Useful Plants – Medicines: At Least 28,187 Plant Species are Currently Recorded as Being of Medicinal Use

Excerpt

In many regions of the world, people still rely on traditional plant-based medicines for their primary healthcare^[1,2]. This is especially true for many rural communities in Africa, parts of Asia, and Central and South America, where plants and knowledge of their traditional use are accessible and affordable. In other countries, many of these traditional plant-based medicines are being integrated through regulations into mainstream health systems^[3,4]. For example, in December 2016 the Chinese government announced their aim to integrate Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into their healthcare system by 2020^[5], recognising improved scientific understanding of the plants and their value in treating chronic conditions. In Europe, there is also a trend towards using traditional plant-based (‘herbal’) medicines alongside pharmaceutical drugs; in Germany, for example, it is estimated that 90% of the population use herbal medicines^[2].

Precise figures for the value of international trade in medicinal plants are difficult to obtain^[6,7], but it is clear that the industry is growing fast^[8,9]. In 2000, US$17 billion was spent in the US on traditional herbal medicines. In 2003, the World Health Organisation estimated the annual global market for herbal medicines to be worth US$60 billion^[2] and by 2012 the global industry in TCM alone was reported to be worth US$83 billion^[4].

In this chapter we examine the regulation of these herbal medicines and the importance of having an accurate plant species name linked to them. The need for more research evaluating the medicinal properties of these plants is also covered, as well as their potential as new drugs.