THREATENED MEDICINAL PLANTS IN AYURVEDIC PRACTICE: A REVIEW OF CONSERVATION STATUS, TRADE PRESSURE AND SUBSTITUTION STRATEGIES FOR PHARMACOPOEIAL DRUGS
Ayurvedic manufacturing depends on a large volume of plant raw material, much of it collected from the wild. A national assessment recorded 1,178 medicinal plant species in trade in India, with an annual demand of about 512,000 tonnes in 2014–15. Of the 242 species traded at more than 100 tonnes per year, 173 (72%) were collected from the wild. Several drugs of high classical importance come from slow-growing Himalayan species whose roots or rhizomes are harvested, killing the plant. This review examines the conservation status of representative threatened Ayurvedic drugs and evaluates strategies to reduce pressure on them. Kushtha (Saussurea costus) is listed in CITES Appendix I and as Critically Endangered, and its wild collection is banned in India; cultivation has expanded but faces market and export barriers. Jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi) is assessed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Katuki (Picrorhiza kurroa) is threatened mainly by overharvesting, with 300–400 plants uprooted per kilogram of dry rhizome. Ativisha (Aconitum heterophyllum) is a rare Himalayan plant for which the classical substitute Musta has shown phytochemical and pharmacological similarity. Four complementary strategies are discussed: validated pratinidhi substitution, cultivation with good agricultural and collection practices, substitution of renewable plant parts for roots, and biotechnological production. We recommend that the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia record conservation status and approved alternatives in monographs of threatened species, and that manufacturers report the source of these raw materials.