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The people of Africa are largely dependent on the traditional knowledge on medicinal plants for the health care needs. They are based on the traditional knowledge accumulated over centuries and conveyed from generation to generation. An estimated 10 percent of the plant species in the world are found in southern Africa. The local uses of these plants are increasingly being documented. But only a few have been subjected to scientific investigation, and fewer still are commercialized. But more scientific investigations and publications are emerging. The filing of patents too has been on the increase.
The local markets sell these medicinal plants to the local inhabitants for their use in health care. These markets are part of the informal economy. However, with increasing demand from industries locally and for exports, the plants are getting commercialized becoming part of the formal economy. The products too are marketed professionally. There is an increase in their demand. Exports of select medicinal plants are increasing along with the popularity that natural remedies are attaining worldwide. Some of these medicinal plants are the main raw materials for production of various products in the pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical 1000 mg metformin and nutraceutical industries. Quite often the products are based on the use or application of the traditional folk knowledge from the African countries. This knowledge are increasingly getting documented and subjected to scientific research. The tribes of Africa are considered to be the main repository of the knowledge which is referred to as traditional knowledge or indigenous knowledge or folklore medicines.
Many of these products are based on the traditional knowledge of the people of southern Africa. With increasing realization of the value and reliability of this knowledge, documentation and research have increased. In fact, there is a global rush to document this knowledge. The market for these ethno-botanicals has increased. Hoodia gordonii originating from the Kalahari Desert has captured global attention in recent times. These are sold in different forms as an appetite suppressant. You can Hoodithin liquid in the global market as also in the form of capsules, pills and shakes. The liquid form is considered to be more powerful than the other forms.
The global market for such products present rising opportunities for these African countries that could raise the income levels of these impoverished peoples. At the same time there is a threat of exhaustion of these plants from its natural habitat as a result of uncontrolled collection. Scientific conservation management practices are required to ensure that the extraction of these herbs is sustainable.
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