Medicinal plant resources from the forests of Peninsular Malaysia : issues and challenges
2006
Shaharuddin Mohamad Ismail
Trees and plants have always been associated with the different cultures of people of the world. It has been an important part of their diet, food and more importantly they are used as remedies for the different kind of illnesses and diseases. Many of the medicinal plants are gathered from the forest. Hence, forests can be regraded as a repository of herbs and medicinal plants. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 80% of the world`s people depend on traditional medicine for their primary health care needs. The greater part of traditional medicine involves the use of plant extracts of their active ingredients. In the USA, for example, studies have shown that 25% of all prescriptions from community pharmacies over a 20 year period (between 1959 and 1980) contained materials from higher plants. In Malaysia, it has been estimated that over 15,000 known flowering plants and out of which approximately 1,200 species are reported to have medicinal properties. With regard to the medicinal plants resources, there is rather limited information, particularly in term of their distribution, location and quantity available in the forest. This paper will highlight the efforts undertaken by the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia in quantifying medicinal plant resources during the Fourth National Forest Inventory (NFI4) conducted from 2002-2004. The paper will also attempt to enumerate the various in situ and ex situ conservation activities pertaining to medicinal plants.
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