Utilising medicinal plant resources

Bangladesh with a rich medicinal flora in its bounds, has a scope of exploiting medicinal plants both for indigenous use and earning foreign currency. It is pertinent to mention here that only 50 years back our people were dependent to a great extent on herbal medicines. Kaviraji, Ayurvedic and Unani methods of treatment were very common among our village people. I still remember that in our boyhood, Brammi Shak (Bacuopa) was a common item at lunch, which our parents considered to be effective for improving nervous system and intelligence. Recently phytochemical analysis revealed that the extract of this plant has chemicals, which can improve nervous system and brain function. Unfortunately this plant has now become rare in Bangladesh. In India the extracts of this plant has been patented in the form of tonic, which has become very popular not only in India but also in some foreign countries. Similarly many other plants or their extracts have recently been commercialised in different countries. Ginseng, a popular herbal product of China, is used to reduce stress, regulate blood pressure and sugar levels and strengthen the cardiovascular system. This herbal product is now very popular not only in China but also in many countries.

Arjuna (Teminalia arjuna) is a common medicinal plant (tree) of Bangladesh. The extract of the bark of this tree is used to stimulate the cardiovascular system. Very recently the scientists at the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) of India have confirmed that the extract of the bark of Arjuna does work on several models. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is now preparing to start final trials as the preliminary results showed that arjuna extract has stress busting properties. It also helps those in the early stages of coronary artery disease and patients of high blood pressure. A senior ICMR scientist has expressed his view as "it seems to work as ginseng". If it is so we also have a scope of exploiting of Arjuna for its mass scale use. There are hundreds and if we can study our traditional medicinal plants very scientifically in combination with our indigenous knowledge we can avoid production and import of many synthetic medicines and also can boost our economy by exporting our products. It will also reduce our health hazards arising from side effects of synthetic medicines.

Considering the importance of herbal medicines, international fora have been set up and now seminars and symposia are also arranged both at national and international levels to ventilate the progress of research in this area. Last October the Century Foundation of India arranged the second global summit on medicinal and aromatic plants in New Delhi. The participants discussed in detail the various issues related to the present status of the medicinal plants in different countries. Since the medicinal plants grow mostly in natural forests and fallow lands many of them have become threatened. It was therefore recommended to focus the importance of adopting biotechnological techniques for conservation and propagation of medicinal plants of different countries. Prohibition on indiscriminate collection of medicinal plants from nature was also emphasised.

Medicinal plants constitute an important natural wealth of our country. They play a significant role in providing primary health care services to rural people. They serve as important therapeutic agents as well as important raw materials for the manufacture of traditional and modern medicines. Substantial amounts of foreign exchange can be saved and earned by commercial production of medicinal plants. Though a number of traditional herbal medicine companies such as Hamdard, Sadhana, Kundeswari are engaged in production of herbal medicines in Bangladesh, they follow mostly conventional methods of production. In the present perspective these techniques need to be improved. It is also important to frame national rules for conservation of medicinal plants, genetic resources and their commercial exploitation. Priority must be given for coordinated research between medical institutes and those associated with research on medicinal plants. Private companies may be encouraged to be involved in the production of raw materials for herbal medicines. Government should encourage collaborative exploration programme between national and international companies.

It is pertinent to mention here that recently Maleka, a leading Company of Malaysia has launched a programme on exploitation of medicinal and aromatic plants with different scientific approaches. The company has already patented several such items including herbal tea. Malaysian Government is now inviting foreign companies to invest in this sector. China has already made a good market of her herbal products in many countries. Modern scientific approach of understanding rich Chinese traditional pharmacopoeia has helped this success. Japan is advancing fast in this sector of herbal medicines. Thailand is earning a lot of foreign currency by exporting medicinal plants. India is not far behind. It is believed that Bangladesh will also get benefit from exploration of her medicinal plant genetic resources with modern scientific approaches.

Dr S K Bhadra is Professor, Department of Botany, University of Chittagong.