Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants of the World Identification, Chemistry, Properties and Applications (Medicinal Plants of Africa)

Most of medicinal plants, today are collected from wild plants. The continued commercial exploitation of these plants has resulted in receding the population of many species in their natural habitat. Vacuunn is likely to occur in the supply of raw plant materials that are used extensive by the pharmaceutical industry as well as the traditional practitioners. Consequently, cultivation of these plants is urgently needed to ensure their availability to the industry as well as to people associated with traditional system of medicine. If timely steps are not taken for their conservation, cultivation of these resources alone cannot meet the ever increasing demand of pharmaceutical industry. It is, therefore, inevitable to develop cultural practical and propagate these plants in suitable agroclimatic regions. Commercial cultivation will put a check on the continued exploitation from wild sources and serve as an effective means to conserve the rare floristic wealth and genetic diversity. it is necessary to initiate systematic cultivation of medicinal plants in order to conserve biodiversity and protect endangered species. In the pharmaceutical industry, where the active medicinal principal cannot be synthesised economically, the product must be obtained from the cultivation of medicinal plants. Systematic conservation and large-scale cultivation of the concerned medicinal plants are thus of great importance. The volumes should be useful to teachers, researchers and students of agricultural, botany and horticulture.