Medicinal plants and herbal products

Traditional medicine is the sum total of knowledge, skills and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures that are used to maintain health, as well as to prevent, diagnose, improve or treat physical and mental illnesses
Traditional medicine that has been adopted by other populations (outside its indigenous culture) is often termed alternative or complementary medicine.
Herbal medicines include herbs, herbal materials, herbal preparations, and finished herbal products that contain parts of plants or other plant materials as active ingredients.

A considerable number of definitions have been proposed for medicinal plants. According to the WHO, "A medicinal plant is any plant which, in one or more of its organs, contains substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes, or which are precursors for chemo-pharmaceutical semi-synthesis." When a plant is designated as 'medicinal', it is implied that the said plant is useful as a drug or therapeutic agent or an active ingredient of a medicinal preparation. Medicinal plants may therefore be defined as a group of plants that possess some special properties or virtues that qualify them as articles of drugs and therapeutic agents, and are used for medicinal purposes
A total of 2, 50,000 species of flowring plants are referred to as medicinal plants. The World Health Organizations (WHO) enlisted some 21,000 medicinal plant species.

In some Asian and African countries, 80% of the population depends on traditional medicine for primary health care.
In many developed countries, 70% to 80% of the population has used some form of alternative or complementary medicine (e.g. acupuncture).
According to WHO About 25% of modern medicines are descended from plants that were first used traditionally. Likewise, almost 70% of modern medicines in India are derived from natural products.

The largest global markets for medicinal and aromatic plants are China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US.

Table: Sales of herbal medicine in 1994 (Source: Grunwald 1994)

A recent study on Medicinal Plants Marketing in Bangladesh sponsored by SEDF and Interco operation (IC) conducted in October 2003, reviewed the current status and estimated the quantity and value of medicinal plants used as raw materials both in organized sector (large companies, small companies), unorganized sector (herbal doctors/practitioner) and spent annually on approximately 17500 tones medicinal plant (mostly dry) materials accounting approximately Tk. 81 Cr.