Editorial

Recently, I happened to read a very interesting article. The berries of wild plants, which are normally not used for any purpose in India are being exported to a pharmaceutical firm. The cultivation of these plants are also being taken up seriously.

The Indian pharmaceuticals are not freely tapping our potential but import raw materials.

Most of the methods for the determination of the structure and identification of the molecules are available in any big laboratory in India. There are many regional agricultural colleges and research laboratories spread throughout India. The scientists are also very keen to help the farmers. People are also encouraged to grow profitable plants in their terraces and backyards. A huge collection of data of ICAR is yet to be tapped fully.

There are certain well-known ayurvedic companies and institutions having their own hospitals in India. Farmers can take up cultivation of medicinal plants along with their normal crops, get them analysed by standard laboratories and the government can help them to isolate the active ingredients. Then the separation of these chemicals can be taken up with government help by farmers' cooperative societies. Even allopathic medicines can become cheaper if raw materials are available at a cheaper rate.

The knowledge about the plants and common remedies should be made popular. With more and more formal education in India, the knowledge about the Indian medicines, plants and trees are becoming less. Knowledge of local names of plants and trees is as important as the Latin names. Dr. Randhawa's books on Indian flowers and trees are quite interesting. But the small medicinal shrubs, plants and trees have to the brought to the notice of the common man. Knowledge of the plant and animal kingdoms in the different regions of India should receive as much attention if not more than that in the various parts of the world.