Medicinal Plants fFast Depleting in South Asia

KARACHI: Medicinal plants are depleting fast in South Asian countries due to improper planning and negligence of the authorities concerned. There is dire need to save these plants from devastation, as various fatal diseases can be avoided by conducting more research on such plants to discover effective drugs. These recommendations made by national and international chemical scientists on Saturday, while speaking at the closing ceremony of the four-day 11th International Symposium on Natural Product Chemistry held at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), Karachi University. Over 500 delegates, including over 100 foreign scientists and researchers from 35 countries participated in the international moot. Director ICCBS, University of Karachi, Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, while chairing the ceremony, said that the international mutual cooperation among the chemical scientists was the need of the hour for the benefit and welfare of the humanity. The field of natural product chemistry needs more attention and progress in third world countries. Discoveries of more medicinal plants will boost up the pace of research in this region, Dr. iqbal added. International delegates on the occasion emphasized the need for doing some concrete work for protection of medicinal plants that are depleting in this region, and said that the south countries are required to use positively their natural resources for obtaining the required growth and advancement. They also underlined the need for carrying out new research work on medicinal plants and natural compounds keeping in view of their great medicinal potential to prevent diabetic complications and other diseases.



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