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Expert urges Union Ayush Ministry to establish ‘herbal medicine park’ in TN to boost ISM sector
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
November 28 , 2022
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To ensure availability of certified and quality medicinal plants and raw materials required for the production of Siddha and Ayurveda medicines in Tamil Nadu, former director of the state drugs control administration (DCA) M Rajendran has urged the Union Ayush Ministry to establish one ‘herbal medicine park’ anywhere in the state.
He says that Tamil Nadu is blessed with incredible species of medicinal plants and herbs, but they are not properly preserved. The Ayush industry in the state is struggling to get quality raw materials. He alleged that the state medicinal plant board (SMPB) is not acting to support cultivation of medicinal plants and herbs and to protect the available plants and herbs without decaying. He said Tamil Nadu is lagging behind in the exports of Ayush medicines to foreign countries and the reason is shortage of raw materials to increase the production.
According to him, the major ISM manufacturing units are not fully concentrating on classical drugs, but they are majorly producing proprietary medicines because of non-availability of quality herbs. He informed the Union Ayush Ministry that one herbal medicinal park is urgently needed for the state of Tamil Nadu for which the central government should take initiative with the state government. According to him, the Arumbakkam herbal garden has lost most of the valuable species because of developmental work nearby the garden.
In an interview with Pharmabiz, Rajendran said when the department of Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) was working under the state DCA, there was no problem for the Ayush industry in licences issues and raw material availability. The ISM sector started facing problems only after a separate department was formed under the commissioner. Most often the head of department is not from Ayush background, and this puts the industry into trouble. He said the government should consider placing an officer with siddha or Ayurveda graduation on top of the department. The industry is facing a lot of licences problems also, he said.
“On the lines of pharma park for the allopathic sector, a herbal medicinal park is also required for Tamil Nadu to boost the traditional medicine sector, especially the siddha system of medicines. Actually the demand for a herbal park has to reverberate through the voices of the siddha and Ayurveda graduates, but they are silent as they may not know the need of such a garden. Secondly, it has to be demanded by the Ayush drug manufacturing companies located in different parts of the state. They are also silent on the issue. Thirdly, it is the duty of the state medicinal plant board to raise such a demand before the government to protect the ISM manufacturing sector and they are also silent and inactive. Before 16 years when the department was controlled by the state drug control administration, we used to visit the manufacturing industry and herbal cultivation areas to identify the raw drugs to be used for making traditional medicines. Today manufacturing companies, societies and even the public sector enterprises are importing raw materials from other states. This happens when the state remains as a vast storehouse of valuable herbs and plants needed for Indian traditional medicines,” he told Pharmabiz.
Rajendran pointed out that several state governments like that of Uttharakhand initiated to bring up herbal medicinal parks in their states to support the Indian system of medicines. Last year, with the initiative of the forest department and the SMPB, the country’s highest herbal medicine park was opened at Mana village in Chamoli district in Uttharakhand at a height of 11,000 ft on the Indo-China border. The park has more than 60 types of species of herbs and plants which are used for raw drugs for traditional medicines and also for study purposes, he added.
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