Herbal Drug Industry
AS per PCI Syllabus
(T. Y. B. Pharm Sem IV) Unit
-V
Present
scope of herbal drug industry
Herbs
have been known since the era of civilizations and are highly esteemed all over
the world as a rich source of medicinal agents.
The popularity of natural products is increasing day by day
due to the facts that they are comparatively safe, less toxic, less side
effects, easily available and affordable prices when compared to synthetic
drugs.
The
herbal drug industry is a very fast growing sector in the international market.
In India, various system of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, homeopathy, Yoga &
Naturopathy are being utilized for the health care of people.
SCOPE
OF HERBAL DRUG MEDICINE AND INDUSTRY
Indian
herbal market
Herbal
drugs constitute a major share of all the officially recognised
systems of health in India viz. Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and Naturopathy, except Allopathy.
More
than 70% of India's 1.1 billion populations still use these non-allopathic
systems of medicine. Currently, there is no separate category of herbal drugs
or dietary supplements, as per the Indian Drugs Act.
However,
there is a vast experiential-evidence base for many of the natural drugs.
In India, raw drugs obtained from around 2,400
plant species. It is the fastest growing market & may attain to 14,500 crore & exports to 9000
crore with a CAGR (compound
annual growth rate) of 20 % & 25% respectively, according to Associated
Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham).
The 'Herbal Industry Biz' has revealed that
currently, the Indian herbal market size is estimated at 7000 crores & over 3600 crores of herbal raw
materials & medicine are exported by India.
In India, there are
about 8000 medicinal plants are used. Out of which 25 manufacturers are large
scale manufacturers. The annual turnover in India was around US $ 300 million
for Ayurvedic & US $ 27.7 million for Unani medicine.
International
scope of herbal medicines
According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 25 per cent of modern
drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants.
More than 120 active compounds isolated from higher plants
are widely used in modern allopathic medicine today and 80% of them show a
positive co-relation between their modern therapeutic use and the traditional
use of the plants from which they are derived.
At least 7,000
medicinal compounds derived from plants, the ingredients of herbal medicine, are included in the modern pharmacopoeia
of drugs.
WHO estimates that 80 per cent of the world's
population currently use herbal medicines for some aspects of primary health
care.
They are also highly
lucrative in the international market, generating billions of dollars in
revenue.
To cite a few examples, annual revenue from
herbal medicines and herbal products in Western Europe reached US$ 5 billion in
2003-2004 In China, sales of herbal products totaled USS 14 billion in 2005.
Herbal medicine revenue in Brazil was USS 160
million in 2007.
Herbal medicine-based Traditional Medical
system of treatment is a rapidly growing healthcare system of economic
importance and is now widely used in many countries of the world. The following
leads and developments are the future prospects in the herbal drug industry.
Note:
Source of data: As per Associated
chamber of Commerce & Industry (ASSOCHAM).
It has been
estimated that 56% of the lead compounds for medicines in British National
Formulary are natural products or are derived from them.
With
the development in the techniques of molecular biology, there has been an
increase of interest in the use of naturally occurring proteins as potential
therapeutic agents.
Several genetically engineered natural
products have had a significant impact and more than 20 biotechnology derived
products are now in the market.
Example: tissue plasminogen activator is used as
a thrombolytic after myocardial infarctions Erythropoietin is used to treat anaemia associated with renal
failure.
qAs targets for production by biotechnology.
qAs a source of new lead compds of novel chemical
structure.
qAs the active ingredients for useful treatments
derived from traditional systems of medicine.
In the face of the increasing use and
fast-growing market of herbal medicines and other herbal healthcare products,
in both developing and developed countries of the world, policy-makers, health
professionals and the public are increasingly expressing concerns about the
safety, efficacy, quality, availability, preservation, and further development
problems of these herbal products. Public demand has also grown for evidence on
the safety, efficacy and quality of herbal products and traditional medicine (TM)
and complimentary alternative medicine(CAM) practices.
However, in order to ensure quality and safety
of herbal medicines, their production, sale and use should be officially and
legally controlled by established rules and regulations so that herbal
medicines can be used safely for medical and therapeutic purposes and efforts
should be made to raise public awareness about the risks and benefits of using
herbal medicines.
Overview
on Plant Based Industries and Research
Institutions in India
List
of research institutions and centres in India
Government
of India also has expressed support and encouragement for the Traditional Indian
Medicine (TIM). A separate department for Indian Systems of Medicine
and Homeopathy now known as AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy) was established in
March 1995 to promote indigenous systems.
Priorities include education,
standardization of drugs, enhancement of availability of raw materials,
research and development, information, communication and larger involvement in
the national system for delivering health care.
In the year 1969, the Indian government
established a central council for research in Indian medicine and
homeopathy (CCRIMH) to develop scientific research in different
systems of medicine. As the research in herbal products expanded various
government and private research centres developed which are actively engaged in the
research and development of herbal medicines.
The following are the list of few research
institutions engaged in research in medicinal and aromatic plants in India.
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