2.2 Traditional Medicine
2.2.4 Challenges of Herbal Medicine Industry
herbal medicine known as “Kampo medicine” rose from US$1.42 billion in 2007 to US$1.47 billion in 2008 (WHO, 2012). Furthermore, a total of US$1.12 billion was realized from the sale of CAM in 2008 in Australia (ibid).
According to Calixto (2000) herbal medicines were widely used in Germany for circulatory disorders (15%), fatigue and exhaustion (12%), common influenza (38%), headache (25%), stomach ulcer (34%), cold (66%), intestinal and /or digestive disease (25%), nervousness (21%), bronchitis (15%) and skin disease (15%).
Likewise, the plant medicine market in India was about US$1billion, while the export revenue from plant-based crude medicine was around US$80 billion (Kamboj, 2000). Moreover, it is recognized that India has a well-documented rich culture and notable practical knowledge in traditional herbal medicine. However, it has been emphasized that the role of less-developed nations in the international trade of medicinal plant products is insignificant due to poor quality and the inability to meet global standards (Sharma et al., 2010).
However, it has been emphasized that with the view to undertaking scientific research to evaluate traditional medicines, experiences and knowledge gained through prolonged period of established practices should be considered (WHO, 2000a). For example, in Ghana, the CPMR was set up to facilitate research, the standardization of herbal medicine preparation and safety. And yet, many herbal medicines in circulation in the market had no scientific evidence of efficacy, safety and quality (Pal & Sukla, 2003; WHO, 2010; MOH, 2005). This can be attributed to the relatively high cost of clinical trials, the poor financial status of practitioners and a general lack of human capital and logistics in the research centres (MOH, 2005). An empirical study conducted by Raynor, Dickinson, Knapp, Long, and Nicolson (2015) revealed that about 93% of the plant medicinal products sampled were not licensed for proof of safety, quality and efficacy. Furthermore, the production of most herbal medicine did not meet the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), and also lacked standardization.
De Silva (1997) is also of the view that, developing countries have well-trained personnel in science disciplines like pharmacy, chemistry, agricultural, but the absence of resources in the fields of technology and chemical engineering has impeded the development of a large-scale herbal medicine industry. Although, there is a large market for traditional medicinal products in both domestic and international markets, commercialization of medicinal plant products in Ghana has been impeded by many factors. These include: poor packaging and /or labelling, lack of funding, absence of standardization, poor resource base like personnel, materials, technology, and the absence of industries to support the idea of commercialization (MOH, 2005).
De Silva (1997) suggested that most developing countries were ignorant about the potential social and economic benefits of the industrial utilization of medicinal plant products. Except for use to meet local health care needs, the real potentials of these medicinal plants had not been realized by the government and entrepreneurs. In Ghana, most of the herbal medicine manufacturers operate as micro-and small-scale entrepreneurs producing mainly for domestic consumption (Essegbey et al., 2014).
In addition, De Silva (1997) noted that many countries in the developing world did not have procedures for registration of traditional medicine practitioners and if any, were not stringent requiring the same standards as allopathic medicines. In Ghana, however, all forms of regulations exist to bring sanity to the practice, but it is still marked by many quack
practitioners (hawkers and peddlers). It is often difficult to distinguish between genuine practitioners and the quacks which have caused serious damage to the image of the practice (UNESCO, 2013; MOH, 2005). Previous research revealed that in Ghana, out of 107 sampled traditional medicine practitioners, 33 percent have not been approved by the TMPC or any of the other institutions (Essegbey et al., 2014).
Moreover, the escalating demand of plant-based medicines in both developing and developed countries has been met by the wanton harvesting of wild plants from the forest. Because of this, many plant species have been endangered and some have become extinct (De Silva, 1997). For example, in China, it was estimated that more than 80 percent of 700 000 tons of plant material harvested annually is derived from wild sources. The destruction of forest by wild fire, overgrazing, and rapid urbanization, expansion of industries as well as excessive gathering of wild plants imply that the natural sources of medicinal plant products are being destroyed (Srivastava et al., 1996).
The lack of marketing was also regarded as major factor that inhibited the growth of plant medicine industry and it was a key element for determining the success or collapse of these firms (De Silva, 1997). In Ghana, some of the medicinal plant products are sold in the market, lorry stations, wheel-barrows and tables (Essegbey et al., 2014) which suggest that there is lack of marketing strategies to enhance the sale of the product. Rukangira (2001) recommended that new marketing opportunities need to be researched into as demand grows, and efforts should be made to add value to medicinal plant products through processing, efficient packaging and storage.
Finally, De Silva, (1997) pointed out that simple and old technologies were used by traditional medical practitioners to produce medicines for local use, such as, hot-or-cold water extraction, pounding of dried materials, extraction of juice after crushing. These traditional methods were dependent on the state of technology that existed at that time. In the author`s view, these methods need to be modified and improved by using modern technologies to make them more efficient, stable and reproducible, controlled and in dosage form that is portable. The author further enumerated some factors that negatively affected the competitiveness of herbal medicines in the world market. These include: poor agricultural practices, poor quality control procedures, absence of studies on the development of high-yielding varieties, lack of research
and development on the product and process development, poor propagation techniques, high energy losses during processing, and poor harvesting and post-harvesting treatment practices.