Mexico is a paradise for medicinal plants, second worldwide

Mexico has a wide floristic richness with 4,500 species. It occupies the second place in the world in the registry of plants for medicinal use, only after China, said the teacher in Sciences, Balbina Vázquez Benítez, who pointed out that 90% of the population uses or used some medicinal plant; however, only 5% of the species have scientific studies.

Also, the researcher at the Faculty of Higher Studies ( FES ) Zaragoza, of the UNAM, commented that the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) has documented 3,000 species of medicinal plants, despite the fact that Mexico has 4,500.

In the Dialogue program of the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural, and Livestock Research (Inifap), of the Ministry of Agriculture, it was said that the country has an enormous wealth of plants for medicinal use.

But further studies, identification, and protocols are required for its propagation and production, in addition to avoiding over-exploitation and damage caused by the loss of ecosystems.

Professor Vázquez, also suggested, that around 250 native and exotic species are commercialized, most of which come from the wild, for which it is necessary to have comprehensive establishment plans in protocols for their propagation and production in order to expand the diversity.

And the Inifap researcher and specialist in Plant Biotechnology, Salvador Horacio Guzmán Maldonado, warned that when the medicinal use of some plants is promoted excessively, there is a risk of overexploitation and extinction of species.

He stated that its uses must be taken care of so as not to harm the environment. Overharvesting can wipe out native plants.

The researcher from the UNAM Institute of Biology, Sol Cristians Niizawa, considered that the recovery of the traditional recognition of medicinal plants should be revalued and regularized, through regulations and official documents, the possibility of producing and marketing remedies. and herbal medicines.

He considered that traditional knowledge should be rescued. And he recalled that there are official standards such as the Herbal Pharmacopoeia of the United Mexican States, which has more monographs of plants from other parts of the world, but which are used here.

Dr. Abel Cruz, from Bionatura, said that Mexican herbalism is a paradise, with a fundamental inventory. He argued that there is a mistaken consumption of medicinal plants, so learning about their use should be promoted.

He considered essential the financing of scientific research for the identification and recovery, use, and effects of medicinal plants. “This opens up the possibilities to inform the population about its benefits.”

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