Indian holistic therapy: Dwarfs in the global arena

 

The country’s presence in the global herbal medicine market has been completely overshadowed by countries such as China and Thailand. Going by sheer numbers, even with a massive repertoire of herbal formulations and therapies, our contribution on the world stage remains the lowest.

 

The fact that we have no data of our actual standing in terms of earnings through herbal medicines and functional foods globally does seem to suggest a lack of interest in the field. Quite unfortunately so, as India has everything it needs to become a power to reckon with in this sector. 

 

The market potential is huge, as studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest that almost 80% of developing countries are eager customers of holistic therapies and medicines. Yet another study done by the WHO indicates that in Britain alone, as many as 60-90% of the population is leaning towards traditional forms of medicine as a treatment process.

 

Therefore, some very important and huge steps need to be taken if we are to become world leaders in the traditional medicines market. Experts of holistic therapies and medicines in India have often talked about the need for creating a biological efficacy database of those medicinal herbs and plants that possess a high value. At this point, it is imperative to remind the readers of the fact that three of the ten best-selling herbs in the world market are grown in India. These medicinal plants include Allium sativum-garlic, Aloe vera, and Panax ginseng. 

 

Setting up of a biological efficacy database would include measures such as chemical finger-printing of the herbs and plants, clinical trials, as well as ensuring their bio-safety. It will however, be unfair to say that the Indian holistic therapy industry has not woken up to the challenge. Already, knowledge of ancient medicinal systems, such as, Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani has been digitized by the experts to prevent their copyright violations as well as piracy. Also, scientists have created monographs of about 60 of the most commonly used medicinal herbs and plants, out of a total of 800 herbs and plants.

 

India not only offers the world a wide array of traditional forms of medicine and treatments, but factors such as cost-effectiveness, low or zero side-effects, and low levels of toxicity caused by these medicines in the body, only act as the icing on the cake.