Regulatory Mechanisms for the Conservation of Endangered Plant Species, Chlorophytum tuberosum —Potential Medicinal Plant Species

Andleeb Zehra, Mukesh Meena (), Dhanaji M. Jadhav, Prashant Swapnil and Harish
Additional contact information
Andleeb Zehra: Laboratory of Mycopathology and Microbial Technology, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India
Mukesh Meena: Laboratory of Phytopathology and Microbial Biotechnology, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001, Rajasthan, India
Dhanaji M. Jadhav: Symbiosis Law School, Symbiosis International University, Pune 412115, Maharashtra, India
Prashant Swapnil: Department of Botany, School of Biological Science, Central University of Punjab, Bhatinda 151401, Punjab, India
Harish: Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur 313001, Rajasthan, India

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-19

Abstract: The present review paper is an attempt to examine and provide an overview of the various conservation strategies and regulatory framework to protect endangered plants, including Chlorophytum tuberosum, popularly known as Safed Musli in the local language. C. tuberosum belongs to the family Liliaceae and is being used in the indigenous systems of medicine as a galactagogue, aphrodisiac, antitumor, immunomodulatory, antidiabetic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, anti-ageing, antimicrobial, etc. This plant has great medicinal and commercial value and is part of the Biological Diversity Act, but due to a lack of effective conservation, it is on the verge of extinction because of natural and manmade reasons, such as loss of habitat, climate change, pollution, excessive harvesting, etc. The most valuable medicinal plants have great importance; hence, many conservation techniques are being employed to protect them. In furtherance to the conservation of such plant species, strategic efforts, in the form of laws and policies, are laid; however, existing legislative mechanisms and policy parameters are not sufficient to overcome the challenges of conservation of such plant species, including Safed Musli, hence, this plant has been considered as a critically endangered plant in India. It is pertinent to note that we do not have specific legislation enacted for the protection of plant species; however, efforts are being made to conserve it under various laws, such as the Forest Conservation Act, Biological Diversity Act 2002, and many other allied legislations. This basic legislation of the Biological Diversity Act also lacks focal attention on the conservation of endangered plant species. Moreover, decentralization of power and actual community participation in conservation practices are also missing. A cumulative effect of both scientific measures and legal mechanisms supported by community participation may produce better results in the conservation of plant species, including Safed Musli. The protection of rich sources and biological diversity is not being taken as seriously as it ought to be, hence, it is necessary to improve awareness and public participation in conservation techniques with effective legislation for the conservation of highly endangered plant species.

Keywords: Chlorophytum tuberosum; endangered; conservation; Biological Diversity Act 2002 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6406/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6406/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6406-:d:1119180

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().