Relevance of Ethnopharmacological Research Related to Threatened Medicinal Plants Associated with Traditional Knowledge

Bio-prospecting of plants based on traditional knowledge is an important area of research to develop novel process/products in terms of herbal/Ayurvedic drugs, nutraceuticals, functional foods, and other plant-based products including cosmetics. The ultimate objective of ethnopharmacological studies on plants used for food and medicine followed by its preclinical and clinical studies will lead to the development of scientifically validated process and products that can be patented and commercialized through technology transfer by ensuring the access and benefit sharing where the traditional knowledge providers/tribal knowledge holders, inventors from scientific communities, and biodiversity management committees at grassroots level in terms of conservation of bioresources would be equally benefited. In this context, the authors have made an attempt to focus on the traditional knowledge of selected threatened medicinal plants of Kerala, with an ultimate objective to develop diverse medicinal/nutraceutical products, and described few case studies on access and benefit sharing. New enterprises related to product development based on bioresources, if meticulously planned and executed, could help to generate more opportunities for employment and income in rural as well as urban sectors. To ensure the conservation of the threatened medicinal plants, new location-specific strategies should be evolved and implemented through people participatory programs at grassroots level which will help to ensure the health and economic security of the country.