South American Medicinal Plants

Books dealing with medicinal herbs have been forests by man. Furthermore, the knowledge of use­ ful and medicinal plants is lost as soon as tradition much in demand in the last decade, since interest in the use of 'healing plants' instead of chemistry vanishes through the import of new products from wrapped up in the form of pills has gradually in­ industrialized countries. Already in 1926, PITTIER creased. Interest in natural methods of healing by regreted that the use as well as the production of medicinal plants advanced with the ecological con­ indigenous medicinal-herbal products, foodstuffs science of man. European officinal plants are well and other local industrial vegetable products, such known and have already been applied for hundreds as special oils, waxes, fibers, tannic substances, cork of years or even more. However, as the tropical etc. , diminished alarmingly, as importation of arti­ forests attracted more attention, the great wealth of ficial or foreign products from the USA and Europe increased. This decrease in natural indigenous pro­ useful plants stored in tropical regions became ob­ vious. India is probably a leading country in the duction continues up to the present day such that knowledge of indigenous tropical medicinal plants, also the knowledge of these useful plants is being some of which are also known or are even common gradually forgotten. As local industries disap­ in Europe. Further useful and medicinal plants peared, unemployment consequently increased.