Medicinal and aromatic plants – industrial profiles

Preface to the series
There is increasing interest in industry, academia and the health sciences in medicinal and 
aromatic plants. In passing from plant production to the eventual product used by the public,
many sciences are involved. This series brings together information which is currently scattered
through an ever increasing number of journals. Each volume gives an in-depth look at one plant
genus, about which an area specialist has assembled information ranging from the production of
the plant to market trends and quality control.
Many industries are involved such as forestry, agriculture, chemical, food, flavour, beverage,
pharmaceutical, cosmetic and fragrance. The plant raw materials are roots, rhizomes, bulbs,
leaves, stems, barks, wood, flowers, fruits and seeds. These yield gums, resins, essential (volatile)
oils, fixed oils, waxes, juices, extracts and spices for medicinal and aromatic purposes. All these
commodities are traded worldwide. A dealer’s market report for an item may say ‘Drought in the
country of origin has forced up prices’.
Natural products do not mean safe products and account of this has to be taken by the above
industries, which are subject to regulation. For example, a number of plants which are approved
for use in medicine must not be used in cosmetic products.
The assessment of safe to use starts with the harvested plant material which has to comply
with an official monograph. This may require absence of, or prescribed limits of, radioactive
material, heavy metals, aflatoxin, pesticide residue, as well as the required level of active principle.
This analytical control is costly and tends to exclude small batches of plant material. Large-scale
contracted mechanised cultivation with designated seed or plantlets is now preferable.
Today, plant selection is not only for the yield of active principle, but for the plant’s ability to
overcome disease, climatic stress and the hazards caused by mankind. Such methods as 
in vitro
fertilization, meristem cultures and somatic embryogenesis are used. The transfer of sections of
DNA is giving rise to controversy in the case of some end-uses of the plant material.
Some suppliers of plant raw material are now able to certify that they are supplying organically-
farmed medicinal plants, herbs and spices. The Economic Union directive (CVO/EU No
2029/91) details the specifications for the 
obligatory
quality controls to be carried out at all stages
of production and processing of organic products.
Fascinating plant folklore and ethnopharmacology leads to medicinal potential. Examples are
the muscle relaxants based on the arrow poison, curare, from species of 
Chondrodendron
, and the
anti-malarials derived from species of 
Cinchona
and 
Artemisia
. The methods of detection of phar-
macological activity have become increasingly reliable and specific, frequently involving
enzymes in bioassays and avoiding the use of laboratory animals. By using bioassay linked frac-
tionation of crude plant juices or extracts, compounds can be specifically targeted which, for
example, inhibit blood platelet aggregation, or have anti-tumour, or anti-viral, or any other

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required activity. With the assistance of robotic devices, all the members of a genus may be 
readily screened. However, the plant material must be 
fully
authenticated by a specialist.
The medicinal traditions of ancient civilisations such as those of China and India have a large
armamentaria of plants in their pharmacopoeias which are used throughout South-East Asia. 
A similar situation exists in Africa and South America. Thus, a very high percentage of the
world’s population relies on medicinal and aromatic plants for their medicine. Western medicine
is also responding. Already in Germany all medical practitioners have to pass an examination in
phytotherapy before being allowed to practise. It is noticeable that throughout Europe and 
the USA, medical, pharmacy and health related schools are increasingly offering training in 
phytotherapy.
Multinational pharmaceutical companies have become less enamoured of the single compound
magic bullet cure. The high costs of such ventures and the endless competition from ‘me too’
compounds from rival companies often discourage the attempt. Independent phytomedicine
companies have been very strong in Germany. However, by the end of 1995, eleven (almost all)
had been acquired by the multinational pharmaceutical firms, acknowledging the lay public’s
growing demand for phytomedicines in the Western World.
The business of dietary supplements in the Western World has expanded from the health
store to the pharmacy. Alternative medicine includes plant-based products. Appropriate 
measures to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of these either already exist or are being
answered by greater legislative control by such bodies as the Food and Drug Administration of
the USA and the recently created European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products,
based in London.
In the USA, the Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 recognised the class
of phytotherapeutic agents derived from medicinal and aromatic plants. Furthermore, under
public pressure, the US Congress set up an Office of Alternative Medicine and this office in 1994
assisted the filing of several Investigational New Drug (IND) applications, required for clinical
trials of some Chinese herbal preparations. The significance of these applications was that each
Chinese preparation involved several plants and yet was handled as a 
single
IND. A demonstra-
tion of the contribution of efficacy, of 
each
ingredient of 
each
plant, was not required. This was 
a major step forward towards more sensible regulations in regard to phytomedicines.
My thanks are due to the staffs of Harwood Academic Publishers and Taylor & Francis who
have made this series possible and especially to the volume editors and their chapter contributors
for the authoritative information.
Roland Hardman
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Preface to the series

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