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Problems and prospects in the conservation and development of the

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Article  in  International Journal of Sustainable Development · February 2006

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 370 Int. J. Sustainable Development, Vol. 9, No. 4, 2006

111
2 Problems and prospects in the conservation
3 and development of the Himalayan medicinal
4
5 plants sector
6
7
8 Chandra Prakash Kala
9 National Medicinal Plants Board, 36-Janpath,
1011 Chandralok Building, New Delhi – 110001, India
1 E-mail: cpkala@yahoo.co.uk
2
3 Abstract: With the advent of a market-orientated economy, the medicinal
plants wealth of the Himalaya has become a high price commodity.
4 As a result, many wild populations of valued medicinal plants are declining
5 due to over-harvesting. In order to prevent the further loss of medicinal plants
6 in the wild and, at the same time, to meet the demands of pharmaceutical
7 companies and herbal healers, attempts are being made at various levels
8 (e.g. farmers and government organisations) to cultivate these species.
Unfortunately, these cultivation efforts are not entirely successful for many
9 reasons, including the specific ecological requirements of many Himalayan
2011 medicinal plant species. Moreover, there are many other constraints in the
1 development of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector. The present study
2 examines such constraints and also identifies the prospects in view of
developing and managing the medicinal plants sector.
3
4 Keywords: commercialisation; conservation; cultivation; economic
5 development; Himalaya; medicinal plants.
6 Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kala, C.P. (2006)
7 ‘Problems and prospects in the conservation and development of the Himalayan
8 medicinal plants sector’, Int. J. Sustainable Development, Vol. 9, No. 4,
9 pp.370–389.
30 Biographical notes: Chandra Prakash Kala earned his PhD in Forestry from
1 the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India. He has 15 years of research
2 experience on conservation biology and natural resource management.
3 His PhD thesis on the Valley of Flowers National Park has been widely
recognised by various national and international organisations and, finally,
4 helped in declaring the Valley of Flowers as a World Heritage Site in 2005.
5 He has widely surveyed the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan regions. He has
6 published over 100 research papers, articles and books. He was awarded the
7 ICFRE Award for Excellence for his outstanding contribution in the field of
8 forest conservation (biodiversity and ecology). He is currently serving the
National Medicinal Plants Board, Government of India as a Senior Consultant.
9
40
1
2 1 Introduction
3
4 The history of herbal medicine is as old as the social and cultural groupings of human
5 beings (Schultes, 1996). Medicinal plants have long played a central role in the treatment
6 of existing and new-born diseases by providing raw material to the pharmaceutical
711 industries and traditional herbal healers (Kala et al., 2004). In addition, the cosmetics
8

Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 371

111 industries are increasingly using more natural ingredients, including extracts of medicinal
2 plants, in their products (KIT, 2003). Worldwide, about 52,885 species of plants are
3 known for curing diseases (Schippmann et al., 2002). The Himalayan mountain systems
4 that extend into eight developing countries in South Asia (e.g. Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
5 Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan) have been reputed as a rich resource
6 base for many high value medicinal plant species since the evolution of herbal healings
7 and documented in many outstanding historical works such as Rigveda, Charak Samhita,
8 Sushrut Samhita, Ayurvedic Materia Medica and Chinese Materia Medica.
9 In India, the Himalaya covers an area of approximately 591,000 km2 and lies between
1011 27°50´ and 37°06´N and 72°30´ and 97°25´E. India is recognised as one of the ten most
1 extensively forested areas in the world because of the Himalaya. Though it covers only
2 18% of India’s geographical area, it accounts for more than 50% of the country’s forest
3 cover and 40% of the species endemic to the Indian subcontinent (Saxena et al., 2001).
4 There are 21 forest types throughout the Himalayan range which sustain a great diversity
5 of plant species (Singh and Singh, 1992). The Indian Himalaya supports about 8000
6 species of angiosperms, 44 species of gymnosperms and 600 species of pteridophytes,
7 of which 1748 are known for their medicinal uses. Of the total 1748 species of medicinal
8 plants, 1685 are angiosperms, 12 are gymnosperms and 51 are pteridophytes. In terms
9 of the number of medicinal plants, herb dominates (1071), followed by shrubs (335)
2011 and trees (330). Along an altitudinal range the maximum diversity of medicinal
1 plants (1417 species) exists <1800 m elevation (Samant et al., 1998). The maximum
2 number of medicinal plant species (964) have been reported from the Uttaranchal region
3 (Kala, 2004a), followed by Sikkim and North Bengal (707; Samant et al., 1998).
4 The trans-Himalayan region of India (e.g. Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti) harbours about
5 337 species of medicinal plants (Kala, 2002), which is low compared with other parts
6 of the Himalaya, due to its distinct geography and ecological marginal conditions
7 (Kala and Mathur, 2002).
8 Of the total medicinal plant species, 62 species are endemic to the Himalaya and
9 208 species extend their distribution to adjacent areas, hence classified as near endemic.
30 More than 200 Himalayan medicinal plant species are consumed raw, roasted, boiled,
1 fried, cooked or in the form of oil, spices, jams and pickles (Samant et al., 1998).
2 About 81 species of the Himalayan medicinal plants are known to be exploited for the
3 extraction of oil, Aegle marmelos, Ricinus communis and Myrica esculenta, for example.
4 Of the total 675 species of wild edibles, 171 are used as medicine (Samant et al., 2001).
5 The importance of medicinal plants is not only restricted to human use but, also, animal
6 husbandry employs many plant species as a primary source of healthcare (Samal et al.,
7 2004). According to ‘Kamarupi Pharmacopoeia’, which is a unique traditional medical
8 system of Assam, a total of 52 plant species with 18 recipes have been documented to
9 cure 14 types of ailments in elephants (Borthakur et al., 2001).
40 The use of plants for therapy in Indian culture has been so important that, for example,
1 the most knowledgeable person on herbal therapy has been considered an incarnation of
2 the Lord Vishnu, Dhanwantari. Unfortunately, the traditional use of herbs for therapy has
3 been neglected in recent history due to the increasing popularity of allopathic medicine
4 (Kala, 1998). Although allopathic medicine may alleviate and, sometimes, cure a wide
5 range of diseases, its high price and negative side effects are now making many people
6 to return to herbal medicines that have fewer side effects. Thus, medicinal plants are
711 becoming a commodity with important value. The World Health Organization (WHO)
8
 372 C.P. Kala

111 has estimated that the present demand for medicinal plants is about US $14 billion a year.
2 The demand for medicinal plant-based raw materials is growing at the rate of 15–25%
3 annually and, according to the WHO estimates, the demand for medicinal plants is likely
4 to increase to US $5 trillion in 2050 (Sharma, 2004).
5 The actual demand, however, will be even greater than the data suggest as a sizeable
6 proportion of medicinal plant material is used for domestic consumption and a large part of
7 the trade in medicinal plants is illegal, thus unrecorded. The leading suppliers of medicinal
8 plants are: China, Singapore, Brazil, India, and Egypt (Lange, 1997). International demand is
9 largely from the US and the EU, with Germany as the leading trade centre (KIT, 2003).
1011 According to a survey, in Member States of the EU about 1400 herbal preparations are
1 used for therapeutic purposes. There are about 7000 compounds and 47 modern
2 pharmaceutical plant based drugs already in the world market and the predicted 328 drugs
3 (yet to be discovered) have a market potential of US $147 billion. In its first year, sales
4 of the anti-cancer drug taxol from the Taxus species fetched more than US $2 billion
5 (Crook and Clapp, 1998; CTA 2002; Planning Commission 2000). Such popularity of
6 plant-derived products in healthcare reflects their increasing acceptance across the world.
7 This increasing demand for plant-based drugs is, however, causing the heavy pressure
8 on some selected high value medicinal plant populations in the wild (Kala et al., 2005).
9 Many Himalayan medicinal plant species have slow growth rates, low population densities
2011 and narrow geographic ranges (Dhyani and Kala 2005; Kala, 1998); hence they are more
1 prone to extinction (Jablonski, 2004). On the other hand, the indigenous knowledge on the
2 use of lesser-known medicinal plants is declining sharply. Realising the importance of
3 medicinal plants in recent years, the central and state Governments of India have shown
4 an interest in the medicinal plant sector, which they wish to strengthen in order to create
5 additional income and employment opportunities. In view of the renewed interest in the
6 use of plant based drugs, overexploitation of selected medicinal plant species and
7 escalating pressures on the widely used medicinal plants of the Himalaya, it is imperative
8 to review the status of existing knowledge on the medicinal plants of this region.
9 To ensure the long-term sustainability of medicinal plants as an essential commodity
30 for healthcare, it is important to regulate the medicinal plant stock. Identification of
1 traditional and modern tools used in the conservation of medicinal plants will be a step
2 forward in strengthening the medicinal plant sector. The immediate need is to explore
3 different tools for strengthening the medicinal plant sector including biotechnology,
4 community conservation, bio-prospecting and ways to prevent bio-piracy. In order to meet
5 these objectives the present paper explores various challenges for strengthening and
6 managing the medicinal plant sector. In addition, the paper highlights the various prospects
7 for advancing the medicinal plants sector by using both conventional and modern tools
8 such as biotechnology, community decision mechanisms and wise use of indigenous
9 technologies for the sustainable and economically viable development of the Indian
40 Himalayan communities. In general, the present study discusses four major questions:
1
Is collection for commercial purposes a road to medicinal plant extinction in the wild?
2
3
Will community-based conservation sustain this precious stock?
4
To what degree can biotechnology solve the setbacks?
5
6
Are bio-prospecting and bio-piracy a threat to the traditional and indigenous
711 knowledge of medicinal plants?
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 373

111 2 Is collection for commercial purposes a road to medicinal plant

2 extinction in the wild?
3
4 Over years of observations, the indigenous communities of the Himalaya have developed
5 their own knowledge on how to maximise the harvesting of desired plant parts while
6 minimising the pressure on the wild stock. They mostly collected mature plants.
7 Underground plant parts (root and rhizomes) of perennials were generally gathered after
8 two or three years of growth. Tubers and bulbs of the annual species were collected
9 at the end of the flowering or fruiting. Young leaves of medicinal plants were gathered
1011 throughout the growing period to maximise the quality of active compounds. When the
1 whole herb was required for medicine, the herb was collected at the beginning of the
2 flowering stage. Fruits and seeds of medicinal plants were collected when mature.
3 The bark was collected when trees and shrubs began to bud in spring and after
4 leaves shed in autumn (Kala 2002; Kaul, 1997). It was perceived that the mistaken
5 identity of plants during collection, particularly of plants with phenotypic similarity,
6 might lead to accidental poisoning; therefore only the trained herbal healers used to
7 collect the medicinal plants. After collection, proper care was taken to dry and process
8 the material.
9 At least 90% of the plant species used in various herbal industries is extracted from the
2011 wild, the majority of which comes from the sub-alpine and alpine regions of the Himalaya
1 (Anon, 1997). With the changing life style and socio-economic values, the greed to
2 over-harvest the valuable medicinal plants of the Himalaya for immediate cash by selling
3 to any prospective buyer has superseded the traditional values. Though laws have been
4 enacted to prevent over-harvesting, illegal collection is continued across the Himalayan
5 region (Kala, 2002, 2003a). With escalating competition to collect large quantities of
6 medicinal plants, influential people even hire labourers from outside. These labourers
7 have no training in traditional collection techniques.
8 The ruthless and unscientific collection of these high value medicinal plants is one of
9 the causal factors for their rarity and making an imbalance in the demand and supply.
30 From the North West Himalaya, the supply of the few and important rare medicinal
1 plant species, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Gentiana kurroo, Aconitum heterophyllum
2 and Picrorhiza kurrooa, for example, is about 100 tonnes per year for each species.
3 The demand of Dactylorhiza hatagirea alone is 5000 tonnes per year. Similarly, the
4 annual demand of Gentiana kurroo and Picrorhiza kurrooa is 5000 tonnes per year
5 for each and the demand for Aconitum heterophyllum is 1000 tonnes (Mishra, 1998).
6 This trend has led to over-exploitation and is one of the reasons for the documented
7 extinction of more than 19 plant species in the wild in India, 41 species suspected of
8 having recently become extinct, 152 species in danger of extinction if the causal factor
9 continues, 102 species believed to have move to the next (higher) category of rarity
40 and 251 species at risk and now restricted to limited areas (Walter and Gillett, 1998).
1 Similar patterns have taken shape around the world. In the US, for example, 29% of
2 the country’s 16,000 plant species are extinct, endangered, vulnerable and rare due to
3 various land-use operations (Robbins, 2000).
4 However, there are reports portraying the present assessment as ambiguous and,
5 thus, suggesting the need for more in-depth studies on the current population density of
6 the concerned threatened species in the wild (Kala, 2004b). The potential erosion of
711 genetic variability within each species must be studied to determine acceptable levels
8
 374 C.P. Kala

111 of rarity. Based on the four selected prioritised categories, such as endemism, use
2 value, mode of harvesting and rarity status, Kala et al. (2004) have identified 17 plant
3 species of the Himalayan region for priority attention with respect to their conservation
4 and cultivation (Table 1). The top prioritised group contains five medicinal plants,
5 such as Aconitum heterophyllum, Arnebia benthamii, Gloriosa superba, Nardostachys
6 grandiflora and Podophyllum hexandrum. Except for Gloriosa superba, the rest of
7 the top prioritised species are critically endangered according to the categorisation of
8 the World Conservation Union. The second group of prioritised species contains six
9 medicinal plant species such as Aconitum balfourii, Angelica glauca, Dactylorhiza
1011 hatagirea, Fritillaria roylei, Meconopsis aculeata and Saussurea costus. The third group
1 of priority species also contains six medicinal plant species, such as Aconitum falconeri,
2 Artemisia maritima, Delphinium cashmerianum, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Thymus linearis
3 and Acorus calamus. The National Medicinal Plants Board of the Government of
4 India has, besides these, prioritised 32 medicinal plant species for research and
5 development. Of these, 15 species are from the Himalayan region (Table 2). These
6 kinds of decisions and assessments for the prioritisation of medicinal plants are a step
7 forward in increasing the sustainability of the medicinal plant sector by safeguarding
8 the raw materials.
9
2011 Table 1 Priority list of medicinal plant species for the Himalayan region based on endemism,
1 use value, mode of harvesting and rarity status
2
3 Prioritised species Endemism Use Mode of CAMP
4 value harvesting Status
5
Top priority
6
7 Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. Endemic 12 Rt CR-EN
8 Arnebia benthamii (Wall. Ex G. Don) Endemic 11 Rh CR-EN
9 Johnston
30 Gloriosa superba L. – 25 Sh+Rt EN
1 Nardostachys grandiflora DC. – 18 Rh CR-EN
2
Podophyllum hexandrum Royle – 11 Rh+Fr CR-EN
3
4
5 2nd priority
6 Aconitum balfourii Stapf Endemic 6 Rt CR-EN
7 Angelica glauca Edgew. Endemic 6 Rt CR-EN
8
9 Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo Endemic 7 Tuber CR-EN
40 Fritillaria roylei Hook. Endemic 6 Rt CR-EN
1 Meconopsis aculeate Royle Endemic 4 Rt+Sh CR-EN
2 Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. Endemic 7 Rt CR-EN
3
4
5
6
711
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 375

111 Table 1 Priority list of medicinal plant species for the Himalayan region based on endemism,
2 use value, mode of harvesting and rarity status (continued)
3
Prioritised species Endemism Use Mode of CAMP
4
value harvesting Status
5
6 3rd priority
7 Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. Endemic 12 Rt CR-EN
8
9 Aconitum falconeri Stapf Endemic 3 Rt CR-EN
1011 Acorus calamus L. – 25 Rh VU
1 Artemisia maritima L. – 6 Rt+Sh EN
2 Delphinium cashmerianum Royle Endemic 11 Rt+Sh R
3
4 Picrorhiza kurrooa Benth. – 13 Rh EN
5 Thymus linearis Benth. – 5 Rt+Sh CR-EN
6
Code: – mode of harvesting: Rt – root; Sh – shoot; Rh – rhizome
7
Code: – CAMP status: CR-EN – critically endangered; En – endangered; VU – vulnerable;
8 R – rare
9
Source: Kala et al. (2004)
2011
1
2
3 Table 2 Prioritised Himalayan medicinal plant species for research and development by
4 the National Medicinal Plants Board of India along with their active constituents
5 and important medicinal uses
6
Sl. Species Part Active No. of Important
7
No. used constituentsa usesb uses
8
9 1 Aconitum Root Astisine, Hetisine, 12 Fever, cough,
30 heterophyllum Wall. Heteratisine dysentery, piles,
1 stomach ache
2 2 Aconitum ferox Root Pseudaconitine 6 Rheumatism
3 3 Aegle marmelos Fruit, Alkaloids, Marmesin, 31 Dysentery,
4 (L.) Correa leaf, bark Imperatorin, Slimmin, diarrhoea, fever,
5 Aegelenine snake bite
6 4 Asparagus Root Alkaloids, Saponin, 22 Dysentery, cough,
7 racemosus Willd. Protein, Tanin wounds
8
5 Bacopa monnieri Whole Saponin, Glycosides, 20 Brain tonic, fever,
9 (L.) Penn. plant Baconides, blood purification
40 Brahminoside
1
6 Berberis aristata DC. Root Berberine 4 Eye diseases
2
7 Crocus sativus L. Flower Lycopene, Picrocroun – –
3
4 8 Nardostachys Rhizome Jatamansone, Jatamol 18 Bronchitis, blood
5 jatamansi (Don) DC. Spirojatamol purifier, hysteria
6
711
8
 376 C.P. Kala

111 Table 2 Prioritised Himalayan medicinal plant species for research and development by
2 the National Medicinal Plants Board of India along with their active constituents
3 and important medicinal uses (continued)
4
Sl. Species Part Active No. of Important
5 No. used constituentsa usesb uses
6
7 1 Aconitum Root Astisine, Hetisine, 12 Fever, cough,
8 heterophyllum Wall. Heteratisine dysentery, piles,
9 stomach ache
1011 9 Ocimum Seed, leaf Volatile oil, 18 Fever, vomiting,
1 sanctum L. Monoterpenes liver complaints,
2 blood purification
3 10 Phyllanthus Fruit Ascorbic acid, Tannin, 29 Constipation,
4 emblica L. Phyllantine tonic diabetes
5 11 Picrorhiza Rhizome Iridoid glycosides, 13 Headache, fever,
6 kurrooa Benth. Picroside, Kuthoside asthma, anemia
7 12 Rauvolfia Root Reserpine, Serpentine, 14 Malarial fever,
8 serpentina (L.) Deserpidine snake bite
9 Benth. ex Kurtz.
2011 13 Saussurea costus Root Saussurine, Bitturesin 7 Dysentery, ulcer,
1 (Falc.) Lipsch. asthma
2 14 Solanum nigrum L. Fruit – 27 Jaundice, piles,
3 skin diseases
4 15 Swertia chirayita Whole Chiratol, Swertiamin, 16 Malarial fever,
5 (Roxb. ex Flem.) plant Chiratamin blood purifier,
6 Karsten. skin diseases
7
a
8 Notes: Based on Rawat and Uniyal (2004)
b
9 Jain (1991)
30
1
2
3 3 Will community-based conservation sustain this precious stock?
4
5 Twenty one national parks and 86 wildlife sanctuaries have been set aside for the
6 in-situ conservation of biodiversity across the Indian Himalaya. However, due to rising
7 conflicts among conservationists on pro-park and pro-people views, the Protected
8 Area networks are in a state of crisis (Madhusudan and Raman, 2003; Wells, 1992).
9 The Government of India has also enacted export restrictions on 29 plant species to
40 prevent their further loss in the wild. However, the sustainability of these species
1 cannot be achieved merely by promulgating a ban on export or by fencing areas rich
2 in medicinal plants (Purohit, 2004).
3 The establishment of Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCA) in various sectors
4 of the Himalaya could be a step forward in conserving medicinal plants and also
5 in mitigating the conflicts between these two communities (Kala, 2000). The buffer
6 zone areas could be selected for medicinal plants cultivation. At the same time, giving
711 ownership of natural resources to local people and encouraging profitable uses of
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 377

111 those resources may provide a powerful incentive for both medicinal plant conservation
2 and sustainable economic development of the local people (Child, 2002). Sustainable
3 harvesting combined with cultivation can improve yields in buffer zones and it may also
4 reduce pressure in the core zone of the Protected Areas (Kala, 2005a). It has been shown
5 that under cultivation and in a consolidated area the plants give a better yield, are easier to
6 manage for diseases, are easier to harvest quickly and predictably and assure the supply of
7 quality raw material to the industries (Kala, 2002, 2005b; Kaul, 1997). Besides, cultivation
8 also permits better species identification, improved quality control, increased prospects for
9 genetic improvements and the production of uniform material from which standardised
1011 products can be consistently obtained.
1 The MPCA may ensure the autonomous development of a rural community by
2 enhancing the people’s income. This way they can decide themselves how to use
3 their assets and resources, for which market they wish to produce and by which
4 services they need to achieve their goals. It also enables them to restore resources
5 depleted by overuse, assume the long term supply of resources, regulate national
6 and international trade by assuring a continuous supply of quality material and ensure
7 the conservation of not only the species concerned but also its associated species and
8 ecosystems (Kaul, 1997; KIT, 2003). The role of policy makers in achieving such
9 goals is equally important. They should develop some favourable environment in terms
2011 of legislation, taxation and communication for growers to create a dynamic exchange
1 of products and capital between producers and traders. This warrants a new role
2 for the government that not only regulates but also stimulates and provides services
3 that meet the demands of the productive and commercial stakeholders (KIT, 2003).
4 The number of linkages in medicinal plants supply, process, drug formulation, trade,
5 transport and the retail industry can be used to generate employment. Since women
6 are engaged in the farming and collection of medicinal plants across the Himalaya,
7 the promotion of medicinal plants cultivation could also help to empower women
8 by enhancing their source of revenue. The available rural technologies for the
9 farming of some valuable medicinal plant species (Table 3) can be made useful
30 for their large-scale cultivation.
1 The traditional beliefs of native communities with respect to the conservation of
2 medicinal plants should also be taken into account. The practitioners of Ayurveda use to
3 worship many medicinal plant species before their harvest from nature. Many medicinal
4 plant species are medicinal as well as religious and many medicinal plant species are
5 worshipped as a symbol of local Gods and Goddesses in the Himalayan region (Table 4).
6 Hence, there is a general fear in indigenous societies towards the over-exploitation of
7 such medico-religious plant species. Generally, most of these medico-religious plant
8 species are rare in nature, Ficus religiosa, Ficus benghalensis, Zanthoxylum armatum
9 and Saussurea obvallata, for instance. Such a traditional belief in the society is a way of
40 conserving the useful natural resource, which needs to be kept alive in order to sustain
1 the medicinal plant’s populations.
2
3
4
5
6
711
8
 378 C.P. Kala

111 Table 3 Agro-economic prospects in some valuable medicinal plant species

2 of the Himalayan region
3
Species Suitable elevation Maturity Net income
4
ranges for period for generation
5 farming (m) harvesting (annually per
6 hectare in US $)
7
8 Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. 2500–3800 3 years 1040
9 Acorus calamus L. <2000 8–9 months 1875–2900
1011 Aloe barbadensis Wall. <1200 10 months–10 years 1460
1
Angelica glauca Edgew. 1800–3000 1–3 years 1250
2
3 Berberis aristata DC. 800–2000 3 years 210
4 Bergenia ciliata (Haworth) Sternb. >1000 1 year 625–1040
5 Carum carvi L. 2500–3200 18 months 2080–3125
6 Centella asiatica (L.) Urban 500–2500 6 months 2080
7 Crocus sativus L. 1500–3000 1–10 years 520
8
Dactylorhiza hatagirea >2500 3 years 1460–2080
9 (D. Don) Soo.
2011
Delphinium denudatum >1500 1 year 625–835
1
Wall. ex Hk. f. & Th.
2
Hedychium spicatum 800–2000 3 years 625–730
3
Ham. ex Smith
4
5 Hippophae ramnoides L. 1800–3000 3 years 2080
6 Hyoscyamus niger L. 1800–4000 6 months 835
7 Nardostachys jatamansi (Don) DC. 1500–3000 2 years 1560–2080
8 Ocimum sanctum L. <1800 6 months 210–625
9 Picrorhiza kurrooa Benth. 2500–4000 4 years 210
30
Podophyllum hexandrum Royle 2500–3500 3 years 2600
1
2 Polygonatum verticillatum (L.) All. 1800–2500 2 years 75
3 Potentilla fulgens Wall. ex Hk. >2000 8 months 125
4 Rauvolfia serpentina <1000 2–3 years 1040
5 (L.) Benth. ex Kurtz.
6 Rheum emodi Wall. ex Meisn. 2500–3500 2–3 years 415
7 Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. 1800–3800 3 years 85–125
8 Swertia chirayita 1500–2000 8 months 165
9 (Roxb. ex Flem.) Karsten.
40
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal <1500 6 months 520–625
1
Zanthoxylum armatum DC. 1000–2000 3 years 210–310
2
3 Note: Modified after Joshi et al. (2004)
4
5
6
711
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 379

111 Table 4 Some important medicinal plant species of the Himalaya conserved
2 through religious philosophy
3
Species Religious uses Medicinal uses
4
5 Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. To worship the Lord Shiva Digestive disorder, fever
6 and the Goddess Lakshmi
7 Artemisia nilagirica (Cl.) Pamp Sacred plant used in Asthma, skin ailment,
8 worshipping local deities headache, antiseptic
9 Betula utilis D. Don Sacred plant Cut, wounds, hysteria
1011
Cannabis sativa L. Associated with Lord Shiva Delirium, eye disorder
1
2 Cedrus deodara (Roxb.) Loud. Associated with Gods Ulcers, rheumatic pain
3 and Goddesses
4 Datura stramonium L. Associated with Lord Shiva Asthma, joint pain
5 Dendrocalamus strictus Nees Used at various religious Tonic, fever
6 ceremonies performed right
7 from birth to death
8 Ficus benghalensis L. Worship as symbol Dysentery, scabies,
9 of Lord Shiva tonic
2011 Ficus religiosa L. Worship as Lord Vishnu Dysentery, cholera,
1 scabies
2 Hedychium spicatum Used in the marriage ceremony Stomach ache,
3 Ham. ex Smith liver disorder
4 Juniperus communis L. Its incense is used for Kidney trouble
5 worshipping Gods and
6 Goddesses
7 Musa balbisiana Cola Used in the marriage ceremony Indigestion
8 Nardostachys jatamansi Its incense is used for Blood purification,
9 (Don) DC. worshipping Gods and cough
30 Goddesses
1 Ocimum sanctum L. Worship as a local deity Bronchitis, constipation
2
Origanum vulgare L. Used in worshipping the Diarrhoea, bronchitis
3 Lord Badri Vishal or Vishnu
4
Pinus roxburghii Sarg. Used in the marriage ceremony Cut, wounds,
5
bone fracture
6
7 Prunus cerasoides D. Don Used in some special religious Body swelling
occasions
8
9 Saussurea obvallata (DC.) Edgew. Worship as Lord Brahma Cuts, aphrodisiac
40 Sesamum orientale L. Worship as Lord Saturn Aphrodisiac, body ache
1 Zanthoxylum armatum DC. Used in worshipping Toothache
2 as Lord Shiva, Narsingh,
3 Vairoun
4
5
6
711
8
 380 C.P. Kala

111 4 To what degree can biotechnology solve the setbacks?

2
3 Hitherto, only 1% of all identified plant species have been screened for active
4 compounds useful for therapeutic purposes (CTA, 2002). Attempts have been made to
5 derive compounds of commercial importance from the Himalayan medicinal plants.
6 In-vitro plant tissue culture technology was developed with the hope of obtaining desired
7 products when plant materials are rare and difficult to acquire. Chemical synthesis is not
8 possible and the costs of production to meet demand are high. Considering these
9 challenges the development of in-vitro technology has grown and is being applied with
1011 some of the threatened medicinal species of the Himalayan region, including: Picrorhiza
1 kurrooa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Heracleum candicans, Rheum emodi, Arnebia
2 benthamii, Taxus baccata, Hedychium spicatum, Nardostachys grandiflora, Angelica
3 glauca and Aconitum heterophyllum. However, this approach has not been very
4 encouraging as the yield is too low for commercial feasibility. In spite of the high cost
5 and slow pace to achieve success in biotechnology, if we want a large and continuous
6 supply it is necessary to invest more.
7 A considerable amount of research is still paramount to explore the potential for tissue
8 culture to be commercially viable. Globally, only a few products such as shikonin and
9 ginseng are successfully manufactured on a larger scale. Strategies and treatments, such as
2011 biotransformation, cell permeabilisation, immobilisation, elicitation and hairy root culture
1 show promise for other products to reach a commercial scale. In addition, protoplast
2 fusion and somatic hybridisation, media composition and selection of cell lines and
3 changing media composition can be adopted to improve the quality and quantity of
4 biosynthetic cell culture products (Khan and Khanum, 2000; Lozoya, 1994). The culture
5 conditions have also been reported to influence the amount of drugs obtained in culture.
6 For example, the amount of ginseng produced doubled when the culture was rotated on a
7 horizontal clinostat instead of being kept stationary (Zhao and Cai, 1998). Some have
8 proposed that cellular factories using recombinant DNA technologies may develop new
9 therapeutics in the future. If such modern technologies are successfully applied to the
30 medicinal plants of the Himalaya, they may help improve yields to meet the commercial
1 demand of required products. Some governmental and non-governmental organisations
2 have focused attention on improving the medicinal plant sector. However, of the total
3 1420 projects sanctioned by some major organisations, the share of the Himalayan region
4 was only 6.3%, with only one project allocated to medical science (Jain and Kumar, 1994).
5 Funding must be improved in order to meet the expected results from the medicinal
6 plants sector.
7
8
9 5 Are bio-prospecting and bio-piracy a threat to the traditional
40 and indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants?
1
2 With the globalisation of useful bio-resources such as medicinal plants, a fear of
3 bio-piracy has increased since the patent drama that took place when the US Patent
4 and Trademark Office granted a patent on turmeric powder for use in healing wounds.
5 This patent was later successfully overturned by India. A similar problem was faced by
6 India in the case of the Neem (Azadirachta indica) patent. The overturning of the turmeric
711 patent was the first case in which a Third World country succeeded in its objection to
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 381

111 a foreign patent on the grounds that it was based on traditional knowledge known to
2 the country for generations and that its various uses had been previously documented in
3 various historical documents. It was a landmark victory in the battle against bio-piracy
4 (Udgaonkar, 2002). Unfortunately, there is a wide gap between developing and developed
5 nations on patenting the products. For instance, out of 3,125,603 patents filed over 91
6 countries only 301,177 or 9.6% are registered in developing countries, with the rest
7 in industrialised countries. Of these, only 0.2% of the total and 2.3% of those registered in
8 developing countries belong to residents and 97.7% of the total patents filed so far are
9 in the name of non-residents, who apply only to control export markets in developing
1011 countries (Egziabher, 2003).
1 The approaches for awarding patents on medicinal plants in the US, Europe, Canada
2 and Andean countries are different and, thus, illustrative sui generis systems from the US,
3 Europe and India are contrasted (Koo et al., 2004). In most countries, plants and
4 inventions directed to plants and plant products such as seeds, flowers, gums and resins
5 are not eligible for filing a patent. However, in the US, any living organism derived by
6 human invention, such as by breeding or by laboratory-based manipulation can be filed for
7 awarding patent. Developing countries and many scientists who want to exploit medicinal
8 plants demand more specified rules on the record of the nativity of samples and the sharing
9 of their benefits between the nations of origin, the inventor and the commercial sponsors.
2011 However, US Patent authority is not inclined to accept such rules. These conflicts have
1 frustrated many scientists who believe that natural products remain the most promising
2 source of new drugs.
3 On patent issues, India has chosen a more expansive approach. The Indian Protection
4 of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001 recognises the contribution of professional
5 plant breeders and farmers who actively participate in breeding programmes. This Act
6 contains provisions for benefit sharing whereby local communities are acknowledged as
7 contributors of plants (Koo et al., 2004). However, globally most of the issues with
8 reference to protecting the legal status for indigenous knowledge and to compensating the
9 indigenous herbal practitioners for that knowledge are extremely complicated. There are
30 arguments on the present state of compensation or benefit sharing under the intellectual
1 property rights, which is being considered a new legal form of bio-piracy by one group,
2 whereas others advocate that intellectual property right is a legal tool to protect the
3 rights of knowledge holders (Green et al., 1999).
4 Will recording traditional and indigenous knowledge prevent bio-piracy?
5 Today, the conservationists and indigenous communities around the world are in search
6 of the feasibility and applicability of this question. The lack of legal protection for
7 the therapeutic properties of numerous medicinal plants of the Himalaya has made
8 indigenous knowledge vulnerable to bio-piracy, as illustrated by the cases of patents
9 for products. Knowledge of the traditional utility of a plant is not patentable by
40 indigenous practitioners since the criteria of patentability are:
1
novelty
2
3
non-obviousness
4
industrial application.
5
6 Being traditional is, by definition, not novel even though it is based on innovation and
711 the indigenous medical system is not industrial (Shiva, 1998). Together this makes the
8
 382 C.P. Kala

111 traditional knowledge of plants for therapy most susceptible to bio-piracy. There are
2 reports which have attracted the attention of developing nations by stating that patent
3 monopolies on plant and plant products threaten to harm the developing nations in three
4 major ways. Firstly, by raising prices. Secondly, by blocking local production when the
5 patent owner so chooses and thirdly, for agricultural varieties, by not welcoming
6 farmers to continue breeding them as has been done for thousands of years. The problem
7 of patenting the medicinal plants should be resolved on the basis of human respect,
8 respect by communities of one another, respect by individual people within communities
9 and respect for different societal traditions.
1011
1
2 6 Discussions and conclusions
3
4 There are some inherent problems in the medicinal plants sector (Table 5), including the
5 proper identification of plant species that have multiple local names in the traditional
6 medical systems. Due to the scarcity of data on the maturity period of many medicinal
7 plants collected from the wild, there are uncertainties with the production of quality
8 chemical compounds from these plant species (Kaul, 1997; Khan and Khanum, 2000).
9 It is believed that medicinal plants collected from the wild have greater medicinal benefits
2011 than those cultivated commercially as crops. Although there are many advantages of
1 cultivation, the success rate of many species is low due to their specialised environmental
2 requirements. Worldwide only 0.05% of plant species have been domesticated out of the
3 total known wild species of higher plants and, in most cases, the obstacles in cultivation
4 lay with the species itself not with the local people (Diamond, 2000). Major constraints
5 on the large scale cultivation of the Himalayan medicinal plants include:
6
small land holdings of hill farmers
7
8
lack of awareness of the agencies procuring the planting material
9
shortage of labour
30
1
lack of suitable technologies
2
low prices of medicinal plants
3
4
long gestation period of many medicinal plant species
5
the wrong choice of species and areas
6
7
lack of research on high yielding varieties
8
inefficient processing techniques
9
40
poor quality control procedures
1
lack of good manufacturers
2
3
preference of wild medicinal plants by pharmaceutical companies
4
poor marketing infrastructure
5
6
lack of coordination among different stakeholders.
711
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 383

111 The precariousness of market forces also creates a fear among medicinal plants growers:
2 a medicinal plant, which has a powerful market today may not have the same market
3 tomorrow, for example (Kala, 2006a,b,c; Kala et al., 2006).
4
5 Table 5 Summary of major problems and suggested remedies for the advancement
6 of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector
7
8 Subject Problems Suggested remedies
9
1011 Collection Mostly collected and processed Training should be given for
further by un-trained persons collection and processing
1
2 Competition for over-stocking Large-scale farming of medicinal
3 has led to over-harvesting plants should be promoted
4
5 Cultivation Long gestation period of many Introduction of mixed cropping system
6 medicinal plant species to reduce the risk
7 Small and scattered land holdings Restoration of barren lands and
8 of hill farmers allocation of land at one place based
9 on farmer’s choice and consensus
2011 Lack of suitable agro-technologies Development of suitable
1 agro-technologies
2 Unavailability or low availability Rain water harvesting and construction
3 of irrigation facilities of check dams on rivers and rivulets
4 for irrigation purposes
5
6 Role of Low success rate in developing Need of in-depth research to enhance
7 biotechnology planting materials the rate of success
8 Low yield unable to meet the Development of high yielding varieties
9 commercial needs
30
1
Marketing Improper sharing of benefits Need for the diffusion of information
2
due to lack of awareness among by distribution of pamphlets and
3 farmers and herb collectors on conducting awareness programmes on
4 the real prices of medicinal various aspects of medicinal plants
5 plants
6 Poor infrastructure Development of infrastructure with the
7 help of various stakeholders including
8 the medicinal plants board
9
40
Conservation Essential health commodity Setting up medicinal plants
1
and maximum dependency conservation areas
2 on wild stock
3
Encroachment by outsiders Enforcement of forest and wildlife
4
and illegal collection from (Acts)
5 the wild
6
711
8
 384 C.P. Kala

111 Table 5 Summary of major problems and suggested remedies for the advancement
2 of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector (continued)
3
Subject Problems Suggested remedies
4
5 Bio-prospecting Low awareness on the values Documentation of traditional
6 of resources and traditional knowledge on medicinal plants and
7 knowledge their uses
8 The younger generation of herbal Renew the available herbal
9 practitioners are not keen to adopt formulations by standardising their
1011 the tradition as a profession efficacy and establish a Social Capital
1 Trust for herbal practitioners in order
2 to promote the tradition
3 Unequal distribution of The sharing of benefits should be on
4 profits to the low profile the basis of labour and efforts
5 stakeholders such as farmers
6 and herb gatherers
7
8
9
2011 There is an obvious need to develop proper policies for the sustainable and economically
1 viable development and management of the medicinal plant sector as there is an
2 increasing pressure on medicinal plants due to various land-use practices from the
3 conversion of natural habitat to over-exploitation for commercial purpose. With the
4 growing consumer interest in plant-based medicines, this threat is likely to increase.
5 For example, to treat a single cancer patient requires 2 grams of taxol, which is extracted
6 from the bark of approximately ten Taxus trees (Benson, 1999). Biotechnology may
7 help in this regard as it directly and indirectly enables conservation strategies and,
at the same time, allows economically significant species to be both utilised and
8
protected. Although there are differences between the major philosophies of
9
medicinal plant commercialisation and conservation, their overall aim attached with
30
human welfare can be used for positive gains (Table 6). While formulating policies
1
for improving the medicinal plants sector, it is imperative to take advantage of
2
local people’s in-depth traditional knowledge on the use and conservation of
3
many locally available medicinal plant species (Fazey et al., 2004; Kala, 2003b;
4
Kala et al., 2006). Their perspectives can facilitate ways of allocating scarce
5
resources among competing demands. There are opportunities to incorporate the
6
conservation policies for medicinal plants within the framework of existing legal
7
instruments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and Convention on
8
International Trade of Endangered Species. Policy should address the proper
9
linkages among industries, research institutes and farmers. To overcome the
40
problems faced by farmers, the research should be on-farm orientated rather than
1
laboratory-based approaches.
2
3
4
5
6
711
8
 Problems and prospects of the Himalayan medicinal plants sector 385

111 Table 6 Similarities and differences in medicinal plant conservation and economic development
2
Subject Differences Similarity
3
4 Conservationa Economic development
5
6 Overall aim Benefits of conservation Benefits are less disputed Human welfare
7 are often disputed
8 Application Regional implications Can have global Applied research
9 of research and problem specific implications
1011 Practitioners Varied and difficult Less varied and can be Wide range
1 and consumers to identify; could be identified easily on the
2 of information farmers, policy makers, basis of their roles
3 conservation biologist,
4 biotechnologists, foresters,
5 pharmaceutical companies
6 Attitude of Usually discouraging Usually encouraging Demand freedom
7 society for participation
8 Impact of Natural populations Economic value of Fluctuate with
9 demand usually decline with concerned species time
2011 increasing demand increases with demand
1 Influence of Generally negative Generally positive Needed to meet
2 politics the goal
3 Outcomes Usually harder to define Can be measured Time taking
4 and measure and defined easily
5
6 Note: aModified after Fazey et al. (2004)
7
8 The promotion of community-based conservation through the establishment of MPCA
9 and the dissemination of awareness among the various stakeholders (e.g. herb cultivators,
30 herb gatherers, herbal practitioners and traders) about sustainable harvesting techniques
1 and processing through training can be a step forward in the conservation of medicinal
2 plants. The majority of medicinal plant species are harvested from wild populations.
3 It is unlikely that more than a few economically valuable species will be cultivated on
4 a commercial scale or supplied through biotechnologies. The industries and consumers
5 should take the greater responsibility and bear a greater share of the cost of conservation.
6 The diffusion of any available scientific knowledge on the medicinal plants should be
7 made operational via better networks of communication. For regulating the harvest of
8 common wild medicinal plants and also for preventing illegal trans-boundary trade
9 between different Himalayan states, a Himalayan Medicinal Plants Board should be set
40 aside that looks after all State Medicinal Plants Boards and also help them in the exchange
1 of rural and modern agro-technology, development of medicinal plants nurseries, framing
2 policies for sustainable utilisation and legalised trade in Himalayan medicinal plants.
3 Ethnopharmacologists should revalidate and promote traditional ways of curing. At the
4 same time, people should be made aware of the fact that continued access to herbal
5 medicines is dependent on the continued existence of these plants and the ecosystem in
6 which they flourish, therefore they should collectively put efforts into the conservation
711 of this valuable bio-resource.
8
 386 C.P. Kala

111 The future of the Himalayan societies, like all other societies of the world, is
2 inextricably interwoven with its ability to manage its own biodiversity, especially
3 that of medicinal value. Such importance amply justifies increased national and
4 international funding of measures that lead to the appropriate management of this
5 resource. Attempts should be made by all stakeholders to encourage, recommend and
6 promote the inclusion of herbal medicines in national healthcare programmes because
7 such medicine is easily available at a price within the reach of the common people and
8 is time tested and considered to be much safer than the modern synthetic drugs.
9 To strengthen the herbal medicine village, clinics should be promoted for providing
1011 rural healthcare and enhancing local livelihood opportunities. To promote and also to
1 regulate the various herbal healthcare programmes around the world there is a need to
2 bring the various stakeholders of the medicinal plant sector under an umbrella by creating
3 a World Herbal and Medicinal Plants Trade Organisation. The growing human population,
4 most of which is poor, increases the importance of plant-based medicine due to their low
5 prices. To maintain the health of a growing human population, various herbal formulations
6 prepared by traditional herbal healers should be renewed by testing their efficacy.
7 Such scientifically prepared medicine will project herbal medicine in a proper perspective
8 and help capture a wide global market. The successful establishment of the medicinal
9 plant sector may help raise rural employment in the developing countries, boost
2011 commerce around the world and contribute to the health of millions.
1
2
3 Acknowledgements
4
The paper has benefitted from many workshops and seminars organised by various
5
institutions on medicinal plants. I thank Dr Eric L. Berlow of the University of California
6
for critical comments and editorial support in preparing the manuscript.
7
8
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