MEDICINAL & AROMATIC PLANTS: A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE IN AGRICULTURE Prof. Roberto DELLA LOGGIA...
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Transcript of MEDICINAL & AROMATIC PLANTS: A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE IN AGRICULTURE Prof. Roberto DELLA LOGGIA...
MEDICINAL & AROMATIC PLANTS:MEDICINAL & AROMATIC PLANTS:A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTUREA CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE
IN AGRICULTUREIN AGRICULTURE
Prof. Roberto DELLA LOGGIAProf. Roberto DELLA LOGGIA
Preside Facoltà Farmacia Preside Facoltà Farmacia Università degli Studi di triesteUniversità degli Studi di trieste
Prof. Roberto DELLA LOGGIAProf. Roberto DELLA LOGGIA
Preside Facoltà Farmacia Preside Facoltà Farmacia Università degli Studi di triesteUniversità degli Studi di trieste
Trieste, 2 / 4 / 2011
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants: a Challenge for the Future in Agriculture
Roberto Della LoggiaFaculty of Pharmacy
Trieste, Italy
Agriculture for the Youth’s Future
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants in the WordMedicinal & Aromatic Plants in the Word
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (MAPs) are an important part of the international trading
Global herbal market is around $ 70.5 billion with an average annual growth of 10-12% p.a.
• European Union 45% $ 32.0 billion• Rest of Europe 4% $ 2.8 billion• Asia 19% $ 12.2 billion• North America 10% $ 7.8 billion• Others 7% $ 4.6 billion
(Handa, 2011)
The World Bank estimated global trade in MAPs and products at US$ 5 trillion by 2050 AD.
Consequently, MAPs are seen as an interesting possibility
for the agriculture in developing countries(and not only)
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants productionMedicinal & Aromatic Plants production
However, in many cases the hopes are disappointed.
Fields are implanted with medicinal plants, a product is obtained and the harvest is good …but the commercial value of the obtained crop is too low.
Actually, in order to be profit-bearing the production of MAPs requires
some specialization, different form that necessary for food crops.
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants productionMedicinal & Aromatic Plants production
In food production, the main problem is the produced amount.
The medicinal properties of the plants are due to fine chemicals they contain: the active principles
The concentration of active principles may show high variabilityand the agricultural practices may strongly influence the final content.
The value of Medicinal plants is related to the presence of fine chemicals they contain
OH
MAPs production: the questionsMAPs production: the questions
The first step: what plant to cultivate?A correct choice requires a market survey to answer the questions:• Are there a demand on the market for this plant?
it is useless to produce something if nobody is interested in!
• Which is the market price of this plant?• Am I able to produce it at convenient costs?
it is useless to produce at higher prices: nobody will buy!
• Am I able to produce it with the required quality?
MAPs production: the quality problemMAPs production: the quality problem
To fit with the quality requirement of the international MAPs marketmany parameters have to be considered:
• active principles concentration
• microbial contamination
• pesticide levels
• aflatoxins contamination
• and many others
MAPs production: not only raw drugsMAPs production: not only raw drugs
The market price of semiprocessed products is much more interestingthan that of the starting material.
Essential oils Essential oils and extractsextracts has an important added value with respect to the starting crude drug.
Coupling this kind of manufacturing with the crop productioncan be of high economical interest
MAPs: a challenge for young peopleMAPs: a challenge for young people
However, all these things require a new generation of farmerswith good professional education and training,higher than that of the conventional farmer
Therefore, the cultivation of MAPs represents an important opportunity for young people that is willing to learn and to produce with modern methods.Good luck withGood luck with
medicinal & aromaticmedicinal & aromaticplantsplants