-
(Kumari Lehyam) Aloe vera, Allium sativum
charges and men-
(Neutraceuticals)
strual disorders
Medicine for cracked Useful for the
feet (Medicine for exter- Turmeric powder, Castor oil, Ghee treatment of cracks
nal applications) on feet
Phyllanthus emblica (Amla/ Indian
Nellikka lehyam (Amla Useful for enhanc-
gooseberry), Piper nigrum (Pepper),
lehyam) (Medicine/ Neu- ing Lactation and
Elettaria cardamomum (Cardomom),
traceuticals) good health
Cinnamomum verum (Cinnomon)
Phyllanthus emblica (Amla/ Indian
gooseberry), Eclipta prostrata (Bhrin-
Neelibhringathi oil Useful for Enhanc-
graj/ False daisy) ,Cardiospermum hali-
(Hair oil) (Medicine for ing hair growth
cacabum (Valliuzhinja/ Heart seed ), In-
external applications) and dandruff
digofera tinctoria (Indigofera), Cocunut
oil/milk
68 Conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants-
the MSSRF experience

Herbal medicine Medicinal plants Uses

Asparagus racemosus (Asparagus),
Elettaria cardamomum Maton (Cardo-
,mom), Zingiber officinale (Ginger) Curculi-
go orchioides (Nilappana), Cyclea pelta-
ta (Padakizhangu), Tribulus terrestris
(Nerinjil), Hemidesmus indicus (Nan- Useful for the treat-
nari/ Indian sarsaparilla), Ichnocar- ment of White dis-
Sathavari lehyam (Med- pus frutescens (Palvalli/Black creeper), charges, menstrual
icine/Neutraceuticals) Spermacoce articularis (Tharthavel/ disorders and en-
Shaggy buttonweed), Phyllanthus am- hancing the semen
arus (Keezharnelli/ Phyllanthus), Ipo- count
moea mauritiana (Palmuthukku/ Giant
potato), Piper longum (Pippali/ Indian
long pepper), Glycyrrhiza glabra(iratti
madhuram/Liquorice), Maranta arun-
dinacea (Koova/Arrowroot) ,
Mangifera indica (Mango) leaf,Centella
asiatica Urban (Kudangal/Indian pen- Useful for main-
Dantha dhavana choor-
ny-wort), Citrus pennivesiculata Tana- taining dental
nam (Tooth Powder)
ka (Karinaranga), Piper nigrum (Pep- health
per), rice husk
Adalodaka Lehyam Justicia beddomei (Clarke) Bennetn Useful for the
(Medicine/ Neutraceuti- (Adalodakam), Piper longum (Pippali/ treatment of cough
cals) Indian long pepper) and Bronchitis
Oil for the treatment of Syzygium aromaticum Merr. & Perry
Useful for the treat-
tooth ache (Medicine for (Clove), Acorus calamus (Sweet flag), Al-
ment tooth ache
external applications) lium sativum (Garlic)
Centella asiatica Urban (Indian pen-
ny-wort), Bacopa monnieri Pennell
(Brahmi/Bacopa), Eclipta prostrata
(Bhringraj/ False daisy), Plectranthus
amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng. (Panikoor-
Useful for the
ka /Country borage ), Vernonia cinerea
treatment of Fe-
Oragulika (Medicine, Less. (Puvankurunal/Purple fleabane),
ver, ulcer, diarrhea
for consumption) Trachyspermum ammi Sprague (Aya-
and Digestive Dis-
modakam/bishop’s weed), Myristica
orders
fragrans Houtt. (Jathi/ Nutmeg), Piper
longum (Pippali/ Indian long pepper),
Picrorhiza kurroa (Kaduku rohini),
Curcuma longa, Allium sativum (Gar-
lic), Piper nigrum (Pepper)
Useful for the treat-
Pain Balm
White Dammer, Honey Wax,lemon- ment of Head ache,
(Medicine for external
grass oil,Eucalyptus Camphor joint pain and Mus-
applications)
cle pain
Useful for the
Oil for body Pain (Medi- Vernonia cinerea (Puvankurunal/ Pur-
treatment of joint
cine for external applica- ple fleabane),Allium sativum (Garlic), Co-
pain, Muscle pain
tion) cunut oil,
and arthritis
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 69
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

Herbal medicine Medicinal plants Uses

Pongamia pinnata Pierre ,Piper be-
tle (Betel leaf),Moringa pterygosperma Useful for the
(Drum stick),Erythrina stricta Roxb. treatment of body
Murivenna (Medicine
(Erythrina), Spermacoce articularis pain, skin diseases,
for external application)
(Tharthavel/ Shaggy buttonweed ), Aloe wounds and burn-
vera , Allium cepa , Asparagus racemo- ings
sus (Asparagus), Cocunut oil
Fairness oil (cosmetic Face massage, en-
item) hancing face beauty
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

70

06
Protected cultivation of medicinal plants
in polyhouses: prospects and limitations

INTRODUCTION

The acceptance of plant based medicines as an

Sadheeshnakumari S.
alternative to modern medicine has increased
Rahul P.R.
considerably over the last few years and this
Mahesh Kumar M.K.
in-turn increased the demand for medicinal
Geetha S.P.*
plants. With increased demand for medicinal
Indira Balachandran
plants, issues of availability of genuine raw
material and concern on quality of the material
are also on the increase. The increasing instances
of adulteration and substitution poses health risks
to consumers, liability issues for producers, and
regulatory issues for the industry. The demand
for medicinal plants and non-availability of raw
material urges the need to develop sustainable
collection practices from the wild, improve and
expand cultivation techniques, and use biotech-
nology to increase the availability of plant
materials and bioactive products. Cultivation
of medicinal plants at the farm level is one of
the interventions being attempted to meet the
increasing demand. The vital issue is that, not
Centre for Medicinal Plants Research,
Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, all medicinal plants can be cultivated because
Kerala, India. of their perennial nature with long pre-bearing
*geethasp@aryavaidyasala.com periods and specific agro-climatic requirements.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
Controlled / protected production of medicinal
plants can play a direct or supporting role in
addressing all these issues.
PROTECTED CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL
PLANTS: OPPORTUNITIES
Controlled or protected cultivation techniques
are widely used in the production of many
crops. Although there is limited information on
protected cultivation of commercially important
medicinal plants, there is growing literature on
polyhouse production of ornamental and horti-
cultural crops. Production of plants inside special
structures, such as greenhouses, growth chambers
and polyhouses under controlled environment,
temperature, relative humidity, nutrients and
water will help in increasing yield, with consistent
quality, in an efficient and sustainable manner.
The ability to monitor and control the environ-
ment with this kind of technology enables year-
round supply of quality plant material to the
industry, irrespective of climatic and geographic
barriers. Controlled environment has particular
advantage over the field production since the
elevated CO2 and light inside the structure results
in increased photosynthetic rate and yield.
Controlled environment technology has
potential for addressing several issues of the
industries that dependant on medicinal and aro-
matic plants. Mass propagation of threatened
and endangered species in order to repopulate
and conserve them in their native habitat is
possible under the controlled environments in the
protected structures. The risk of unintentional and
intentional adulteration or substitution of plant
material is lower than that of plant material har-
vested from either wild or cultivated populations.
Use of polyhouse technology would be consid-
ered a key for good cultivation and collection
practices or a good manufacturing practice for
production of standards to determine purity of
71
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
product in the market. The controlled light and
other microclimatic conditions in the protected
structures help in enhanced accumulation of
secondary metabolites in the plant material
and thus enhances the quality.
CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN
POLYHOUSES: CASE STUDIES
Centre for Medicinal Plants Research
(CMPR), Arya Vaidya Sala (AVS), Kottakkal,
Malappuram, Kerala, has taken initiatives for
developing polyhouse cultivation technology
for some selected seasonal medicinal plants
for year round production of genuine quality
raw material for the industry. The trials were
conducted in an experimental polyhouse, having
a floor area of 100 sq.m., placed in east-west
direction in the premises of CMPR (Fig. 1A). The
polyhouse is covered on the top with ultraviolet
stabilized low density polyethylene sheet having
205µm thickness and the sides with 40 mesh
insect proof net. Polyhouse erected on fabri-
cated structure, also consisted of vertical tiers
comprising of three galvanised iron galleries
at a height of 1 meter between them, to utilise
maximum space inside it. The potting mixture
was filled in trays made of 10” PVC gutter fitted
on iron frames or in polybags of different size
depending on the species to be grown. Irrigation
was provided through mist and drip irrigation.
The average humidity ranged between 53% and
57.5% and soil and air temperature was main-
tained at the range of 34.76°C and 37.39°C
during the day time
SUCCESSFULLY CULTIVATED SPECIES
Five Economically important ayurvedic
medicinal plants were selected for experimental
cultivation under polyhouse condition, they are:
1. Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn.
(Malayalam name: Bhumiamalaki)
72 Protected cultivation of medicinal plants

Figure 1 Cultivation of medicinal plants in polyhouses A - A view of polyhouse; B - Seedlings raised in polyhouse for
transplanting; C to H - Cultivation of various species in polyjouse (C - Phyllanthus amarus grown in vertical tier system and
in grow bags, D - harveted fresh herb of P. amarus, E - Oldenlandia umbellata, E - Cyanthillium cinereum, G - Euphorbia
thymifolia, H - Clitoria ternatea)
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
2. Euphorbia thymifolia L. (Malayalam name:
Laghududhika)
3. Oldenlandia umbellata L. (Malayalam name:
Parpataka)
4. Clitoria ternatea L. (Malayalam name:
Shankupushpi)
5. Cyanthillium cinereum (L.) H. Rob. (Malayalam
name: Sahadevi)
P.amarus Schum. & Thonn. belongs to the family
Euphorbiaceae and is a small herb well known
for its medicinal properties and widely used
worldwide. It is an important plant of Indian
Ayurvedic system of medicine which is an ingre-
dient in medicines used for treating problems
of stomach, genitourinary system, liver, kidney
and spleen.
73
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
C.ternatea of family: Fabaceae is a traditional
Ayurvedic medicine and has been used for centu-
ries as a memory enhancer, nootropic, antistress,
anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tran-
quilizing and sedative agent.
C.cinerea (Asteraceae) has reputation as folk
medicine in various traditional systems of med-
icine and has been scientifically reported to
possess anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, reno-
protective, anticancer, antiviral, antimicrobial
activities, etc (Sivarajan and Balachandran,
1994; Warrier et al., 1995, Khare, 2007).
All the species selected were herbaceous or
seasonal medicinal plants which are demand
in large quantities by the Ayurvedic industries
(Ved and Goraya, 2008; Sasidharan and

Table 1 Average increase in yield of selected ayurvedic medicinal plants grown in polyhouse

Average increase in yield Harvest time

Species
under polyhouse condition Polyhouse Field
Phyllanthus amarus 6-8 times 35-40 days 90 days
Euphorbia thymifolia 20-25 times 3-4 months 6 months
Clitoria ternatea 3-4 times 4-5 months 6-8 months
Oldenlandia umbellata 8-10 times 2-3 months 4-6 months
Cyanthillium cinereum 4 - 5 times 2-3 months 4-6 months

E. thymifolia L. (Euphorbiaceae) is a small, Muraleedharan, 2009). Non-availability of

branched, hispidly pubescent, prostate annual
herb, traditionally used as a blood purifier,
sedative, haemostatic; aromatic, stimulant,
astringent in diarrhea and dysentery, anthel-
minthic, demulcent, laxative; and also in cases
of flatulence, constipation; in chronic cough, etc.
O. umbellata, belonging to Rubiaceae is an
antique Ayurvedic Indian herb that has been
used in diverse applications such as to treat poi-
sonous bites, roots are used in asthma, bronchitis,
and bronchial catarrh treatment, etc.
these plants in sufficient quantities in specific
times of the year adversely affects production
of medicines. Being seasonal herbs availability
of these medicinal plants are on decline due to
various reasons such as habitat loss, variation
in climatic conditions and various other species
specific problems which include damage to seed
inflicted by seed-parasitic insect moth, diseases,
etc. The possibility of off-season cultivation in
polyhouse was tried out to make these herbs
available to the industry throughout the year.
74 Protected cultivation of medicinal plants
POLYHOUSE CULTIVATION OF SELECTED
SPECIES: TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED
Seedlings raised inside the polyhouse was
used as planting material in case of all the
species (Fig. 1B). Seedlings at four to six leaved
stages (about 3-4cm tall) were planted at a
spacing of 20cm in different combination of
planting medium. Growth response of seedlings
during various growth period in different plant-
ing medium on three tier vertical system with
bottom, middle and top racks at a height of one
meter and in grow-bags kept on polyhouse floor
were studied. Potting mixture containing sand,
soil, vermi-compost, coir pith compost and cow
dung at different ratio were tried. The growth
response was assessed in terms of plant height,
number of branches / branch lets, number of
leaves on main stem and branches, root system,
fresh and dry herbage yield etc.
Significant difference in growth response
was noticed between the plants grown under
ployhouse and field conditions across various
species (Fig.1C-H). Potting mixture consisting of
sand: soil: coir pith compost: cow dung (1:2:1:1)
recorded the highest herbage yield in the poly-
house in terms of plant height, leaves on main
branch, branch number, branch length, fresh
weight and total dry weight. All these parame-
ters were recorded lowest values for the control
plants grown in the open field conditions. In
the vertical three tier system, comparatively
better growth parameters were observed in
plants grown in the middle tier. The mean plant
height increased progressively with the increase
in age of plants under polyhouse condition. The
microclimatic condition inside the polyhouse must
have helped in achieving increased photosyn-
thetic efficiency and hence increased growth
and yield.
Substantial difference was observed in har-
vest period and also in fresh and dry herbage
yield under open filed and polyhouse conditions
(Table 1). The fresh and dry whole plant weight
has increased by 3-25 times in various polyhouse
grown species over the open cultivated plants,
during all the seasons. This is could be attributed
to the protective function performed by poly-
house by shielding the crops from high intensity
of light, high rain fall, winds, etc. and foggers
and drip system which controls temperature and
humidity. The reason for the increased herbage
yield might be due to the optimal microclimatic
condition in the polyhouse, sustained availability
of nutrient, increase in water holding capacity,
better soil-microbial interaction, etc.
CONSTRAINTS IN ADOPTING POLYHOUSE
TECHNOLOGY FOR MEDICINAL PLANTS
Although polyhouse technology is widely
used to ensure consistent of production of qual-
ity vegetable and ornamental crops, limited
published information is available on the use
of this technology to grow medicinal plants.
This is probably because majority of medicinal
plants have long harvest cycles, and they are
required in large quantities and hence may
not be economically viable for production in
polyhouses. These raw materials are readily
and cheaply available from the wild and other
sources making it difficult to justify the capital
investment and operating cost for polyhouse
production.
However, there is significant opportunity to
use this technology for the production of uniform,
high quality medicinal herbs. The system has
potential to significantly reduce time of harvest,
reduce harvest pressure on endangered popula-
tions and increase profitability for the growers.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, adoption of polyhouse tech-
nology can improve yield and productivity of
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
medicinal crop in off season cultivation. There
is need for exploring possibilities of polyhouse
cultivation in case of those species which has
market potential and availability from other
sources are meagre. Continuing efforts in
this direction will make it possible to develop
cropping schedules for the most promising spe-
cies. And the productivity and profitability of
each species under polyhouse system can be
standardised.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors are grateful to Arya Vaidya Sala,
Kottakkal for providing required facilities and
Tata Trusts, Mumbai, for offering financial sup-
port for the research.
75
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
REFERENCES
Khare, C. P., 2007. Indian Medicinal Plants - An Illustrated
Dictionary. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, New York, USA.
Sasidharan, N. and Muraleedharan, P. K., 2009. The
Raw Drugs Requirement of Ayurvedic Medicine
Manufacturing Industry in Kerala, KFRI Research
Report. pp 9.
Sivarajan, V. V. and Balachandran, I., 1994. Ayurvedic
Drugs and Their Plant Sources. Oxford & IBH Publishing
Company Pvt. Limited, New Delhi, pp. 466-469.
Ved, D. K., and Goraya, G. S., 2008. Demand and
Supply of Medicinal Plants in India. Foundation for
Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore,
India and Bishan Singh Mahendra Pal Singh,
Dehradun, pp. 216.
Warrier, P. K., Nambiar, V. P, Ramankutty C., 1995. Indian
Medicinal Plants: A Compendium of 500 Species;
Vol. 1-5 Orient Longman, Hyderabad.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Home Herbal Gardens: scope and prospects in
health and livelihood security
K. Haridasan
Consultant, Bio resources,
Ahalia Foundation, Palakkad,
Keralaharidasank@hotmail.com.
haridasank9@gmail.com
76
07
INTRODUCTION
Medicinal plants, health care and livelihood
are intricately interrelated in India especially
in the rural areas. There are several favourable
aspects that contribute to the health care sector
utilizing the traditional knowledge and practice.
India boasts of rich biodiversity (Rao 1994) and
natural resources that have been a source of
health care needs (Ved and Goraya, 2008).
Though sources from plants form the high vol-
ume ingredients in most traditional medicines,
ingredients of animal and mineral origin are
also important component in most medicines.
The over six lakh villages in the country are
spread across a wide variety of agro-climatic
regions interspersed among different forest
type of a variety of phytogeographic zones.
In each of these villages there would be at
least one or more traditional healers practic-
ing their own unique approach to manage the
health problems. Most of these healers draw
their raw material needs from the vicinity of
their residence. It has now been evident that
out of the 17650 or so flowering plants over
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 77
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Table 1. Medicinal plants across different healing divergent forest types. There is a variation in
traditions distribution and abundance in the plants across
Total Traded the ten phytogeographic zones and twenty-five
Medical system
species species phyto-geogrpahic provinces. The Indian systems
Ayurveda 1537 688 of medicine have been responsible for recog-
Folk 5215 651 nising such a large number of healing herbs.
Siddha 1147 501 Table 1. provides estimated number of plant
Unani 493 328 species used in various species worldwide.
Tibetan 250 197
Homoeo 489 146 The knowledge base is generated with
Western 190 67 over 1.4 million folk/herbal healers who treat
a range of common ailments and even chronic
6500 are used in herbal healing practices. In
and other diseases. Similarly there are millions
fact some studies have indicated the number to
households who possess immense knowledge
be more than 8000 (Pushpangadan, 1995). It
of home remedies (Darshan Shankar 2004).
is also pertinent to note that plants are seen in
Their understanding has helped to identify the
diverse assemblage in different eco regions and
most appropriate species of medicinal plants
forest types and there could be an impact on the
for treating health problems. Most of these are
availability of resources at different ecosystems.
sourced from wild or are grown in households
This suggests that the medicinal plants used for
to ensure their continued availability.
disease management of any specific problem
could be different based on the location and FRLHT (now TDU) Bangalore has been a
traditional knowledge prevailing there. This centre of excellence in medicinal plants and
also opens up opportunity to explore effective traditional knowledge under the Ministry of
plants at different locations which could have Environment and Forests, Govt of India. They
resulted in such a large number of medicinal have been promoting conservation and sustain-
plants. Needless to mention the disease also able use of medicinal plants in several states
has ecosystem specificity. in India with active support from State Forest
Departments, NGOs and CBOs. One of the
Despite the conviction and commitment to
pioneering area FRLHT has worked on is the
offer affordable health care for all in the coun-
documentation and assessment of local health
try, we are far away from meeting the target.
traditions (LHT) and home herbal garden (HHG).
Even the plan allotment to health care is far
from the desired level. It is in this context that The documentation of LHT has helped to
Home Herbal Gardens (HHG) assume signif- realise the ecosystem specific plants for localised
icance and scope. In this paper we highlight diseases and health care. The rapid assessment
certain salient aspects of HHG in primary and based on the codified systems of medicine has
everyday health care. helped to authenticate the utilisation of herbs
and their effectiveness. Following these elabo-
THE SCENARIO: MEDICINAL PLANTS rate and rigorous procedures FRLHT has come
India is home to over 6500 - 8000 species of out with suggestions to grow herbs in home
medicinal plants with varying degree of abun- gardens and institutional gardens. Many of
dance and distribution over the country across these plants align with the national priorities and
78 Home Herbabl Gargens
are in demand as raw materials in commercial
production of proprietary medicines. Till date
over 275000 HHGs have been promoted across
13 states in the country. A perusal of the table
1,2 and 3 will show the ecosystem differences
in terms of species composition prioritised by
community perceivable at the three states in
different phytogeographic zones.
HOME HERBAL GARDENS
These constitute a bunch of 7 to 20 species
of medicinal plants carefully selected to grow
at homesteads which can be used in case of the
immediate need of primary health care. The
selection process as mentioned above involves
documentation, assessment and prioritisation.
The plants in these gardens essentially targets
health problems and use of these plants rather
than a plant centred approach. These species
are easy to grow, easy to harvest, used mostly as
single plant remedy, easy to prepare medicine
and are devoid of side effects but are effective.
Most of the plants identified are herbs,
shrubs or climbers; with a minimal number of
trees due to space restriction and ease of grow-
ing. However, institutional gardens will have trees
and a larger number of species. They can be
usually mesophytes but based on the prevailing
local condition there could be few hydrophytes
or xerophytes. As is true for medicinal plants
used in ISM, the part used vary from plant to
plant. However, use of vegetative parts such
as leaves, stem or root is more pronounced
from HHGs.
A list of HHG and IHG plants suggested
for the state of Karnataka, Rajasthan, West
Bengal and is given below. While there are more
common plants across the states few could be
locality specific and the combination of HHG
plants for household could vary as is evident
from the Annexure-1, at the end of the chapter.
A look at the process of establishing HHG
will reveal that there are several components
integral to the programme and involvement of
several stake holders and experts. There is a
clear understanding of the flora, vegetation and
bioresources along with agroclimatic conditions.
Similarly, involvement of traditional healers,
codified ISM experts, community members,
especially women and youth, SFD staff, traders
are prominent which will make the list more
comprehensive. There is a need for collection
and growing the required plants in nursery,
maintaining them, creating awareness about
the species and their utility, growing and main-
taining them in HHGs. A strong component of
training is paramount for the success of the pro-
gramme. The training should cover identification,
propagation, cultivation, collection/ harvesting,
preparation of medicine etc. Women being the
caretaker of family health their involvement are
crucial for ensuring the success of the programme
(Raju and Hariramamurthi, 2004).
Apart from the health care benefits, HHG
can also supplement income of the households
from the sale of the seedlings and accessories.
This also has potential for skill development and
empowerment of weaker sections of the society.
Besides the above benefits, HHGs can also
function as a means to reintroduce traditions to
our young generation. Youth would get expo-
sition to the health heritage and the legacy
of utilising bio resources in a very practical
way. In a post-implementation assessment done
during HHG programme in Odisha, it was learnt
that over 750/ rupees are saved annually by
the village poor on account of using the HHG
plants and healing practice. This also indicates
that there is scope for integration with modern
health care especially as primary response.
An integrated approach would be beneficial
to the community.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
HHGs also has relevance in the veterinary
and animal husbandry sector. With rich eth-
no-veterinary practices, several serious and
epidemic diseases like FMD, Mastitis etc. of the
cattle have effective treatments in this system.
FRLHT has in its Ethno medicinal garden a theme
on Veterinary health care plants that showcases
the diversity of species used in animal health
care in the country. The demand for such plants
is ever increasing and results in possible resource
crunch which is evident in the case of several
species of high volume consumption and trade
plants. The problem gets all the more difficult as
over 90% of the medicinal plants are obtained
from the wild (Ved and Goraya, 2008). At the
same time we get to see the possible potential
of the resources for livelihood improvement and
sustainable utilisation through cultivation. This
is pertinent when we consider that there are
over 960 traded medicinal plants in our country
indicating that there could be few species suit-
able for any selected agro climatic condition.
Certain high demand species which are tree
species like Gmelina arborea, Terminalia arjuna,
Stereospermum tetragonum, Garcinina indica,
Terminalia bellirica, Nothopodytes nimmoniana,
Saraca asoca, Santalum album or Mesua fer-
rea, etc. Such species can be integrated into
Table 2. Top 10 species of medicinal plants in
high consumption
Sl Quantity in
Species
No MT
1 Emblica officinalis 16820
2 Terminalia chebula 8158
3 Sida rhombifolia 5505
4 Withania somnifera 4575
5 Tinospora cordifolia 3845
6 Ocimum tenuiflorum 3533
7 Terminalia bellirica 3424
8 Eclipta prostrata 3351
9 Andrographis paniculata 3279
10 Asparagus racemosus 3180
79
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
government tree planting programmes along
with several other species that will augment the
resource availability.
Primary health care plants: These are a set of
plants that are used for meeting the immediate
requirement of treatment as a first course of
action. There has been several such species that
are used in this way. Such plants have been put
through a process of rapid assessment using
different medical systems and prioritised for
promotion. FRLHT Bangalore has forty such
species and promoted to grow as home herbal
gardens (see Annexure). To date across 13 states
in the country FRLHT has promoted establish-
ment of 2.75 lakh HHGs. A list of such species
used in HHG is given in the annexure. However,
the list will vary from place to place as they
are ecosystem specific and suited to disease
prevalent in different ecosystems. These include
herbs like Ocimum, Baccopa, Aloe, etc, shrubs
like Hibiscus, Adhatoda, Lawsonia etc, climbers
like Tinospora, Asperagus, Basella etc and trees
like Azadirachta, Aegle, Terminalia, Phyllanthus
etc. the combination of plants in each garden
will vary depending on the size of the plot.
It is evident that there are over 50 species
of medicinal trees that can be considered in
forestry programmes. Most of these are mul-
tipurpose ones and has timber or NTFP value.
Similarly, much of our medicinal plants also vary
in relation to part utilised like Root, bark, stem,
leaves, flowers or fruits. An understanding of
these differences is essential in planning sus-
tainable utilisation.
A perusal of the top ten medicinal plants of
trade and high demand (table 2.) will reveal
that many of them can be easily grown in the
homesteads making it a possible supplier of
such material for the market/ industry.
80 Home Herbabl Gargens
CONCLUSION
Home Herbal Gardens are a means to
health care if established with proper site-spe-
cific selection of plants accompanied with all
its rigour in documentation, assessment and
application. There are bound to be ecosystem
specific variations which warrants for checking
out right combination of plants that address the
local health care issues. A well managed garden
could not only be ensuring health security, but
also address the need for conservation and
livelihood security by way of skill development
and creating a cadre of knowledgeable women
to practice. While the HHG is a tool to connect
health care and tradition, it also throws open
the immense possibility of integration to mod-
ern health care delivery systems. HHGs also
help provide leads to several of our plantation
programmes and community involvement. The
programmes on CKRs/ PBRs by the National
Biodiversity Authority comes handy to develop
suitable packages for the villages. Such an
attempt to foster the traditional practices and
empower the community, especially the heal-
ers, can ensure coverage of health care to the
entire nation without leaving the rural and less
ANNEXURE-I
List of Home garden/ Institutional garden plant for Karnataka
as Promoted by FRLHT
Kannada
Sl. Botanical name of
Name the
No. the Plant
Plant
1. Aloe vera Lolesara
2. Adhatoda zeylanica Adusoge
3. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Dasavala
accessible areas too. Biodiversity Management
Committees, NGOs, Educational institutions and
government agencies together can make such
as desired difference.
REFERENCES
Darshan Shankar and Unnikrishnan, P. M., 2004.
Challenging the Indian Medical Heritage. CEE B
Ahmedabad.
FSI, 2011. State of Forest Report. Forest survey of India,
MoEF, Dehradun.
Ganeshbabu N. M., Geetha Suresh and Haridasan, K.,
2008. Secrets of Ethnomedicinal Gardens. FRLHT,
Bangalore.
Goraya and Somasekhar, 2008. Growth and use medicinal
plants for primary health care. MCS-FRLHT, Bangalore.
Nayar, M.P., 1987. In situ conservation of wild flora
resources. Bull. Bot. Surv. Ind. 29 (14): 319-333.
Pushpangadan P., 1995. Ethnobiology in India : A status
Report. MoEF, Govt. of India.
Raju G. and Hariramamurthi, 2004. Health at our door-
step – Reviving Home remedies. In Darshan Shankar
and P M Unnikrishnan, Challenging the Indian Medical
Heritage. CEE B Ahmedabad.
Rao, R.R., 1994. Biodiversity in India (Floristic aspects).
Dehradun. pp 315.
Ved D.K. and Goraya, G. S., 2008. Demand and Supply
of Medicinal Plants in India. BSMPS, Dehradun.
Habit Uses
burns, eye problems, scanty
urination, stomach ache,
Herb
mensual disorders, liver
tonic, hair care
Leaves and Cough,
Shrub respiratory roots problems,
fever, bleeding disorders
Flowers: Menstrual
Shurb disorders, hair care, scanty
urination
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 81
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

Kannada
Sl. Botanical name of the
Name the Habit Uses
No. Plant
Plant
Leaves Cough and
respiratory In group/single
4. Ocimum sanctum Tulasi Herb
problems, eye problems,
plant fever
Leafy shoots Memory
5. Bacopa monnieri Neeru brahmi Herb enhancer, hair care pot,
Semi aquatic shady locations
Fruiting spikes Cough
and respiratory locations
6. Piper longum Hippali Climber problems, headache, hoarse
throat, indigestion, stomach
ache
Stem Fever, general
immunity, Needs support
7. Tinospora cordifolia Amruthaballi Climber
acidity, liver tonic, to climb
diabetes
Leaves Fever, scanty
8. Centella asiatica Ondelaga Herb urination, shady locations
memory enhancer, hair care
Leaves Burning sensation in
9. Murraya koenigii Karibevu Shrub
stomach, liver tonic
Fruit and Diarrhoea,
acidity, in garden fruit
10. Punica granatum Dalimbe Shrub
rind worms, eye problems,
pregnancy care
Leaves Cough, respiratory
11. Cymbopogon citratus Nimbehullu Herb
in moist area problems
Stem and Constipation, cuts
12. Basella alba Basale Climber and Needs support leaves
wounds, flatulence
Leaves Cough, headache, in
13. Coleus aromaticus Doddapatre Herb
garden allergy
Tuberous roots Scanty
breast milk, acidity, in
garden, burning feet, hoarse
14. Asparagus racemosus Shatavari Climber
throat, Needs support
menstrual disorders,
general immunity
Leaves Fungal infection,
15. Lawsonia inermis Goranti Shrub independent plant burning
feet, menstrual disorders
Roots General immunity,
16. Withania somnifera Ashwagandha Herb
pregnancy care, rejuvenator
82 Home Herbabl Gargens

Kannada
Sl. Botanical name of the
Name the Habit Uses
No. Plant
Plant
Leaves & gum Stomach
17. Moringa oleifera Nugge Tree ache, worms, in garden
fungal infections
Andrographis Leafy shoots Fever, skin
18. Nelabevu Herb
paniculata problems shady areas
19. Phyllanthus amarus Nelanelli Herb Aerial parts Liver tonic
Leaf & Root bark Fever,
20. Gymnema sylvestre Madhunashini Climber diabetese, cough other tree
support
Whole plant Cuts and
wounds, scabies, vomiting,
21. Cynodon dactylon Garike hullu Herb
menstrual disorders,
pregnancy care
Leaves, Seeds, Skin
disorders, Diabetes open dry
22. Azadirachta indica Bevu Tree
area Bark mellitus, Blood
purifier
Leaves Hair care, Skin care,
23. Eclipta alba Bringharaja Herb
aquatic Digestive tonic
Reduces heat, digestive
24. Vetiveria zizanioides Lavancha Herb
moist area tonic
General immunity, Hair
25. Phyllanthus emblica Bettada Nelli Tree
care, Diabetes mellitus
Seeds Fever, rejuvenator
26. Ocimum basilicum Kama Kasturi Herb
Single plant
Leaves, Seeds Joint pain,
27. Vitex negundo Lakki Shrub
ear ache, fever Line hedge
Root Bark Digestive tonic,
28. Plumbago zeylanica Chitramula Shrub
diarrhea, joint pain
All the parts Joint pain, ear
29. Ruta graveolens Nagadali Herb ache, indigestion, stomach
ache
Sl. Botanical name of the Kannada Name
Habit Uses
No. Plant the Plant
Leaves General immunity
30. Souropus androgynus Chakramuni Shrub
Single plant
Shrub/
Leaves, Bark Dysentry,
31. Holarrhena pubescens Beppale small
Bleeding in garden disorders
tree
Calotropis gigantia
32. Bili Ekka Shrub Latex Head ache, joint pain
(White variety)
Fruit, Leaves Dysentery, ear
33. Aegle marmelos Bilva Tree
disorder
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 83
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

Kannada
Sl. Botanical name of the
Name the Habit Uses
No. Plant
Plant
Leaves, Fruit, Joint pain,
34. Ricinus communis Haralu Shrub
purgative Seeds
Bark, root, Skin disorders,
35. Butea monosperma Muthuga Tree digestive, flower, latex,
worms seeds, leaves
Fruit pulp, Pugative,
36. Cassia fistula Kakke Tree Digestive tonic, root bark,
joint pain flowers, leaves
Bark Skin disorders,
digestive stimulant,
37. Alstonia scholaris Maddale Tree
dysentery, cough,
respiratory disorders
Fruit Respiratory disorders,
38. Terminalia bellirica Thaare Tree digestive stimulant, general
health promoter
Fruit Purgative, Digestive
39. Terminalia chebula Alale Tree
tonic, joint pain
Root Digestive, emetic,
40. Acorus calamus Baje Herb intellect shady location
promoter

List of Home garden/ Institutional garden plant for Rajasthan

Promoted by FRLHT
Sl. Kannada Name
Botanical name of the Plant
No. the Plant
1. Abrus precatorius Chirmi
2. Abution indicum Rajasthan
3. Andrographis paniculata Chhota chirayata
4. Argyrieia speciosa Taamesar
5 Asparagus racemosus Naharkanta
6 Boerhaavia diffusa Haantadi
7 Carum bulbocastanum Aajmo
8 Cassia fistula Karmela
9 Citrus aurantifolia Limbu
10 Enicostemma hyssopiphylum Naami
84 Home Herbabl Gargens

Sl. Kannada Name

Botanical name of the Plant
No. the Plant
11 Adhatoda zeylanica Chhoti adusi
12 Kalanchoe pinnata Paththarchatta
13 Ocimum sanctum Tulasi
14 Phyllanthus emblica Aamlee
15 50 Solanum xanthocarpum Bhuiringani
16 Tinospora cordifolia Galvel
17 52 Tribulus terrestris Gingru
18 Tridax procumbens Kalali
19 Wrightia tinctoria Khirni

List of Home garden/ Institutional garden plant for West Bengal Promoted by
FRLHT
Sl. Kannada Name
Botanical name of the Plant
No. the Plant
1. Acorus calamus Boch
2. Ananas comosus anarus
3. Andrographis paniculata kalmegh
4. Asparagus racemosus Shatmuli
5 Centella asiatica Thankuni
6 Curcuma longa Holud

7 Hygrophylus spinosa Kulekhara

8 Justicia adhatoda Basak

9 Kalanchoe pinnata Patherkuchi
10 Mentha piperata Pudina
11 Nyctanthes arbor‐tristis Siuli
12 Ocimum sanctum Thulsi
13 Piper betle Pan
14 Tinospora cordifolia Gulancha
15 Vitex negundo Nishinda
16 Zingiber officinale Ada
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018

85

08
Cultivation of medicinal plants
challenges and prospects

INTRODUCTION
Diverse and rich streams of healing traditions
A. V. Raghu*
are integral part of India’s health care system.
M. Amruth
These traditions through their all permeating
discourses on healing, healthy living constitute
‘medicinal plants’ which forms an essential
component of traditional medical prepara-
tions in ayurveda, siddha, unnani, folk and
home remedies. The health care practices in
ayurveda, siddha and unani are recognized
modes of health care systems receiving official
patronage of the State. Growing popularity
of these health care practices have resulted a
growing market and increased consumption of
the herbal heath care products manufactured
at industrial scale. This growth in market has
been in tandem with growth in global market
in medicinal plants. According to a projection
by World Health Organization (WHO) for the
year 2050, the market in herbal products would
be worth 5 billion US dollars. A few countries
dominate the international trade with over 80%
Kerala Forest Research Institute, of the global import and export allotted to 12
Peechi – 680653, Kerala, India. countries each. While Japan and Korea are the
*dravraghu@gmail.com
main consumers of medicinal plants, China and
86 Cultivation of medicinal plants

India are the world’s leading suppliers. Hong for herbal products are threatening the very sur-
Kong, United States and Germany stand out vival of the MAP species and their wild habitats,
as important trade centres. heavy demand also create huge opportunities
in farming and marketing of medicinal plants.
The WHO estimates that 2,100 species are
With the increased realization that some wild
used for medicinal purposes around the world
species are being over-exploited, a number of
and in India 150 species are used commercially
international agencies are recommending domesti-
(Modak et al., 2007). In Zimbabwe, herbal medi-
cation of wild species (Lambert et al. 1997; WHO,
cine is the most affordable and easily accessible
IUCN and WWF 1993). It is estimated that only
form of treatment in primary health care and
1.3 % of the total 2500 species of medicinal
up to 93 medicinal plant species are used in
plants in international trade are under culti-
the south central region of Zimbabwe (Maroyi,
vation (Schippmann et al. 2002; Rajeswara et
2013). In Pakistan, more than 500 species of
al., 2012). Collection, simple local processing
plants are used in herbal medicine. About 12.5%
and trading of medicinal plants presents great
of the plant species documented worldwide are
opportunities not only in supplementing the cash
reported to have medicinal value; the proportion
income of the poor small-holder farmers and
of medicinal plants to the total documented
forest dependent communities, but also creating
species in different countries varies from 4.4%
additional employment opportunities for the
to 20% (Schippmann et al. 2002). About 25%
rural poor. Cultivation would also have bearing
of drugs in modern pharmacopoeia are derived
on the biodiversity conservation. For instance,
from plants (phytomedicines) and many others
Medicinal plant production through cultivation
are synthetic analogues built on prototype com-
can reduce the extent to which wild populations
pounds isolated from plants. Up to 60% of
are harvested, but it may also lead to narrowing
the drugs prescribed in Eastern Europe consist
of genetic variability and diversity among the
of unmodified or slightly altered higher plant
domesticated species besides resulting in loss of
products (Lancet, 1994).
incentives for conservation of wild populations
The flipside of the story is that the high (Anonymous, 2002).
global demand for plant-derived medicines is
WILD vs. CULTIVATED
threatening the very existence of many wild
There is a long drawn debate on the suitabil-
endemic medicinal plant species due to their
ity of wild harvested medicinal plants over the
over, early, and destructive harvesting along with
cultivated plants as sources of drugs. Researchers
the accelerated rate of habitat loss and deg-
feel that the argument in favour of preferring
radation. The volume of trade in raw medicinal
wild plants over the cultivated ones is influ-
plant resources is sky rocketing, a report in 2003
enced by subjective perceptions rather than
indicated that about 1500 tons of medicinal
by scientific proof (on higher concentrations of
and aromatic plants (MAPs) are collected and
pharmaceutically important secondary metabo-
traded annually and most of them are traded
lites etc.). Research have also corroborated this
illegally (Karki et al., 2003). It is estimated that
view where it has been demonstrated that the
in India 75% of the medicinal plants used are
cultivated medicinal plants contain more concen-
collected from the wild (Anonymous, 2000).
tration of active molecules as compared to the
While it is true that the increasing demands medicinal plants collected from wild (Kamatchi
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
and Vigneswari, 2018; Aggarwal et al., 2014;
Franke et al., 1993). However, some of the
anxieties about the commercial cultivation such
as widespread cultivation inadvertently leading
to environmental degradation, genetic homo-
geneity, erosion of local knowledge on wild
harvesting and reduced incentives to conserve
wild populations (Schippmann, 2002) are con-
sidered to be real if no adequate measures
are taken. Wiersum et al. (2006) responding to
these anxieties have opined that ‘impact of the
cultivation of medicinal plant can be beneficial
if cultivation is carried out within the context of
protecting and strengthening the cultural values
of biodiversity and creating a positive attitude
towards biodiversity conservation in general.’
Another school of critics have argued that
it is not acceptable to use cultivated medici-
nal plants in preparation of medicines as it is
against the traditional values of the ancient
healing systems. A report on the perception
of cultivation of medicinal plant species has
indicated that very high proportions (over 69%)
of respondents are willing to buy and make use
of cultivated medicinal plants in South Africa
(Loundou, 2008). Similarly, in Kerala (India)
ayurvedic medicine manufacturing industries,
who are hard-pressed for raw materials due
to shortage of raw drugs and resulting adulter-
ations, are willing to procure medicinal plants
from the cultivators. Some of the large medicine
manufacturers have entered into contract with
famers’ co-operatives to cultivate and supply
the required species of medicinal plants. These
firms have also been liberally offering immu-
nity from price fluctuations of the market along
with assured purchase to the farmers. Major
ayurvedic medicine manufacturers such as Arya
Vaidya Sala (a public limited company and
charity organization), Kottakkal and Oushadhi (a
public sector medicine manufacturer) in the state
87
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
of Kerala are procuring medicinal plants from
the farmers through assured purchase guaran-
tee schemes. The case elaborated towards the
later part of the chapter indicate that medicinal
plant cultivation sector is capable of providing
incentives to farmers as well as for the medicine
manufacturers. Thus, cultivation of medicinal
plants at commercial scale can help resolve
major issues faced by various stake holders in
the sector beyond the perceived risks which are
yet to be proven right.
As mentioned earlier, the cultivation of
medicinal plants has many advantages, for
instance, cultivation create more employment
and improve household earnings besides reduc-
ing overexploitation and harvesting of some wild
and endangered species and also to enhance
the resource base of raw materials (Pillai et
al., 2017). Analogous to the cultivation of food
crops, medicinal plants’ cultivation programmes
should have specific goals such as:
• Increase medicinal plant yield and plant
growth rate
• Optimise quality and quantity of secondary
metabolites in the plant
• Reduce undesirable adulteration and sub-
stitution in raw drug
• Facilitate accurate species identification and
enhanced quality control
• Provide for genetic improvement
Selection of materials for mass propagation
and for planting sufficient quantity of seedlings
to suite right timing of the harvest is strategically
important in medicinal plant cultivation. Thus, the
planting material ought to be disease resistant,
environment tolerant, rich in active ingredients,
high yielding as in the case of rhizomes and
fruits. The table-1 provides a comparison of
the advantages and disadvantages between
wild-collection and cultivation of medicinal
plants.
88 Cultivation of medicinal plants

Table 1. comparison of the advantages and disadvantages between wild-collection and

cultivation of medicinal plants (Rajeswara et al., 2012; Schippmann et al., 2002).

Wild Collection Cultivation

Extinction of species, biodiversity depletion, Conservation of species, crop im-

genetic erosion, exploitation of local commu- provement and organic certification
nities possible

Sustainable availability, high yields

Irregular/diminishing availability and sup-
by adopting systematic cultivation
plies
methods
Admixture of related species, sometimes
Purity of species guaranteed
with poisonous species
Variable quality Uniform quality

Difficulties in harvesting, handling, stor- Harvesting, handling, storage, trans-

age, transportatio portation regulated
Pest control difficult Pest management possible
Year round employment can be en-
Seasonal employment for collectors
sured
Occupational hazards and risks to the col-
Protection to workers
lectors
Product is cheaper Product relatively expensive
No guarantee for continued supply of raw
Sustained supply can be ensured
material
production volume and price can be
Production volume and price may fluctuate
regulated for longer periods
As source of raw material cannot be en-
Certification as organic production is
sured Certification as organic product is
possible
not possible

CULTIVATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS wild harvested raw drug which is supplied to

Profit margin is a decisive criterion in bringing
a particular species on to cultivation, but the
same would also pose a limiting factor as long
as sufficient bulk of the material is still available
at a lower price sourced from wild harvest.
Cultivated material will have to compete with
the market by gatherers who have incurred no
input costs (Cunningham, 1994). While analys-
ing the advantages of cultivation of medicinal
plants, FAO has recommended that cultivation
may improve the optimal commercialization
requirements at the production and post-harvest
stages (Table 2).
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants 89
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Table 2. Possible actions for improving medicinal plants’ practices
(http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/af285e)
Optimal
commercialization Current situation Possible actions
requirements
Standardized cultivation 90 % of raw material is Cultivation according to
methods collected from the wild. GAP*

Collection from wild Cultivation according to

Ensure quality and
quantity
Controlled post-harvest
handling
Unadulterated material,
no unwanted plants or
ingredients, reliable
botanical identification
Possibility to select and
develop genotypes with
commercially desirable
traits
often causes inconsistent
quality (variations in active
ingredients) depending on
the area plants grew
Many stakeholders involved
in post-harvest handling and
collectors often dependent on
contractors
No adequate postharvest
handling can be ensured
Collection from wild often
results in plants being
mistaken and unwanted
plant material included
Too many stakeholders are
involved in the country of
origin. Farmers cannot sell
directly to exporters; the
needs for flexibility and
development cannot be met
GAP.
Recognized quality labs at
regional or national level
with assured quality control
Cultivation according to
GAP
Establishment of farmer
cooperatives at village or
regional level that can sell
directly to exporters
Cultivation according to
GAP
Cultivation according to
GAP
Establishment of farmer
cooperatives at village
or regional level who can
guarantee a critical mass
of cultivable land to meet
the individual needs of
exporters

Cultivation according to
Too many stakeholders are GAP
involved in the country of Establishment of farmer
Product standards which
origin cooperatives at village
can be easily adjusted to
Farmers cannot sell directly or regional level who can
regulatory requirements
to exporters; the needs for guarantee a critical mass
and consumer demands
flexibility and development of cultivable land to meet
cannot be met the individual needs of
exporters

*GAP refers to good agricultural practice, a recommended system of producers and best practices for medicinal and
aromatic plants.
90 Cultivation of medicinal plants

The constraints in immediate adoption of
the cultivation in case of most plants include
lack of required knowhow. For, information
on the propagation of 50% of the medicinal
plants are not available and agro-technology
is available only for barely 30% of the plants
species. The wild-collected species would require
substantial capital investments in research and
several years before their Package of Practices
(PoPs) are evolved. The idealised trajectory and
stages involved in transition from wild-harvest-
ing to possible cultivation (Fig. 1.) provided by
Schippmann et al. (2002) and Homma (1992)
are provided verbatim below:
(i) Discovery Phase: At this point the demand
can be met by wild harvest. Extractivism is
done for local use or for barter with others.
(ii) Expansion Phase: It is clear that the product
is potentially useful and that demand is likely
to increase. Harvest is done for local or
regional sale and eventually for international
markets. In general, species with naturally
low densities are unlikely to become import-
ant sources of commercially large quantities.
(iii) Stabilization Phase: The species is unlikely
to be attractive to growers unless prices are
high enough and wild-harvested resources
are scarce enough. However, desirable
species may be grown on farm land and
planted around settlements.
(iv) Decline Phase: Prices increase with scarcity
due to transport costs, search time and the
long distance trade. Wild populations will
have to decline further before cultivation is
a viable option. The trade is characterized
by fluctuations in supplies, often to the extent

Fig. 1. Transition phases from wild harvesting to cultivation: after wild resources decline with
over-harvesting, raw material prices increase and cultivation becomes economically feasible;
more resilient species can recover.
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
of disrupting the trade balance. For slow
growing species, if controls on collection are
not strictly enforced, wild populations will
be more seriously eroded before cultivated
material is available (Cunningham, 1994).
(v) Cultivation Phase: Now, formal cultivation
systems are developed and instituted. The
plants are domesticated and incorporated in
agroforestry systems sometimes for the ben-
efit of small-scale farmers. If international
market opportunities exist, commercial plan-
tations are created with substantial invest-
ment and genetic selection, cloning, breeding
and biotechnology may be applied. More
resilient species may recover in their wild
populations.
AGRO TECHNIQUES OF MEDICINAL
PLANTS
Successful cultivation of medicinal plants
requires information on the adaptation of species
to regions outside their natural habitats, cultiva-
tion practices and management. However, cur-
rently information on these aspects of medicinal
plants is inadequate across various agro-climatic
regions. For initiating the study on domestication
and cultivation, it is necessary to decide on the
priority species for cultivation and studies should
be based on participatory surveys and mar-
ket analysis involving rural people, traditional
healers, material collectors and drug industry.
Subsequent to this exercise, species choice should
be narrowed down to the ones for which there
are ready markets and species which are fast
depleting in wild. Research for understanding
the ecology and natural distribution, reproduc-
tive biology and propagation techniques for
the selected species should follow efforts in
developing germplasm collections and evalu-
ation and genetic improvement aimed at aug-
menting both yield and quality of the product.
91
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
Standard agronomic inputs for the species in
question with information on suitable soil and
environmental conditions, systems in which the
species can be grown, nutrient management,
harvest techniques and processing etc. needs
to be developed. Since intensive cultivation of
medicinal plants may trigger outbreak of pests
and diseases, it is necessary to study and evolve
suitable non-toxic solutions to such issues (Samuel
et al., 2001; Cunningham et al. 2002).
National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB),
Govt. of India, CIMAP, Lucknow, NBRI, Lucknow,
Kerala Agricultural University, Kerala AVS-CMPR
Kerala, and other leading institutes and uni-
versities are studying the agro-techniques of
medicinal plants in larger extent.
CULTIVATION OF MAPs: THE MATTATHUR
EXPERIENCE
Mattathur Labour Co-operative Society
(MLCS) is a cooperative society with 800 reg-
istered farmers and farm labourers as active
members. The society has been organising small
holders to take up a variety of agricultural
ventures by entering into formal agreement
with authorised buyers, which include ayurvedic
medicine manufacturing industries, who offer
protected markets to their produce by guaran-
teeing immunity from price fluctuations.
The salient features of two of the co-oper-
ative agriculture and marketing ventures of the
co-operative society is provided below:
Kadalivanam Project
Beginnings: 2009
Participation: 90 percent of the households
of the 800 registered farmers and farm
labourers
Produce: Kadali variety of plantains
Purchaser: Guruvayoor Devaswom
(Guruvayoor temple)
92 Cultivation of medicinal plants

Quantum of supply: 4000 plantains per day Table 3. Price of the selected medicinal
everyday of the year plants offered to the registered farmers
Demand: 10000-12000 plantains perday Price
Activity: Cultivation of the kadali variety Name of Medicinal plant (Jan. ‘18)
of plantain crop, currently there are more Rs/kg.
Momordica charantia (bitter
than one lakh plantain trees in cultivation. 26
gourd)
The planting and harvesting is carried out Tragia involucrata
according to a pre-planned harvest calendar 60
(Kodithuva)
to ensure sustained supply to the client. Desmodium gangeticum
62
Each farmer engaged in cultivation gets (orila)
a price of Rs. 2.50 per plantain supplied Stereospermum chelonoides
12
(paathiri)
(approximately Rs.50 is obtained on an
Kaempferia galanga
average per kg of plantain supplied). 180
(Kacholam)
Assurance: Assured demand at the present Sida Cordifolia
rates if supply, immunity from price fluctua- 70
(kurumthotti)
tions assuring steady income from cultivation Barleria cristata (Karim
34
for the farmer apart from the bonus, crop kurunji)
insurance cover and price for the saplings Pseudarthria viscida
62
(moovila)
sold.
Rauwolfia serpentina (sarppa
Oushadha Vanam Project 650
gandhi)
Beginnings: 2015 Purchaser: 10 leading ayurvedic medicine
Participation: member farmers jointly with manufacturers including Arya Vaidya Sala,
Kudumbasree mission, progressive farm- Kottakkal and Oushadi (The Pharmaceutical
ers association and students of Pudukkad Corporation (IM)Kerala Ltd).
Constuency Quantum of supply (figures for bitter gourd
alone): 4000 kg bitter gourd every week
Produce: a variety of medicinal plants such
throughout the year to Oushadhi.
as Momordica charantia (bitter gourd), Sida
Cordifolia (kurumthotti), Tragia involucrata Demand: demand far exceeds the possible
(Kodithuva), Barleria cristata (Karim kurunji), supply
Desmodium gangeticum (orila), Pseudarthria Activity: Cultivation of the varieties of medic-
viscida (moovila), Stereospermum chelonoi- inal plants, the society plans to escalate
des (paathiri), Rauwolfia serpentina (sarppa the cultivation to about 300 acres in future.
gandhi), Kaempferia galanga (Kacholam), Assurance: If the market price is consistently
Asparagus racemosus (sathavari), Adhatoda higher for more than six months the farmer
vascica (adalotakam), Plumbago zeylan- will be given a price hike, however, if there
ica (kotuveli), Holostemma ada-kodien is slump in the market the farmer will be
(Atapathiyan), Andrographis paniculata protected from the price slump.
(kiriyathu), Plectranthus hadiensis (iruveli), The case of MLCS points towards the possibil-
Trichosanthes cucumerina (kaatu padavalam), ity of evolving successful win-win situation for the
Curcuma longa (manjal). industry and the medicinal plant cultivators. The
 Prospects in Conservation of Medicinal Plants
arrangement provides and institutional structure
for providing assurance of steady income for the
farmer while the manufacturers and consumers
of the medicines are offered a change to assure
quality of the product due to supply of quality
raw materials.
CONCLUSION
The use of plant products as nutrition
supplements and other medicinal products
has increased the value of medicinal plants
in recent years. Over dependence on forests
for these high volume raw drug commodities
is threatening the survival of wild population
of the many valuable plant species and their
habitats. A viable alternative is to bring these
species to cultivation, especially those species
which are threatened of extinction in the wild.
This would help to ensure a regular supply of
these species for human needs while preserv-
ing the genetic diversity of these species in
their natural habitats. Cultivation is an import-
ant strategy for conservation and sustainable
maintenance of natural stocks. However, only
a few medicinal plants species are actually
cultivated. The cultivation or domestication of
the species presents a scenario which is very
different form that of cultivating horticultural
and other commercial crops. The domestication
efforts should accompany organised research
for evolving cost-effective species specific POPs
and concerted efforts to forge conducive policy
and market environments. The suitable institu-
tional arrangement for industry-farmer benefit
sharing also needs to be explored. Such mea-
sures should be adapted to suit local cultural
and socio-economic specificities. For instance,
in the states where agroforestry practices are
prevalent, and in localities where size of land
holdings is smaller and labour costs are higher
the choice of species for cultivation, adoption
93
KSCSTE-KFRI, 2018
of technology and institutional arrangement
may vary from a region where these factors
are different.
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