Market Scenario of Medicinal Plants: Understanding the Condition during COVID-19

Introduction: A major share of medicinal plants in India is collected from tropical forests. These plants are widely used to treat various infectious diseases, particularly during the recent pandemic. Governments have recommended different medicinal plants for treating the symptoms and management of COVID-19 in the country, where these plants have been used to treat different ailments for centuries. The recent pandemic has led to increased dependency on Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine, especially for post-care treatment and symptom management, which has led to an increase in demand for these plants, but there is a limited understanding of the availability of these plants, especially those which are used for treatment. Hence, this study aimed to analyze the market scenario of medicinal plants. Methods: This research was conducted through secondary data analysis, using data collected from government reports and the collected data was analysed using percentage analysis. Results: his study found there is a low and steady increase in the export of medicinal plants and a demand of 511510 MT of produce, among which Amla, Aswaghanga, Kalmegh and Mulethi have higher demand among the medicinal plants used for COVID-19. There is a significant 25.52 percent decline in cultivation. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the need for constant production of these plants as well as a regular outlook on the market scenario to help policymakers in the robust use of these medicinal plants and to plan for future unforeseen disease outbreaks.