Compendium of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants – Volume II - Asia

305 Pages·2006·3.5 MB·English

by  Sukhdev Swami Handa

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Front: Rauwolfia serpentina (L.) Benth. ex Kurz
Ginkgo biloba L.
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emblica L. (fruits of these three trees comprise Triphla of Ayurveda)
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Compendium of
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
ASIA
Sukhdev Swami Handa
Dev Dutt Rakesh
Karan Vasisht
I
Preface
Asia is the world’s most densely populated continent with sixty percent of the
world’s people living there. It is one of the largest biodiversity regions in the world and
home to some of the countries richest in medicinal and aromatic plant resources. It has
diverse plant flora however, species richness is concentrated mainly in tropical and sub-
tropical regions. Six of the world’s 18 biodiversity hot-spots: the Eastern Himalayas, the
Western Ghats of South India, North Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the
Philippines are part of Asia. The continent has well documented traditional knowledge,
a longstanding practice of traditional medicine and potential for socio-economic de-
velopment of medicinal and aromatic plants in primary healthcare and industrial scale
production. Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute the basis of primary healthcare
for the majority of the population and are a valuable source of income for rural popula-
tions. Approximately 90% of plants is still collected from forests. Only a few countries
such as China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam produce medicinal and
aromatic plants through cultivation on a commercial scale.
Despite advances in western medicine, ancient traditional systems of medicine are
practised in Asia mainly because of historical circumstances and cultural believes. Me-
dicinal plants are an accessible, affordable and culturally appropriate source of primary
healthcare for more than 80% of the Asian population according to the World Health
Organization. Indian Ayurveda along with Jamu, Kampo, Sidha, Tibetan, TCM and Una-
ni systems of medicine are an important source of health and livelihood for millions of
Asian people. International and national trade in alternative medicine including herbal
products is increasing rapidly. The estimated global trade in medicinal and aromatic
plant materials was more than US$60 billion in 2000, and is expected to reach US$5
trillion by 2050 according to the World Bank report. China and India are the world’s
leading exporters of medicinal and aromatic plant materials. Various international or-
ganization such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Health Organization (WHO),
the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and others have been address-
ing issues concerning medicinal and aromatic plants through support for research, net-
working and coordination.
However, the biodiversity of medicinal and aromatic plants has yet to be studied in
depth in many countries. Commercial exploitation, unsustainable use, cultural changes
I
and lack of institutional support have threatened resources and local traditional knowl-
edge. A number of countries are developing national policies on traditional medicines to
cover quality and safety. Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal and Pakistan
maintain considerable natural forest cover and are still able to collect plants from the
wild. A few countries including China, India and Sri Lanka have formulated legislation
to conserve their natural resources of medicinal and aromatic plants. Many other coun-
tries in the region have ceased the practice of collecting from the wild. There is a need
for coordination among the various institutes of the region working on medicinal plants
and traditional medicines in order to exploit them commercially and utilize them fully.
The International Centre for Science and High Technology (ICS-UNIDO) has pre-
pared this Compendium of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Asia to present the status
of medicinal and aromatic plants of Asian countries. The Compendium gives information
on the traditional systems of medicine, government efforts to promote them, medicinal
and aromatic plant resources, research and development activities, trade and the major
problems faced by sustainable commercial exploitation. It will help the countries of
the region to improve the health and living standards of their people using their own
resources and promoting traditional systems of medicine, which are less expensive and
well respected by Asian communities. This publication will be useful to policy-makers,
the scientific community and user groups to frame effective policies, formulate projects
to advance research and development activities, and establish environmentally sustain-
able and economically viable enterprises.
Gennaro Longo
Chief of the Environment Area
Special Adviser on Technology Development
II
Contents
Page
Introduction 1
1. The Status of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in East Asia 7
1.1 Introduction 7
1.2 China 8
1.3 Korea (Democratic Republic of) 17
1.4 Japan 19
1.5 Mongolia 26
1.6 Korea (Republic of) 30
1.7 Taiwan (Province of China) 38
2. The Status of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Southeast Asia 47
2.1 Introduction 47
2.2 Brunei Darussalam 48
2.3 Cambodia 51
2.4 Indonesia 56
2.5 Lao-PDR 68
2.6 Malaysia 75
2.7 Myanmar 85
2.8 Philippines 89
2.9 Singapore 95
2.10 Thailand 99
2.11 Timor-Leste 107
2.12 Viet Nam 110
3. The Status of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in South Asia 121
3.1 Introduction 121
3.2 Bangladesh 121
3.3 Bhutan 128
3.4 India 133
3.5 Maldives 155
3.6 Nepal 158
3.7 Pakistan 169
3.8 Sri Lanka 177
II
4. The Status of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Central Asia 189
4.1 Introduction 189
4.2 Kazakhstan 189
4.3 Kyrgyzstan 193
4.4 Russian Federation 195
4.5 Tajikistan 199
4.6 Turkmenistan 202
4.7 Uzbekistan 205
5. The Status of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Southwest Asia 211
5.1 Introduction 211
5.2 Afghanistan 211
5.3 Armenia 214
5.4 Azerbaijan 217
5.5 Bahrain 221
5.6 Georgia 223
5.7 Iran 227
5.8 Iraq 232
5.9 Israel 235
5.10 Jordan 243
5.11 Kuwait 248
5.12 Lebanon 251
5.13 Oman 254
5.14 Palestine 257
5.15 Qatar 262
5.16 Saudi Arabia 264
5.17 Syria 267
5.18 Turkey 272
5.19 United Arab Emirates 279
5.20 Yemen 283
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Introduction
Asia is the largest continent, with 60% of the world’s population living here. The
region consists of the continent of Asia plus the islands in the Indian and the Pacific
Oceans. It has abundant medicinal and aromatic plant species and traditional medicine
in Asia has been practised since ancient times. The continent has well-documented tra-
ditional knowledge, long-standing practice of traditional medicine and the potential for
social and economic development of medicinal and aromatic plants in primary health
care and industrial scale production.
The flowering plant species of the world have been estimated to be about 422,000.
Between 35,000 to 70,000 species are used for medicinal purposes of which at least
6,500 in Asia (Karki and Williams, 1995). It is one of the largest biodiversity regions in
the world containing some of the richest countries in plant resources. The continent has
diverse plant flora but species richness is concentrated mainly in tropical or subtropi-
cal regions. Six of the world’s 18 biodiversity hot-spots, namely the Eastern Himalaya,
North Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the Western Ghats
of South India lie in Asia. The countries of the region have large flora, for example
China (30,000 species of higher plants), Indonesia (20,000), India (17,000), Myanmar
(14,000), Malaysia (12,000) and Thailand (12,000). The island of Borneo has about
20,000 to 25,000 higher plant species (Anonymous, 2004). The number of plant species
and the endemics in the region are:
Region Species Endemics
Southeast Asia 42-50,000 40,000
China and East Asia 45,000 18,650
Indian subcontinent 25,000 12,000
Southwest Asia 23,000 7,100
Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute the basis of primary health care for
the majority of the population in Asia and are a critical source of income for rural
populations. They earn their living by selling wild or cultivated plant materials. Ap-
1