International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science Invention (IJPSI)
JB Report
1. The prospects of establishing herbal industry in Nepal through
utilization of Eastern Medicinal plants
Report Submitted to
Jeevan Bikash Samaj Nepal
By
Atul Upadhyay, PhD
Biratnagar - 13
2. 1. Background
The traditional use of herbal medicines implies substantial historical use, and this is certainly true
for many products that are available as traditional herbal medicines. In many developing countries,
about 80% of the population relies on traditional practitioners and their armamentarium of the
medicinal plants in order to meet health care needs. Although modern medicine may exists side-by-
side with such traditional practice, herbal medicines have often maintained their popularity for
historical and cultural reasons. One of the major advantages of Ayurveda is patient-centred treatment;
the conventional medicine applies disease-centred treatment. The latter focuses more on a particular
disease of a patient, whereas Ayurveda implies both holistic and personalised treatment method on
patients.
The total herbal drug market is estimated to be US $ 100 billion and expected to grow at an
annual rate of 5-15% and the market is estimated to US $ 5 trillion by 2050. China alone shares 6% of
the total market while India covers 1% of the world market. The herbal products have become more
widely available commercially, especially in developed countries. In this modern setting, ingredients
are sometimes marketed for uses that were never contemplated in the traditional healing systems from
which they emerged. An example is the use of red mushroom (ganoderma) for longevity or mixtures
of essential oils from several medicinal plants (Sancho) for various ailments.
This is the report submitted to Jeevan Bikash Samaj, Morang after conducting intensive survey on
traditional medicinal plants from Eastern Hilly regions of Nepal (500 – 3500 m). Selected plants were
collected and brought to the laboratory and biochemical analysis of antioxidant properties and total
phenolic content was conducted.
2. Methodology
2.1 Study Area
The study area included the Eastern hilly region of the country (Fig. 1) and the main focus was
given to the Tinjure – Milke – Jalje area (recognized by the IUCN; Fig. 2). Moreover, the
Sindhuli district of Janakpur zone was also considered for survey purpose.
3. Figure 1. Areas visited for the survey of medicinal plants
Figure 2. Focal areas where plant samples were collected.
2.2 Survey methodology:
The primary data were obtained on site through participant observations, semi-structured
interviews (Key informant and Focus group), and questionnaires. The field work was carried
out from Falgun 1 - Falgun 15, 2072. We used the methods from ethno-botany (Martin, 1995)
4. and ethnography (Spradley, 1979). Prior informed consent was obtained orally from each
informant. Information was collected through open-ended and semi-structured interviews in
which topic guides, questionnaires, drawings, photographs and living plant materials were
used as auxiliary resources. A participant observation technique was also applied. Identified
specimens were collected with the help of botanist and several key informants (Limbu,
Sherpa, and traditional practitioners). A total of 68 important plants used in 23 different types
of pathological conditions were identified. Interestingly, none of the plants were used against
diabetes. The list of plants are provided in Table 1.
2.3 Extract preparation
The methanolic extracts of different plant samples were prepared by dispersing 10 – 50 g
of dried and powdered plant materials in 50 – 500 mL methanol for 48 h. Repeated extraction
was performed to obtain the maximum amount of extract.
2.4 Total phenolic content
The total phenolic content was measured spectrophotmetrically as described previously
(Upadhyay et al., 2014) and was expressed as gallic acid equivalent (GAE) in mg/100 g
extract. Briefly, to 200 µL of test samples 1 mL of Folic-Ciocalteu’s reagent, and 0.8 mL of
sodium carbonate (7.5%) were added. The mixture was allowed to stand for 30 min and the
absorption was measured at 765 nm using UV-VIS spectrophotometer.
2.5 DPPH Scavenging activity
The radical scavenging activity was evaluated as described previously (Upadhyay et al.,
2013). Briefly, different concentration of 1 mL of plant extract (10 – 1000 µg/mL) were
mixed with 0.5 mL of 0.5 mM DPPH solution. The mixture was incubated in dark for 30 min
at room temperature. Absorbance was measured at 517 nm using UV-VIS spectrophotometer.
The DPPH scavenging activity was calculated using
% DPPH scavenging activity = ([Ac – As] / Ac) x 100,
where, Ac is the absorbance of the control (DPPH solution without test sample) and As is
the absorbance with the test sample. The IC50 value was determined as the concentration
required to give 50% DPPH radical scavenging activity.
5. 3. Results and Discussion
3.1 List of plant collected for analysis
A total of 66 medicinal plants were documented from the surveyed areas (Table 1). Out of
which, 28 plant samples were collected for analysis. Some of the plants that could not be
collected were due to unavailability of samples in adequate amount.
3.2 Antioxidant activities
The antioxidant activities were measured using DPPH free radical scavenging activity.
The free radicals are generated in the human body due to several reasons including food habit
(alcohol, tobacco, fatty foods, etc.), pollution, pesticides, etc. These radicals further cause
damages in the cells and lead to several pathological conditions like cancers, cardiovascular
diseases, diabetes. Therefore, scavenging of free radicals through nutritional intervention is a
suitable method to prevent the onset of diseases. In this study, several plant samples and their
parts revealed potent DPPH scavenging activity (Fig. 6). The study revealed that leaf of
pakhanbed (B. ciliate) possessed the highest DPPH scavenging activity with IC50 value of 20
µg/mL. This low value certainly indicates its possible usages in establishing herbal industry.
The other plant samples with significant activities were obtained from laliguras (R.
arboretum) and asuro leaves (A. vasica).
Furthermore, the total phenolic content analysis of the sample exhibited that pakhanbed
leaf had the highest amount with a value of 112.3 mg GAE/g sample (Fig. 7). This was
followed by pakhanbed flower, laliguras, aiselu, and asuro. These data clearly indicated that
the parts of pakhanbed, laliguras and aiselu has possibilities in industrial application.
Herbal Industries in Nepal
The Nepalese herbal industries mainly export certain herbs and essential oils, which are
widely used as raw materials for producing various consumer products. The Singh Durbar
Vaidyakhana is the only government owned Ayurvedic medicines manufacturing and
processing unit. Nepal exports an estimated 6000 tonnes of herbal products annually to India,
China, Singapore, and EU countries. Most of these products are exported in their raw state or
in finished or semi-finished form. In 2012-13, the country generated around 12.7 million USD
from the herbal products, which is a mere 0.01% of total world market. Most of these
products are plant essential oils, mainly, lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), Calamus
(Acaras calamus), Cinmmaon (Cinnamomum tamala), Basil (Ocimum basilicum), Citronela
6. (Cymbopogon winterianus), etc. Around 50 pharmaceutical and 300 trading companies are
established in the nation which deals with herbal products. Most of these companies are
involved with plants like Chirayito (Swertia chirayita), Lauth salla (Taxus spp.), Majitho
(Bubico cordifolia), Harro (Terminalia chebula), Pipla (Piper longum), etc. Furthermore,
some private Ayurvedic clinics, hospitals, and medical colleges are gaining popularity in the
country, primarily due to the lack of satisfaction from the conventional medicines, particularly
of the patients suffering from life-style and chronic diseases including certain cancers,
diabetes and hypertension. These hospitals prescribe Ayurvedic drugs and medicines, which
has increased the demand of herbal products within the country itself.
Prospects of herbal industry from Pakhanbed, laliguras and Asuro.
The rich ecosystem of Nepal has a great potentiality for income generation and therefore,
it is important to preserve the value of the medicinal plants as it is economically important.
The vast valuable indigenous knowledge such as preparation methods, plant parts uses and
other traditional knowledge should be conserved. However, comparing with other countries,
the medicinal and herbal plant industry is lagging far behind and, therefore, a semi- to large-
scale cultivation of these herbs should be made to meet the future needs. The increasing
global market of herbal products has also created a better environment for investment and
therefore, strategic investment is highly required involving a multidisciplinary approach
ranging from modernisation of traditional agricultural practices to manufacturing and
marketing of the processed herbal products.
i) Pakhanbed
Pakhanbed (Berginia ciliata) is one of the traditional remedies used for several diseases since
prehistoric times. It is found in moist rocks under forest shade, at an altitude of 1900 – 2600
m.
a) Medicinal Uses
Lithontriptic (ability to break kidney stones), Ophthalmic (related to eye), Poultice
(relieves pain), Tonic (Increases mental or physical strength).
Juice or powder: Treat urinary troubles (Nepal)
Juice of the leaves relieve ear aches.
Root: Tonic, fever, diarrhoea, eye, backache, dissolving stone
b) Industrial Application:
7. Preparation of pakhanbed powder capsules and tablets
Preparation of Juice
Figure 3. Leaf and flower of Pakhanbed
ii) Laliguras (R. arboreum)
8. Laliguras is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a showy display of bright red flowers.
It is the national flower of Nepal. It is found in 1400 – 3200 m high in the high hills.
a) Medicinal uses: Antidiabetic, fever
b) Problems: Presence of Gryanotoxin in nectars and pollens of the flower.
Figure 4. Laliguras flower and leaf
iii) Asuro (A. vasica)
Asuro, A. vasica, is a medicinal plant native to Asia and widely used in Siddha Medicine,
Ayurvedic and Unani system of medicine. The plant grows in plains and in lower Himalayan
ranges up to a height of 1000 m.
a) Medicinal uses:
Treating cold, cough, whooping cough, bronchitis, asthma
Sedative, expectorant, antispasmodic
Anticarcinogenic
Rheumatism, TB, bleeding gums
b) Industrial Application
Extract preparation
9. Certain cough syrup manufacturing industries (Glycodin) use asuro extract in their
preparation.
Figure 5. Asuro Leaves
iv) Citrus peel oil
The citrus fruit (junar) available in Sindhuli district has resulted in the production of juice and
other products resulting in large amount of peels to be generated as a waste. This has urged to
utilize the peels and therefore a possible plan for industry establishment is considered.
However, following questions need to be answered before considering to establishing an
industry.
Availability of the market? (Possibly France)
Is the mass production possible?
How many liters can be produced?
Several other companies are producing oils in bulk quantity, can we do the same?
The major concern seems to be in the mass production of the peel oil. Furthermore, due to the
unknown viral infection in the plant, abundant quantity of fruits may not be produced.
However, if large amount of peels could be generated, extra revenues could be produced by
utilizing the waste.
Industrial Application:
Extraction of peel oil
Utilization of oil-removed peel for herbal applications
10. CONCLUSION
1. Most herbs surveyed and analysed in the study were used traditionally against Jaundice
and fever and not a single had traditional claim against diabetes or cancer.
2. Several plants had potent antioxidant activity as revealed by DPPH radical scavenging
and total phenolic content assays.
3. The most impact plant was identified as
i) Pakhanbed (B. ciliata)
ii) Laliguras (R. arboreum)
iii) Asuro (A. vasica)
4. The citrus peel could be utilized provided it be produced in sufficient quantity to make
the industry feasible.
Recommendations:
1. The JBS can promote the plantation of Pakhanbed and Asuro
2. There is a scope of establishing processing industries for these two plants
3. Tie up with research organization like University of Antwerp (Belgium) and Earth
Open Source (USA) for development and marketing of the product.
