Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies
Climate change and human activities severely impact the viability of plants and ecosystems, threatening the environment, biodiversity, and the sustainable development of plant-based products. Biotic and abiotic (ecosystem) determinants affect species distribution and long-term survival, which in tur...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1496792/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832548293295472640 |
|---|---|
| author | Olha Mykhailenko Olha Mykhailenko Banaz Jalil Lyndy J. McGaw Javier Echeverría Marce Takubessi Marce Takubessi Michael Heinrich Michael Heinrich |
| author_facet | Olha Mykhailenko Olha Mykhailenko Banaz Jalil Lyndy J. McGaw Javier Echeverría Marce Takubessi Marce Takubessi Michael Heinrich Michael Heinrich |
| author_sort | Olha Mykhailenko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change and human activities severely impact the viability of plants and ecosystems, threatening the environment, biodiversity, and the sustainable development of plant-based products. Biotic and abiotic (ecosystem) determinants affect species distribution and long-term survival, which in turn influence the quality of plants used as herbal medicines and other high-value products. In recent decades, diverse anthropogenic impacts have significantly affected these quality aspects. Climate change, excessive plant exploitation, habitat loss, species vulnerability, and other factors have adversely affected the growth, reproduction, and adaptation of species populations, as well as the quality and volume of primary plant materials supplied to pharmaceutical markets. Despite these growing challenges, there is limited knowledge of potential strategies to prevent or mitigate these impacts, particularly for vulnerable species collected from the wild or harvested from traditional production systems. Hence, effective strategies for preserving and increasing plant populations are urgently needed. In this study, we propose a new framework including the main sustainability factors to better understand and address the vulnerability of a species, hence mitigate the impact of climate change. We assess the applicability of our proposed framework via seven case studies of vulnerable species (i.e., Aquilaria malaccensis Lam., Boswellia sacra Flück., Crocus sativus L., Panax quinquefolius L., Pilocarpus microphyllus Stapf ex Wardlew., Rhodiola rosea L., and Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov.) from main biogeographic realms, all widely used as medicinal plants. These species present various challenges related to the sustainability of their use, impacting their current and future status locally and globally. Their economic importance, combined with rising demands and specific risks of overexploitation, are also key factors considered here. The suggested framework for the sustainability of medicinal and other high-value plant-based products in the phytopharmaceutical industry emphasises strategies that promote conservation and sustainable resource use. It can also be adapted for other vulnerable species requiring urgent attention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c66d38cd10e644029a73283c3d8cf564 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1663-9812 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Pharmacology |
| spelling | doaj-art-c66d38cd10e644029a73283c3d8cf5642025-02-03T06:33:40ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pharmacology1663-98122025-02-011510.3389/fphar.2024.14967921496792Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategiesOlha Mykhailenko0Olha Mykhailenko1Banaz Jalil2Lyndy J. McGaw3Javier Echeverría4Marce Takubessi5Marce Takubessi6Michael Heinrich7Michael Heinrich8Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, UCL School of Pharmacy, London, United KingdomPharmaceutical Chemistry Department, National University of Pharmacy, Kharkiv, UkrainePharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, UCL School of Pharmacy, London, United KingdomPhytomedicine Programme, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South AfricaDepartamento de Ciencias del Ambiente, Facultad de Química y Biología, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, ChilePharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, UCL School of Pharmacy, London, United KingdomPharmacy Department, Health Polytechnic of the Ministry of Health Kupang, Kupang, IndonesiaPharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, UCL School of Pharmacy, London, United KingdomDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chinese Medicine Resources, Chinese Medicine Research Center, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, TaiwanClimate change and human activities severely impact the viability of plants and ecosystems, threatening the environment, biodiversity, and the sustainable development of plant-based products. Biotic and abiotic (ecosystem) determinants affect species distribution and long-term survival, which in turn influence the quality of plants used as herbal medicines and other high-value products. In recent decades, diverse anthropogenic impacts have significantly affected these quality aspects. Climate change, excessive plant exploitation, habitat loss, species vulnerability, and other factors have adversely affected the growth, reproduction, and adaptation of species populations, as well as the quality and volume of primary plant materials supplied to pharmaceutical markets. Despite these growing challenges, there is limited knowledge of potential strategies to prevent or mitigate these impacts, particularly for vulnerable species collected from the wild or harvested from traditional production systems. Hence, effective strategies for preserving and increasing plant populations are urgently needed. In this study, we propose a new framework including the main sustainability factors to better understand and address the vulnerability of a species, hence mitigate the impact of climate change. We assess the applicability of our proposed framework via seven case studies of vulnerable species (i.e., Aquilaria malaccensis Lam., Boswellia sacra Flück., Crocus sativus L., Panax quinquefolius L., Pilocarpus microphyllus Stapf ex Wardlew., Rhodiola rosea L., and Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov.) from main biogeographic realms, all widely used as medicinal plants. These species present various challenges related to the sustainability of their use, impacting their current and future status locally and globally. Their economic importance, combined with rising demands and specific risks of overexploitation, are also key factors considered here. The suggested framework for the sustainability of medicinal and other high-value plant-based products in the phytopharmaceutical industry emphasises strategies that promote conservation and sustainable resource use. It can also be adapted for other vulnerable species requiring urgent attention.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1496792/fullendangered medicinal plantsecosystem factorsclimate changesustainable practicesconservation strategiestraditional medicine |
| spellingShingle | Olha Mykhailenko Olha Mykhailenko Banaz Jalil Lyndy J. McGaw Javier Echeverría Marce Takubessi Marce Takubessi Michael Heinrich Michael Heinrich Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies Frontiers in Pharmacology endangered medicinal plants ecosystem factors climate change sustainable practices conservation strategies traditional medicine |
| title | Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies |
| title_full | Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies |
| title_fullStr | Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies |
| title_short | Climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants: a call for “new” research strategies |
| title_sort | climate change and the sustainable use of medicinal plants a call for new research strategies |
| topic | endangered medicinal plants ecosystem factors climate change sustainable practices conservation strategies traditional medicine |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2024.1496792/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT olhamykhailenko climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT olhamykhailenko climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT banazjalil climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT lyndyjmcgaw climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT javierecheverria climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT marcetakubessi climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT marcetakubessi climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT michaelheinrich climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies AT michaelheinrich climatechangeandthesustainableuseofmedicinalplantsacallfornewresearchstrategies |