Biodiversity of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants with Special Reference to Endemic Plants of India

Abstract

The exponentially increasing human population and their multifarious activities result in serious threats to the species of various habitats. Hence, there is a need to preserve the ‘gene pool’ of wild relatives of modern crop plants. There are several wild species which have potential to be used as industrial raw material. Around 119 pure chemical substances extracted from 90 plant species are used in modern medicine, of which 40 are derived only from wild. Identification and exploration of such wild plant species could enhance the economy of a country. The genetic code of the species which enable it to survive and evolve is instrumental for the genetic engineers to develop “miracle drugs” and ‘wonder foods’. The Indian system of medicine uses more than 1100 medicinal plants and most of them are sourced from the wild. There is a tremendous demand for raw materials from the drug industry. Inventorization, identification, exploration, assessment of the genetic diversity and enhancement of the production of raw material is the need of the hour. In the present chapter, the diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants is described in accordance with the phytogeographical regions of India. Each phytogeographical region is characterised by its characteristic floristic composition. India is one of the 12 centres of diversity and origin of several cultivated plants in the world. About 49,441 plant species representing 11.4% of the world flora can be found in India. Two of the phytogeographical regions of India, viz., Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats are included in the hot-spots of the World and are a rich repository of medicinal and aromatic plants.

India possesses the largest number of endemic species in the world, next to Australia. This is due to its unique topography, extreme climatic conditions and intense geographical isolation describing the major causes of endemism along with a wide list of endemic species from different centres of endemism. The author has tried to highlight the variability and confinement of medicinal and aromatic plants. It is expected that this chapter will be a good asset for future taxonomist, ecologist, phytochemist, genetic engineers to evaluate the rich floristic diversity.