MEDICINAL PLANTS

“Nature itself is the best physician.”
Hippocrates

Mother nature has bestowed countless gifts on humanity, medicinal plants – nature’s pharmacy – probably the most priceless among them. Of the 270,000 plant species on Earth, around 21,000 species are reported to have therapeutic properties. In India, medicinal use of about 7500 plant species, which is 44 % of the total plant species, have been codified in AYUSH (Ayurvedic, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy) database. In the United States, 25% of the total drugs and at least 118 of the top 150 prescription drugs are plant-based. In India, as much as 80% of the total drugs are sourced from medicinal plants.

Medicinal plants are getting endangered at an alarming rate and are at the risk of becoming extinct. It is estimated that about 12.5% of the world’s plant species, totalling about 34,000, are under varying degrees of risk. An estimated 316 medicinal plant species in India are under threat of extinction. Destruction of the habitat due to forest degradation, agricultural encroachment and urbanization, ruinous harvesting practices and over-harvesting are some of the reasons. Scientists and policymakers are to map out new procedures and policies to safeguard this treasure chest of nature.

Most nurseries do not sell saplings of medicinal plants. Though collecting medicinal plants was a difficult task, we managed to collect close to 300 species. Due to negligence during an interim period due to weather extremes and other reasons, we lost quite a good number of plants. Now there are about 100 plants, most of them in pots.