Production from both wild harvest and cultivation: The cross-border Swertia chirayita (Gentianaceae) trade

Publication date: 28 October 2018 Source:Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 225 Author(s): A.B. Cunningham, J.A. Brinckmann, U. Schippmann, D. Pyakurel Ethnopharmacological relevance Swertia chirayita is the most widely traded species in a genus of 150 species, many of which are used in traditional medicine. S. chirayita is used mainly in Ayurvedic and Tibetan systems of medicine and the homoeopathic system of medicine as well as in regional folk medicine. Primarily wild collected, with some cultivation. S. chirayita is traded as a medicinal substance and exported in the forms of dried whole plant or extract of whole plant individually and/or as active ingredients of Ayurvedic medicines. S. chirayita export valuations continue to make S. chirayita one of Nepal's highest foreign exchange earning medicinal plant species. Aims of the review The aims of this review were first, to assess the scale of the global trade in S. chirayita, second, to review evidence from plant population biology and from studies on the impacts of wild harvest on S. chirayita populations and cultivation as an alternative source of supply. Methods The taxonomy and trade names for S. chirayita were reviewed, followed by a synthesis of published information on Swertia population biology and studies on impacts of wild S. chirayita harvest from across the geographic range of this species. Data on the prices paid for S. chirayita were then compiled for the period 2001–2017, followed by an analysis ...
Source: Journal of Ethnopharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research