Biodiversity: Herbal Medicine

Akansha Publishing House. 2009. Hard cover. Very good in very good dust jacket.. 250 p. Includes: illustrations, diagrams, index, bibliography. . Rural India relies on plants as the main source of medicine. Herbal plants generate economic value-addition and it is estimated that an annual turnover of herbal products in India is about $63 billion. Plant compounds can cure diseases like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, strokes, HIV/AIDS, diabetes etc. These herbal plants are immensely used by traditional village healers who are well versed in traditional remedies. Most of the plants are becoming endangered and extinct because of the unplanned human activities and ruthless exploitation; this may lead to loss of several useful life forms, which are the source of survival to the rural people of India. Hence, these problems and challenges can be met by conservation, sustainable utilization, scientific protection of age-old traditional knowledge system, characterization, inventorization, database preparation, guarding against biopiracy, IPR issues, strict National and States legislations, marketing and value additions and active involvement of State Governments in enhancing funding for R&D in the area of medicinal plants research with emphasis on the endangered plants. The book highlights the recent developments and applications in the field of herbal medicine. It may be very useful for those who are working in this field and for the public at large.