5 Of The Most Underrated Medicinal Plants

There are thousands, if not millions, of plants which boast amazing medicinal uses for almost any ailment that you can think of. Before reaching out for that prescription drug or cream, do your body a favour and look into some of these amazing natural alternatives first! The best part about healing in this natural way is that many plants and herbs can be grown yourself, or can be purchased in a higher potency essential oil form. There is also a much lower risk for potential side effects, provided you are not allergic to the plant in question.

Here are the top 5 most underrated medicinal plants!

 1. Ginger

Ginger is an amazing spice to cook with. Not only does it taste great (especially when paired with garlic), it has a whole bunch of amazing medicinal benefits. Ginger is very commonly known for its ability to quell nausea, but it also has antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-parasitic properties, and is anti-inflammatory as well! These are just a few of the many amazing uses for ginger.

The anti-inflammatory effects make ginger an incredible supplement for joint pain, menstrual pain, migraines, and more. Ginger is also great for people who suffer from indigestion; it contains protein-digesting enzymes and assists with stimulating your stomach to empty its contents.

 2. Peppermint

Peppermint has many benefits to the respiratory system, for coughs, colds asthma, allergies, and tuberculosis. Rubbing peppermint oil on the chest can assist with these things. Peppermint oil has also been known to work wonders on digestive health, especially those with IBS. Peppermint tea can ease abdominal pain associated with digestion and offers gas relief.

Peppermint leaves, tea, and oil are all very easy to find. It is also very easy to grow your own peppermint in your garden! An added bonus to this is that it smells lovely and helps to keep unwanted pests away.

 3. Chamomile

Chamomile has long been admired for its ability to relieve stress and make you feel relaxed, but did you know that it has a wide array of other benefits as well? According to a government organization in Germany known as Commission E, chamomile has been approved for reducing swelling on the skin and fighting bacteria! It is a powerful anti-inflammatory and also has anti-bacterial, anti-allergenic, anti-spasmodic, and sedative properties. It has been used to treat various skin disorders such as: psoriasis, eczema, chickenpox, diaper rash, and many others.

4. Thyme

Thyme is not only great for cooking, providing a wonderful flavor and aroma to your savory dishes, but it contains many beneficial flavonoids for your health! Some of these flavonoids include: apigen, naringen, and leteolin, along with thymonin, which as been shown to protect and increase the percentage of healthy fats found in cell membranes.

Thyme also contains many nutrients including vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, manganese, copper and dietary fiber.

Thyme oil also has a wide variety of topical uses including relief from problems of gout, bites, sores, arthritis, menstrual pain, nausea, fatigue, athletes foot and even hangovers! It is also a great oil for aromatherapy and can be used to strengthen memory and concentration, and calm the mind and nerves.

4. Lavender

 Lavender has the most lovely, calming smell and it is my go-to oil for my bubble baths. Lavender oil has been used aroma-therapeutically to treat such conditions as: insomnia, depression, stress, and restlessness.

Lavender oil has been known to fight antifungal-resistant skin and nail infections. It can also be used to: relieve muscle and joint pain, treat skin disorders like acne, psoriasis, and eczema, soothe insect bites, kill lice and nits, boost hair growth, improve digestion, alleviate various respiratory disorders, and more.

 Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23657930

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12662951

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11121917

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=77

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-chamomile.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/01/medicinal-plants.aspx

Zeroing in on a silent killer

One in three Americans has high blood pressure, a long-term constriction of arteries that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke.

Using a sophisticated X-ray analysis, a US-German team of scientists revealed the molecular structure of the angiotensin receptor AT1R, an important regulator for blood pressure in the human body.

Their work could fast-track the development of new medications with fewer side-effects, according to Vadim Cherezov, lead researcher and professor at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Angiotensin receptor AT1R, when activated by the hormone angiotensin, triggers two major signaling pathways inside of cells. One of them, mediated by G proteins (a family of proteins that act as switches and transmit signals through cell walls), causes the constriction of blood vessels - leading to an increase in blood pressure. Another pathway, mediated by arrestin, confers a number of beneficial effects.

Doctors regularly prescribe drugs, known as angiotensin receptor blockers, that turn off both pathways, which prevents the constriction but also has side effects, such as dizziness, headache, drowsiness, and elevated levels of potassium in the blood.

"It's like using a two-by-four to kill a fly. Yes, it works - but perhaps a more refined approach could achieve the positive results without many side effects by only blocking the G protein pathway, while keeping the arresting pathway active," Cherezov said. "To do so, you need to understand exactly how and where drug-like molecules bind to the receptor and what conformational changes they produce."

The researchers created crystals of the receptor in complex with an angiotensin receptor blocker. Then, they used the world's most powerful X-ray laser to zap the crystals with flashes of energy strong enough to produce diffraction patterns.

By interpreting those patterns, the scientists were able to piece together the receptor's structure with a resolution of 0.29 nanometres - an atomic scale, showing precisely where the drug molecule is bound.

"Despite its medical relevance, the structure of this receptor was unknown up to now," said study co-author Cornelius Gati, of the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany.

"The data show the exact structure of the binding pocket and the interaction with blood pressure drugs binding there. This provides new insights into the mode of action and facilitates the development of new drugs," he said.

Their findings appear on April 23 in the journal Cell. The scientists said they hope that the exact knowledge of the molecular receptor structure can help to design tailor-made blood pressure drugs with fewer side effects.

"Our work represents a first step in this direction," says Cherezov, who next plans to continue study on this receptor and another, closely related receptor.

Source:UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Watch Video of a super herb:Milk Thistle Benefits for a Super Healthy Liver

Milk thistle benefits are well known in today's modern world for their cleansing effects on the liver organ.  However, the use of milk thistle as an herbal treatment for liver disorders actually dates way back to over 2,000 years ago. 

Milk thistle was one of the most popular liver herb alteratives used in European herbalism and folklore, mentioned in books and documented in herbals throughout the ages.  It was often referred to as a "remedy of the bile duct" and used in treatment for numerous problems associated with the liver including psoriasis, jaundice, hepatitis and cirrhosis.

The herbalist John Gerard (1545–1612), author of the herbal Generall Historie of Plantes wrote, "My opinion is that milk thistle is the best remedy that grows against all melancholy diseases."

All parts of the plant can be used, but the milk thistle seeds are considered to be the most medicinally potent for therapeutic use.

Milk thistle seeds, consumed as a powder, tea, tincture or standardized extract, can be helpful for not only healthy liver function, but as a side effect also works to increase the condition of the kidneys, spleen, gall bladder as well as the endocrine and gastrointestinal systems. The seeds are a concentrated source of the flavonoid antioxidant called "silymarin" which also exhibits immune boosting and anti-inflammatory qualities.

Milk thistle benefits are due to its properties as a hepatic, galactogogue, demulcent and cholagogue. 

In other words the seeds have direct actions on the liver, promote lactation, increase bile production and offer soothing effects to the mucous membranes of the body.

 Milk thistle (Silybum marianum), also called holy thistle and lady's thistle, is a common weed in California, but grows throughout the world in climate zones 5 through 9. The plant has purple to red flowers and can be up to 10 feet tall.

Other parts of this wild plant, beside the seeds, are also edible. The leaves can be steamed or eaten raw (after removing the thorns) as a wild edible green.  According to the Modern Herbal, "The heads of this thistle formerly were eaten, boiled, treated like those of the artichoke."

"Milk" thistle is said to get its name from the milk that exudes when you crush the thistle leaves.  In addition, the leaves also have a milky white pattern, like they have been splashed with milk, which makes them easy to identify.  Milk thistle seeds are also known to increase and enrich milk production in breastfeeding women.

Thistles are a remarkable group of herbs in our opinion. They are thorny, resilient, robust and very tenacious in the environments in which they grow.  Commonly found in areas that need regenerating, they are very prolific at spreading their seeds and taking over the landscape.  For this reason they are not commonly viewed as a beneficial plant species.  But, in many ways these characteristics are what makes them a potent medicinal super herb.

Source:Desk

Antimalarial tea -- from herbal remedy to licensed phytomedicine

New Rochelle, NY, April 14, 2015--Malaria is a critical health problem in West Africa, where traditional medicine is commonly used alongside modern healthcare practices. An herbal remedy derived from the roots of a weed, which was traditionally used to alleviate malarial symptoms, was combined with leaves and aerial portions from two other plants with antimalarial activity, formulated as a tea, and eventually licensed and sold as an antimalarial phytomedicine. The fascinating story and challenges behind the development of this plant-based treatment are presented in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine website until May 14, 2015.

Dr. Merlin Willcox (University of Oxford, U.K.), Dr. Zéphirin Dakuyo (Phytofla, Banfora, Burkina Faso), and coauthors discuss the antimalarial and pharmacological properties of the herbal medication derived from Cochlospermum planchonii (a shrubby weed known as N'Dribala), Phyllanthus amarus, and Cassia alata. The authors provide a unique historical perspective in describing the early evaluation, development, and production of this phytomedicine. They present the ongoing research and challenges in scaling up cultivation and harvesting of the plants and in production of the final product. The article also describes other traditional uses of the medication, such as to treat hepatitis.

Source:The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 

Oral milk thistle extract stops colorectal cancer stem cells from growing tumors

In results presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2015, a University of Colorado Cancer Center study shows that orally administering the chemical silibinin, purified from milk thistle, slows the ability of colorectal cancer stem cells to grow the disease. When stem cells from tumors grown in silibinin-fed conditions were re-injected into new models, the cells failed to develop equally aggressive tumors even in the absence of silibinin.

"It's very simple: tumors from mice that were initially fed silibinin had fewer cancer stem cells, were smaller, had lower metabolisms and showed decreased growth of new blood vessels. Importantly, when these cancer stem cells from tumors in mice fed silibinin were re-injected into new mice, we found these stem cells had lost their potential to repopulate even in the absence of silibinin exposure," says Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, co-program leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at the CU Cancer Center and professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Silibinin is a non-toxic, potentially chemopreventive agent derived from milk thistle seeds. Results presented by Agarwal and colleagues at last year's AACR Annual Meeting showed that, in cell cultures, silibinin affects cell signaling associated with the formation and survival of colorectal cancer stem cells. The current study extends this promising line of research into mouse models.

Specifically, the group used sorted colorectal cancer stem cells to grow tumors in mice that were either fed or not fed with silibinin. Tumor growth was measured by visible size, MRI scan and measurement of tumor metabolism (glucose use). These tumors cells either unsorted or sorted for cancer stem cells were then re-injected in mice to measure their growth pattern in next generations in the absence of silibinin feeding.

"We have been deeply involved in this line of research that extends from silibinin to its chemopreventive properties in colorectal cancer, and the current study takes another important step: we see both a likely chemopreventive and a therapeutic mechanism and the result of this mechanism in animal models," says Sushil Kumar, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Agarwal Lab.

The group continues to investigate the molecular mechanisms, cell culture, and animal model effects of silibinin toward a likely human clinical trial of silibinin in cancer preventative and/or treatment settings.

Source:UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER

Watch this video

American Diabetes Association Debunks Certain Myths Associated with Diabetes

In 2014 the global prevalence of diabetes was estimated to be 9% among adults aged above 18 years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030.

 However, healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. 

The American Diabetes Association provides some facts about diabetes to create awareness among people.

Myth You can catch diabetes from someone else.
Fact: No. Diabetes is not contagious. It can't be caught like a cold or flu.

Myth Only old people can get diabetes.
Fact: As you get older, your risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease goes up. Though there's nothing you can do about getting older, you can take steps to eat healthy and manage your weight.

Myth Only African-Americans get diabetes.
Fact: All races/ethnicity are affected by this disease. 

Myth If you eat too much sugar, you'll get diabetes.
Fact: Type 1 diabetes is caused by genetics factors and Type 2 diabetes is caused by genetics and lifestyle factors.

Myth Only overweight or obese people get diabetes.
Fact: Being overweight is a risk factor for developing this disease, but other risk factors such as family history, ethnicity and age also play a role.

Myth Diabetics must eat special diabetic foods.
Fact: A healthy meal plan for people with diabetes is generally the same as a healthy diet for anyone. Low in saturated and trans fat, moderate in salt and sugar, with meals based on lean protein, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and fruit.
 Source:ADA

Rattlesnake Venom Offers Hope For Skin Cancer Cure

A recent Brazilian study has thrown light on the use of rattlesnake venom in the fight against skin cancer.

 Chromatin, a protein isolated from the venom of the South American snake, increased the survival rate of rats with skin cancer by up to 70 percent, the Butantan Institute reported Thursday. 

The protein also helped to significantly retard the development of tumors and even to completely inhibit their formation, according to Butantan, an institute linked to the health department of Sao Paulo state. 

The researchers heading the unprecedented study discovered that the protein is able to kill cells but its toxic action is exclusively limited to melanoma cells, meaning that it does not affect an organism's other cells. 

The substance also remains inside a cancerous tumor for only about 24 hours. 

Researchers admit that they still need to perform other tests on animals and, ultimately, humans before they can think about the possibility of developing a new drug. 

The priority, however, before experimenting with it on humans, is to be able to synthesize the protein, that is to produce it in the laboratory without having to extract and process actual snake venom.

 Source: Butantan Institute

Homeopathy Research Claims Snake Venom Can Stop the Spread of HIV Virus

Doctors of JSPS Government Homeopathic Medical College, Hyderabad, India, and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) conducted research on Crotalus Horridus, the commonly known rattlesnake. They have proved that the venom can arrest the multiplication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Dr. Praveen Kumar, Head of Department of Practice of Medicine at JSPS College, said that Crotalus Horridus has inhibited reverse transcriptase (RT), an enzyme which is utilized by viruses like HIV and Hepatitis-B to convert the viral RNA into viral DNA so that they multiply into billions and wreck patients. 

"As a virologist, I was surprised to learn that homeopathy also sources medicines from virus, bacteria and parasites, long before microbiology was fully developed," remarked Dr Abhay Chaudhary, Director Haffkine Institute, which makes polio vaccine in India. 

For years, homeopathy has been adapting the process of converting snake venom and poison from deadly scorpions, spiders and wild bees into medicinal substances by transforming them into nano-particles that have proved safe and effective for patients, said Dr Rajesh Shah. 

 Source:Desk

Milk Thistle:A natural Healer

In herbal medication it is used in cases of liver diseases (cirrhosis, jaundice and hepatitis), gallbladder disease, and is claimed to protect the liver against poisons. 

It was popularly used as a source of food as early as 16th century and almost all parts of milk thistle was consumed.

It can be taken orally as supplements or in tea. It can even be combined with other herbs.

Clinical Research

There are a lot of clinical studies conducted on the medicinal uses of milk thistle. 

One of the pilot study explained that milk thistle can be used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, as it is effective as fluoxetine which is normally used for this treatment.

Clinical studies back in 2007, discovered that silybum marianum blocked Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cell culture infection of human hepatoma cultures. Later a study conducted in 2010 found that eight major compounds that comprise silybum, including seven flavonolignans—silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A, isosilybin B, silychristin, isosilychristin, silydianin, and one flavonoid, taxifolin—are inhibitors of HCV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

Milk thistle, is referred as a good hangover cure resource along with a mixture of dandelion and other extracts. The bitter tincture present in the mixture aids the organs to get rid of the toxin after heavy alcohol consumption.

Medicinal Benefits
Milk thistle is commonly used in liver disorders, such as liver damage caused by chemicals, Amanita phalloides mushroom poisoning, jaundice, chronic inflammatory liver disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and chronic hepatitis. However there is no substantial research confirmation that milk thistle is effective for all of these uses

a) Protection from Liver Damage
The active component silymarin, in milk thistle extract is nature''s own liver supporter and protector. 

Research suggests that milk thistle extracts protect from Toxin-induced liver damage. Workers who had been exposed to vapors from toluene and/or xylene for 5–20 years were given either a standardized milk thistle extract or placebo for 30 days.


 There was significant improvement in liver function test and platelet count in the workers who were on milk thistle extract compared to those of on placebo.

Use of milk thistle extract is not just limited to those with liver disease and exposed to chemical toxins. It can be used to offset the potential liver-damaging effects of certain medications, such as acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antidepressants, and cholesterol-lowering medications.

b) Lowering Cholesterol Levels
Milk thistle may aid in decreasing the chance of developing heart disease by lowering LDL, the bad cholesterol (However the studies that suggested benefits to the heart have been conducted only in subjects with diabetes and in whom the cholesterol level is usually high. They have not explained if others have the same benefit.)

c) Reducing the growth of cancer cells in breast, cervical, and prostate cancers: The extract is used for tumor inhibition. Studies have shown that it stimulates neurons in culture and increase lymphocyte proliferation

 d) Enhance Antioxidant Activity: Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant produced by our body and milk thistle is used to increase its production as well as increasing the levels of other antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase.

e) Hepatitis
f) Cirrhosis: Reducing insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes who also have cirrhosis.It acts as a cleansing and detoxifying agent by increasing bile production (important for carrying toxins to the intestines for elimination) and increasing antioxidant activity. 

 

Belgium Set to Celebrate International Day of Yoga With Sri Sri Ravi Shankar r

On June 21, 2015, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will lead a special yoga event in the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels, following efforts by Indian ambassador to the European Union (EU) and Belgium Manjeev Singh Puri.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the call for an International Day of Yoga at the United Nations last September. A record 177 countries co-sponsored the resolution piloted by India and declared June 21, the day of Equinox, as the International Day of Yoga. 

Ambassador Puri obtained the support of members from all political groups in the European Parliament (EP) and persuaded the Delegation for Relations with India in the EP to host the Brussels yoga event. 

The Indian embassy in Brussels has also put together a broad group of yoga federations, schools and teachers from across Belgium and Luxembourg to celebrate the International Day of Yoga on June 21. The flagship would be a large public event in the central park of Brussels, the Bois de la Cambre. Many enthusiasts are expected to participate in a mass yoga program to coincide with events across the world. 

A big participation at the June 21 event is expected from high-level representatives from the EU and Belgium. 
 Source:Desk
 

Liver Cells in Females are More Susceptible to Adverse Effects of Drugs Than in Males

Women in general are more sensitive than men to adverse effects of drugs. It could be due to the different ways the drugs affect males and females at cellular levels, says a new research.

Liver cells in females, and in particular those women who have attained menopause, are more susceptible to adverse effects of drugs than in males, the findings showed. 

It is well-known that women are more vulnerable when it comes to drug-induced liver effects, but it is the first time it has been shown that there are differences at cellular level, the study pointed out. 

"Our experiments showed female cells as being more sensitive, at certain exposure times, for some of the tested drugs," the study noted. 

The findings are striking, clinically relevant, and emphasize the importance of considering sex-based differences in human health risk assessment. 

In this study by European Commission Joint Research Centre, five prevalently used drugs (diclofenac, chlorpromazine, acetaminophen, verapamil, and omeprazole with caffeine as negative control) with known differences of adverse liver effects on men and women were selected to investigate cellular reactions in liver cells taken from men and women. 

Female cells were further sub-divided in pre- and post-menopausal groups to account for hormonal changes. In spite of the short observation period of five hours due to cell lifespan, significant sex-specific differences for defined parameters were observed. 

Particularly striking was the higher susceptibility of post-menopausal female liver cells to drugs that cause widespread adverse liver effects in post-menopausal women. 

Source:The study appeared in the journal PLOS ONE. 

 

Former CCIM president urges PM to take steps to upgrade standards in Indian System of Medicine

Concerned over the low standard of education in the existing courses of Indian System of Medicines (ISM) all over India, the former president of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), Dr Vedaprakash Tyagi, after mobilizing support from the public, has submitted a memorandum to the prime minister of India requesting him to find a solution to the burning issue.

 He alleges that a grave situation has arisen in the field of ISM practice that the new generation graduates and post-graduates in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Yoga with half-baked knowledge of Indian medicines and they indulge in general practice, research, administration and education. Even the colleges conducting UG and PG programmes do not cover 50 per cent of the syllabus in each year of the courses.

Dr Tyagi points out that the parliament enacted the Indian Medicine Central Council Act in the year 1970. Next year, the CCIM was constituted, but it took 41 years for CCIM as well as the Union government to make regulations for enforcing minimum standards of education.

 Today, all the ISM academic institutions lack the minimum standards of education. In most of the colleges, the teaching staff are on records only and regular holding of classes cannot be thought of. Even the list of faculty members is not displayed on the notice board in several institutions. The teachers in almost all the institutions are found to be involved in duplicity as one teacher is enrolled in more than one college.

Dr Tyagi alleges that hospitals attached to the colleges are found to be locked in around 70 per cent of the medical colleges and the OPD and IPD data are fabricated in most of the instances. In the case of attendance of students, most of them are not attending the classes regularly, but clearing the tests. Barring a few exceptions in government and in some private colleges, post graduate students attend the colleges only at the time of submission of thesis and examination. They are more interested in running their private clinics at their respective addresses.

According to him, in Uttar Pradesh, students are forced to resolve to mass copying as regular classes are not held for want of teachers.

The memorandum also brings certain valuable points to the attention of the prime minister. It is said that since the last 40 years the syllabus of Indian medicine has not been reviewed and revised. No constructive change has been incorporated to keep the Indian System of Medicine at par with other branches of medicine in today’s competitive world. 

The former CCIM president requested the prime minister to take steps to declare a Day for Ayurveda in the national level.
Source:Desk

Ten Ayush cos from Maharashtra share details on ABS as per BD Act

Around 10 manufacturers from across Maharashtra have shared details on the bio-resources as mandated by the law following Union ministry of environment and forests' (MoEF) notification on Access to Biological Resources and Benefits Sharing (ABS) effective from November 21, 2014.

The Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) had issued 1500 notices to Ayush manufacturers in the state following the MoEF notification.

The MoEF notified ABS guidelines to boost sustainable use of bio-resources across the country as per Biological Diversity Act, 2002.  As per the Act, manufacturers are accountable to share details of the source from where raw material has been procured and share a certain per cent of the revenue generated out of the production to further the cause of biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use.

Officials from MSBB inform,"There is an urgent need to bring home the mindset among the manufacturers that compliance to the Act is actually meant to benefit them as it will encourage judicious use of the respective bio-resource in the long-term from agriculture and forest areas. This is more relevant as certain plant-based raw materials are today unavailable because of the indiscriminate exploitative practices due to lack of effective enforcement of regulations."

As per the MoEF notification on ABS, when the biological resources are accessed for commercial utilisation or the bio-survey and bio-utilisation leads to commercial utilisation, the applicant shall have the option to pay the benefit sharing ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent at the following graded percentages of the annual gross ex-factory sale of the product which shall be worked out based on the annual gross ex-factory sale minus government taxes.

Till date, over 700 Biodiversity Management Committees have been set up in Maharashtra under Section 22(2) of the Act. Local bodies have constituted the BMCs in respective villages as per Section 41 of the Act. BMCs prepare, maintain and validate People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) in consultation with the local people. PBR gives information about the details of biological resources and traditional knowledge.

According to Section 7 and 24(2) of the Act, organisations extracting plant based material for commercial purpose without intimation to state biodiversity board are liable under Section 55(2) of the Act and shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend up to three years with fine or five years with fine or both.

Till date, over 34, 000 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and 29 State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) have been set up under Section 22(2) of the Act across the country. Local bodies have constituted the BMCs in respective states as per Section 41 of the Act.

Source:Pharmabiz