VISTAS IN
HERBAL TECHNOLOGY
The most powerful
st
technologies of 21 century
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Information technology (IT)
Biotechnology (BT)
Nanotechnology (NT)
Herbal technology (HT)
Herbal Technology
Herbal technology (HT) deals
with various aspects of utilizing
plants for human welfare.
• The five prominent areas in HT are:
Phytomedicines/Herbal healthcare
products, Natural dyes, Biopesticides,
Biofertilizers and Biofuels.
PHYTOMEDICINE
Any medicine or healthcare product
derived from plants (phyto = of plant origin)
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Includes:
Phytopharmaceuticals - Drugs
Nutraceuticals - Functional food
Cosmeceuticals - Functional makeup
Agriceuticals - Fungicides, pesticides, etc.
Plant/Natural dyes
Phytomedicines in different
Medicare systems
• Allopathic system (Modern medicine)
• Homeopathic system (Modern medicine)
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Alternative/complimentary systems:
Ayurveda, Sidha and Unani systems
Chinese and Tibetan systems
Folk medicine
Naturopathy
Aromatherapy
Grandma’s medicines/Home remedies
Many of the modern drugs have
been derived from plants
• 25 percent of active ingredients of modern
medicine are obtained from plants
• They are either obtained directly or are
synthetic derivatives of plant derived
molecules
Common herbs
of our homesteads
TRIPHALA
TRIKATU
Important discoveries
therapeutically useful biodynamic
molecules from plants
Vincristine and Vinblastine
Catharanthus roseus
Vincristine and Vinblastine
• Vincristine is used in the treatment of
lymphatic leucaemia, lung cancer and breast
cancer
• Vinblastine is used in the treatment of
Hodgkin disease; renal, testicular, head and
neck cancer
Both are alkaloids isolated from
Catheranthus roseus (Ushamlari, Savamnari)
Morphine
Papaver somniferum
Rauwolfia serpentina
Reserpine
Taxol
• One of the most
promising
compounds in the
treatment of cancer
• It is a diterpenoid
isolated form Taxus
brevifolia and Taxus
baccata
T. brevifolia
Artemisinine
Artemisia annua
Artemisinine, the most promising
antimalarial drug
• Artemisinine is isolated from Artemisia annua
by Chinese scientists
• Among its synthetic derivatives Artementher
and Arteether are important
Antioxidants
• They are Phenolic substances derived from
edible plants which are capable of
scavenging the toxic free radicals from
human body.
• These secondary metabolites are known for
their anti-inflammatory and anti-tumoral
activities which suggest their potential in
preventing cancer and coronary heart
diseases.
Curcumin
Curcuma longa
Gingerol
Zingiber officinale
Global trend in herbal drug
industry
• Growing preference for phytomedicines
(especially due to toxicity and side effects of
synthetic drugs)
• Billions of dollar worth herbal healthcare
products are sold annually
WHO projection for the year 2050:
Five trillion US dollars
Approach to developing new
generation herbal healthcare products
Traditional/Indigenous
Knowledge survey
Phytochemical
screening
Plant collection
Taxonomic screening
Isolation of
Active principles
Pharmacological
Screening-II
Value addition
Pharmacological
Screening-I
Dr
Drug formulation
Marketing
Success story of Jeevani
Arogyappacha
Arogyappacha naturally grows in
Agasthyamalai
Trichopus zeylanicus ssp. travancoricus
The plant possesses
Antistress,
antihepatotoxic,
immunoenhancing,
anticancer and
antioxidant properties
Active principle:
6-acetyl-7-hydroxy, 8-methoxy-2, 2-2dimethyl-3,4dihydro-2H-1 benzopyran
Benefit sharing: TBGRI Model
Our strength
• India is one of the 17 mega biodiversity countries of
the world, with about 45,000 species of plants
• About 1,000 plants are used in the Indian System of
Medicine (ISM)
• Nearly 9,500 wild plant species are used by the
tribes (of these some species have direct medicinal
use and some are giving new leads and claims that
require scientific scrutiny)
• 3,900 have edible utility
• 300 species are used as pesticides
Medicinal plants used in Ayurveda
Number of plants used in Ayurveda
1000
Plants having direct medicinal use
7500
New claims and leads
950
Approximately 4645 ethnic communities of
India use about 9500 plants for healthcare
Hortus Malabaricus Indicus
17th century
publication on the
medicinal wealth of
Kerala
Hendrik Adriaan
van Rheede
Problems in Development and
Trade of Phytomedicines in India
• Depleting resources
• Lack of agrotechnology standardization
• Lack of qualified human resources for:
Scientific screening for bioactive molecules
Good manufacturing practice
Quality control/standardization
Planning of business and trade
Post-graduate course in Phytomedical
Science and Technology
integrates traditional knowledge on natural
resources with modern science and technology to
make a big leap in the global market of herbal
healthcare products
Study focus
• Exploration, taxonomic characterization and
documentation of medicinal plant resources
• Cultivation and conservation of medicinal plants
• Study of traditional knowledge on plants
• Phytochemical screening for biodynamic molecules
• Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy
• Good manufacturing practice
• IPR issues and Quality standards
• Business planning and Trade
THANK YOU