The earliest evidence of plants used for healing purposes by human beings dates back to the Neanderthal period. This enormous knowledge and experience of man to identify and apply healing herbs in the form of medicines to promote health has been accumulated over a period of centuries. This rich resource of information is readily available now for ongoing and future modern scientific research works in the field of medicine. According to the World Health Organisation, about 70 to 80% of the world’s population relies on plant-based medicine, or herbal products, for their primary healthcare. The inclination towards treatment with complementary and alternative medicine is mainly due to increased side effects related to synthetic drugs, the lack of holistic approach for several chronic diseases in modern medicine, high medicine and hospital expenses, microbial resistance and emerging diseases.
3. Indian Market for Herbal/Ayurveda Products
In India, about 80% of rural population uses medicinal herbs, Ayurvedic medicines or indigenous health practices for most of their ailments. It is estimated that nearly 960 plant species are used by the Indian herbal industry. Herbal exports include medicines of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) products, which occupy a share of 3% of total pharmaceutical exports. 70% of the herbal sector consists of largely raw materials and 30% of the export includes finished products.
The Indian plant extract market is showing an astonishing growth as there has been a shift in universal trend from chemical based medicines to herbal based ones. Due to its wide range of medicinal and aromatic uses, the plant extract market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 17% between 2018 and 2023. The current valuation of the Indian herbal market is at Rs 5000 crore.
