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Supply and demand of medicinal plants

Many medical plant species are collected directly from forests in Malaysia and their value to the medicinal industry, the nation and the people is of great significance. It is difficult to determine the total value of medicinal plants collected from forests or supplied to the industry or transacted in the market. This is because there has been no extensive study carried out at the national level.

A study by Mohd Azmi & Norini (2001) on the supply and demand of medicinal plants harvested from the forest can be used as the pioneer study to indicate the dependence of the traditional Malay industry on local resources. Based on the interviews with 28 collectors in Peninsular Malaysia, it is found that the average monthly harvest per collector is 276 kg green weight of medicinal plants. By assuming ten working months per year, the total amount of harvested material by 28 collectors is estimated to be approximately 77,280 kg per year. However, only 67% (52,000 kg per year) of the total collection was supplied to the industry and the remaining 33% (25,280 kg) was for the collectors’ own use (sold either as raw materials or as processed products). Table 13 shows the total collection of plants by 28 collectors in Peninsular Malaysia during the study period (1998/2000).

Zones	States	Average quantity ordered per month per industry (kg)2
North	Kedah	266.00
	Perlis	180.00
	Penang	250.00
	Average	255.27
South	Johor	960.00
	N.Sembilan	350.00
	Malacca	600.00
	Average	718.75
	Kelantan	303.33
	Terengganu	607.50
	Pahang	160.00
East	Average	406.67
Peninsular Malaysia	Average	652.52

Table 13. Average monthly collection of medicinal plant collectors in Peninsular Malaysia

Source:

Mohd Azmi & Norini (2001)
Based on 28 collectors interviewed
The quantity of medicinal plants collected is based on green (wet) weight

To estimate the requirement of medicinal plants from the forest by the local traditional medicine industry in Peninsular Malaysia, 28 manufacturers were interviewed. The study found that about 652.52 kg of medicinal plants had been ordered by the industry from the regular supplier per month (Table 14). The majority of the manufacturing companies (64%) obtained their raw materials from regular suppliers. Five of the manufacturers collected medicinal plants using their own crews and only one manufacturer paid its workers to collect the materials. Using this information and taking the Traditional Malay Medicine Manufacturers Association (PURBATAMA) members (73 manufacturers) as the basis and 10 working months per year, the estimated total amount of medicinal plants needed by the industry was about 476,339 kg per year. These figures do not include unregistered manufacturers since this information was not available. The requirement of medicinal plants from local sources would be more than the real situation if the unregistered manufacturers were taken into account.

Zones	States	Average quantity ordered per month per industry (kg)2
North	Kedah	266.00
	Perlis	180.00
	Penang	250.00
	Average	255.27
South	Johor	960.00
	N. Sembilan	350.00
	Malacca	600.00
	Average	718.75
East	Kelantan	303.33
	Terengganu	607.50
	Pahang	160.00
	Average	406.67
Peninsular	Average	652.52

Table 14. Average quantity of medicinal plants ordered per industry in Peninsular Malaysia

Source:

Mohd Azmi & Norini (2001)
Based on 28 companies interviewed
The quantity of medicinal plants is based on green (wet) weight

By comparing the estimated amount of medicinal plants which could be supplied by 28 collectors (77,280 kg per year) and the estimated requirement of the local sources by 28 companies (476,339 kg per year), it is found that the shortage of raw material supply is critical. Such a situation will become more critical in the future, as the industry will expand due to the high demand for traditional medicine.

The most popular species of medicinal plants collected were tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia), selayak hitam, bunga pakma, kacip fatimah and rancang besi. Table 15 provides the scientific names of these species. Because the collectors collected a number of medicinal species simultaneously per trip, the exact amount of each species that was collected cannot be easily determined. It can only be estimated from the amount of total medicinal plants collected during each trip. 44 other popular medicinal plant species harvested during the collection session are as shown in Table 16.

Local name	Scientific name
Tongkat Ali	Euyrcoma longifolia
Selayak hitam	Goniothalamus macrophyllus
Bunga pakma	Rafflesia hasseltii
Kacip fatimah	Labisia pothoina
Rancang besi	Artaboltrys sp

Table 15. Most popular species of medicinal plants harvested by collectors¹

¹The medicinal plants were the species most frequently harvested by the collectors interviewed

Table 16. List of 44 popular medicinal plant species harvested by collectors interviewed

No	Malay vernacular name	Scientific name	Family name
1	Akar bakawali	Epiphyllum oxypetalum	Cactaceae
2	Akar jarom emas	Striga asiatica	Scrophulariaceae
3	Akar jarom perak	Leptonychia heteroclita	Sterculiaceae
4	Akar jeraka merah/putih	Eurya japonica	Stroemiaceae
5	Akar kachip fatimah, akar kunci fatimah, kachip fatimah	Labisia pothoina	Myrsinaceae
6	Akar kelawar	Torenia polygonoides	Scrophulariaceae
7	Akar larak	Fissistigma fulgens	Annonaceae
8	Akar menjuak (menjuat)	Cryptocarya moschata	Lauraceae
9	Akar padang kering/padang terbakar	Cnestis palala	Connaraceae
10	Akar selayak	Goniothalamus scorthechinii	Annonaceae
11	Akar serapat	Parameria polyneura	Apocynaceae
12	Akar tembusu	Fagraea obovata	Loganiaceae
13	Binasa mertua	Plumbago indica	Plumbaginaceae
14	Bunga pakma	Rafflesia hasseltii	Cytinaceae
15	Celaka merah/putih	Plumbago indica	Plumbaginaceae
16	Chekur, cekur	Kaempferia galanga	Zingiberaceae
17	Daun kaduk	Piper penangense/ Piper sarmentosum	Piperaceae
18	Gajah beranak	Goniothalamus scortechinii	Annonaceae
19	Halban	Vitex pubescens	Verbenaceae
20	Halia gunung	Globba aurantiaca	Zingiberaceae
21	Hempedu beruang	Brucea amarissima	Simarubaceae
22	Juak	Heynea trijuga	Meliaceae
23	Kancing baju	Corchorus capsularis	Tiliaceae
24	Kayu putih	Melaleuca leucadendron	Myrtaceae
25	Kemarau bulan lima	Ischaemum muticum	Gramineae
26	Kenduduk akar	Anplectrum glaucum	Melastomaceae
27	Kipas angin	Belamcanda chinesis	Iridaceae
28	Koro (sekentut bulu)	Lasianthus oblongus	Rubiaceae
29	Kucing galak	Adenosma capitatum	Scrophulariaceae
30	Lada ekor	Piper cubeba	Piperaceae
31	Larak api	Fissistigma lanuginosum	Annonaceae
32	Lemba batu	Staurogyne merguensis	Acanthaceae
33	Lemuni hitam	Vitex negundo	Verbenaceae
34	Mata pelanduk	Ardisia crispa	Myrsinaceae
35	Medang kemangi, teja lawang	Cinnamomum iners	Lauraceae
36	Menkoyan (menkoyan pinang)	Rhodamnia trinervia	Myrtaceae
37	Menkunyit, sekunyit, kekunyit	Coscinium blumeanum	Menispermaceae
38	Nenas batu	Ananas comosus	Bromeliaceae
39	Tongkat ali	Eurycoma longifolia	Simarubaceae
40	Rancang besi	Freycinetia malaccensis	Pandanaceae
41	Seranti muda/tunjuk langit	Helminthostachys zeylanica	Ophioglossaceae
42	Serapat kuning	Hippocratea indica	Celastraceae
43	Teja	Cinnamomum javanicum	Lauraceae
44	Sireh rimau putih	Piper argyrites	Piperaceae

Basically, local sources of medicinal plants demanded by the industry are collected from the forest. A number of species are in great demand. These include bunga pakma (Rafflesia hasseltii), (Kumari et al., 1998; Latiff, 1989) and tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia)) (Kumari et al., 1998; Latiff, 1997). An industry survey conducted by Mohamad Setefarzi & Mansor (2001) on 163 herb manufacturers found that five herb species from local sources that commonly used were pegaga (Centella asiatica), tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia), Ganoderma mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum), lemon grass (Cymbopogon nardus) and kacip fatimah (Labisia pumila). Without proper monitoring and conservation measures, over-exploitation of medicinal plants from the forest may result in the problem of extinction. This could result in these species being categorized as endangered species.

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