Mumbai: Fine chemicals are an essential input in products required for meeting the day-to-day basic needs of mankind. They also play an equally important role in other `life science' systems such as animals and plants. They are used in a variety of ways as intermediates, additives and final products and hence find wide applications in several industry sectors such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare and personal care products, agro-chemicals, animal nutrition, food processing and packaging, dyes, textile auxilliaries etc.With the rapidly increasing use of chemicals and with advances in the knowledge of long-term deleterious effects of many ingredients, a concern over long-term safe use of these chemicals gathered momentum. Knowledge of the side effects of many conventional chemicals led to a renewal of interest in the traditional sciences such as `ayurveda' and the natural products used in them. New research, particularly in the context of healthcare and personal care brought out the `low side effect' advantageof these traditional natural products. As a result, search for and research on new natural products has received a tremendous boost during the current decade not only in India but also in the world, at large.
Need for improved, reliable and cost-effective agronomic practices for making the natural products available in time and quantity has been recognised and quality assurance methods for source materials are being established.
In India, the market for traditional medicine already existed. However, there has been a great resurgence of interest during this decade. This has been reflected in the entry of several pioneering local firms and a substantial new effect in standardisation, and product development.
The vast biodiversity and a range of climatic zones from equatorial to alpine, make India an ideal sourcing point for worldwide markets. Recent episodes of the patents on neem, turmeric and piperine have, however, driven home the need for value addtion and generation/protection of intellectualproperty.
Focus at the beginning of the millenium will hence be needed for the entire value chain consisting of:
Feedstocks or natural product sources o Technologies for harvesting and refining
Technologies for products and application o Intellectual property protection
Market development o Commercial production and
Marketing Critical and timely decisions are needed involving investment in and management of feedstocks plantations and sourcing, R & D programmes for technology development versus technology purchase, market intelligence & development and manufacturing base.In the age of globalisation the pace of development is rapid with little room for the `also ran'. The industry must take up the challenge and rise to the occasion, for the benefits to the successful ones are certainly worth striving for.
Demand for Herbal medicines is on the increase worldwide and sales have crossed the $ 14 bio mark. This increasing demand has helped in the reduction of medical costs inmany developed countries. It has also accounted for considerable rise in the revenues of many exporting countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and African countries. This was indicated by Dr Xiaorui Zhang, Medical Officer, traditional medicine program. WHO in a paper presented the World Intellectual Property organisation (WIPO), Asian Regional Seminar held in Delhi. Dr Zhang said Germany contributed 26 per cent share of the $ 14 bio generated in 1996 followed by Japan 17 per cent, France 13 per cent, the rest of Europe 12 per cent and N. America 11 per cent.
India can become a Rs 4,000 crore supplier or herbal products in the global market in the next five years. (A crore equals Rs 10 mil). Herbal products can be exported to Sir Lanka, Egupt, the Caribbean countries, Bangladesh, Mauritius, the European union adn the US. Natural medicines are safer and less expensive than allopathic drugs. The government must introduce a legislation to control indiscriminated deforestation. The private sector musttake up cultivation of herbs. Agro-based phytochemicals and pharmaceutical industries must be encouraged to manufacture and export value-added products. Proper selection of crops, upgradation of cultivation practices and a network of nurseries are essential. The cultivation of medicinal herbs requires low inputs. Value-added products can be manufactured by setting up processing units. The World Health organisation has evolved guidelines to formulate national policies on traditional medicines.
Around 130 pure chemical substances are extracted from 100 species of plants. The Exim Bank's paper on Indian medicinal plants indicates that annual global trade in medicinal plants is over US $ 60 billion. (Editors Note : The earlier source had put this market as $ 14 billion). India has over 45,000 plant species consisting of 15,000 - 18,000 flowering plants, 23,000 fungi, 2,500 algae, 1,600 lichens, 1,800 bryophytes and 30 million micro-organisms. Around 7,000 plants are used in Ayurveda, 600 in Siddha and 700 inUnani and 30 in modern medicine.
The global trade in medicinal plants is estimated at $ 800 million a year. China exports 121,000 tonnes and India exports 36,200 tonnes of medicianal plants.
The Indian herbal industry is Rs 2,300 crore in calendar year 1997. The herbal industry is expected to touch Rs 4,000 crore by the year 2000. In 1997, herbal exports from India was Rs 255 crore.
(The article is taken from the newsletter `FINECHEM from Natural Products' with permission from YezPer Consultant -- yezper@vsnl.com)
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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