The Conservation and Utilization of Medicinal Plant Resources

Throughout the globe the medicinal plants are not only valuable but indispensable sources of new drugs. The use of medicinal plants as a source of relief and cure from various illnesses is as old as humankind itself. Medicinal plants provide a cheap source of drugs for majority of the world’s population and will continue to provide not only directly usable drugs but also a great variety of chemical compounds that can be used for the synthesis of new drugs with improved pharmacological properties. To meet the necessities of expanding regional and international markets of health-care products and needs of growing populations, huge quantities of medicinal plants are being harvested from the wild. As a result, the natural sources are rapidly depleting. Hence for future use, there is an urgent need for conservation, cultivation, maintenance, and assessment of germplasm. Conservation of plant resources is of global concern because we don’t know what we are losing and what we will need in future.