India losing its medicinal plant species: conservation groups

New Delhi, Nov 25 (PTI) Key species of medicinal plants in India are under threat because of over-collection for supply to domestic and foreign markets, the latest report on medicinal plants by conservation groups, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and TRAFFIC, suggests.

The research focusing on seven species of medicinal
plants found in Asia shows that India is emerging a major
destination for five plant species, including Elephants Foot
(Dioscorea deltoidea), Jatamansi (Nardostachys grandiflora),
Kutki (Picrorhiza kurrooa), Red Sanders (Pterocarpus
santalinus) and Snakeroot (Rauvolfia serpentina).

Many of the medicinal plants in trade in India are
collected in the high Himalayan regions of neighbouring Nepal,
where collection of species such as Jatamansi and Kutki runs
to hundreds of tonnes of rhizomes, harvested by thousands of
collectors who supplied them to middlemen and to large-scale
wholesalers in Nepal and India, suggests the finding.

Raw material are often transported to wholesale markets
in Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata for onward sale, says the
report.

With regard to trade in Himalayan medicinal plants, most
though not all, roads lead to India, which is both a major
manufacturing centre and end consumer market, says TRAFFIC's
Teresa Mulliken, an author of the report.

Besides, the use of wild-plant species form the basis of
traditional medicinal systems practices in Asia, particularly
traditional Chinese, Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Tibetan
medicines.

The report points out that although India has a highly
developed herbal and pharmaceutical product manufacturing
industry, trade patterns are shifting for some species and
China is a growing manufacturing centre for products such as
taxanes derived from Himalayan Yew.

All the species studied by experts of TRAFFIC, Wildlife
Trade Monitoring Network and International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are protected under national
legislation and international trade controls like Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES).

It requires international trade to be maintained within
sustainable levels, but despite these measures, wild
populations continue to decline, says the report.

Plants such as Elephants Foot, and its dried rhizomes
are used to treat gastric problems and as a source of
steroidal drugs in Western countries. Jatamansi is used for
treatment of fits and heart palpitations, constipation and
to regulate urination, menstruation and digestion.

Kutki is used for antibiotic and to treat liver
ailments, Red Sanders for diabetes, Snakeroot for disorders
like psychosis, schizophrenia epilepsy.

Much less emphasis is being put on development and
promotion of sustainable wild collection practices, which may
be the only viable option to ensure sustainable supply of
some of these species, Mulliken said. PTI ABS
SAK