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ORGANIC FARMING: MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS

Conference Paper · April 2005

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 National Seminar on Organic Farming
Current Scenario and Future Thrust

April 27 -28,2005

Invited Pupers und Extended Summuries

Sponsored by

Ministry of Agriculture
(Department of Agriculture and Gooperation)
Government of lndia

lndian Gouncil of Agricultural Research, New Delhi

and

A.N.G. R. Agricultural University, R'Nagar, Hyderabad

 ORGANIC FARMING: MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS
B.R. Rajeswara Rao and D.K. Rajput
Central tnstitute of Medicinat and Aromatic Ptantsi, Resource Centre
Boduppal, Uppal (PO), Hyderabad-Sal 89

1. lntroduction
Natural products such as crude drugs, biomolecules of pharmaceutical importance,
herbal teas etc. from medicinal plants; essential oils, concentrates and absolutes, aroma
chemicals, cosmeceuticals, nutraceuticals etc. from aromatic crops have gained global
significance and are sought after by pharmaceutical companies and flavour and fragrance
industries world over. The international allopathic drug turn over has crossed the US$ 500
billion mark. lt is estimated that the plant based drug industry is worth US$ 100 billion,
which is expected to grow to US$ 200 billion by the year 2008 and US$ 5 trillion by 2050.
China, USA and UK account for >99% of this market, while India which is one of the 12-
mega biodiversity centres in the world with nearly 8000 medicinal plants (the World Health
Organization identified >21000 medicinal plants) garners <1o/o of this market. The annual
lndian turnover of traditional drugs of Rs. 4000 crores is much less than the potential of
Rs.20,000 crores. Similarly, the global flavour and fragrance industry is worth US$ 20 billion
per year. Out of this, the essential oils market is worth US$ 1.2 billion. India occupies first
position both in volume of production (>16000 - 17000 t of essential oils per year) and
value of essential oils (>250 million). lndia has a wealth of 2500 aromatic plants out of the
20,000 species occurring in the world. lndia is a global leader in essential oil steam distilled
from aromatic crops.
Organically grown medicinal and aromatic crop products are not only readily accepted in
the global markets, but also command higher prices than those cultivated using chemical
inputs. Globalizatron increased the demand for lndian medicinal and aromatrc plants. lndia
is currently exporting Rs.1256 crores of crude drugs from medicinal plants and Rs.260
crores worth of essential oils annually to a number of countries including USA, Europe and
Japan. lndia has an excellent potential to emerge as a global leader both in medicinaf and
aromatic plants sector.
This paper reviews the work done on various aspects of organic farming in medicinal and
aromatic crops.

2, Medicinal and aromatic plants and their uses

ln the lndian context, medicinal plants can be broadly defined as "plants whose products
such as roots, stem, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds either individually or collectively
or chemical substances derived from these parts are used in different systems of medicine
like Allopathy, Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy, Herbo-mineral, Folklore etc.
specially for their curative properties". However, in the context of globalization, medicinal
plants are defined as "all higher plants that have been alleged to have medicinal properties
i.e. effects that relate to health or which have been proven to be useful as drugs by western
standards or which contain constituents that are used in drugs" or as "those that are
commonly used in treating and preventing specific ailments and diseases, and that are
generally considered to play a beneficial role in health care".
Aromatic plants are defined as "plants possessing odoriferous and steam volatile
substances occurring as essential oils, gum exudates, balsam and oleoresin in one or more
parts such as roots, bark, heartwood, foliage, flowers, fruits, seeds etc."
Table 1 lists important medicinal plants and their uses. Table 2 presents the list of aromatic
crops whose essential oils (steam volatile oils with essence or odour) are widely used in
flavour and fragrance industries and in aromatherapy.

3. Response to mineral fertilizers

A large body of data exists on the response of important medicinal and aromatic crops to
mineral fertilizers. Almost all the crops responded to N fertilizer application, whereas some
crops responded to P and K additions also (Prakasa Rao, 1992). These crops remove
substantial amounts of nutrients from the soil therefore, the soil needs to be replenished to
sustain high levels of productivity.

4l
4. Response to organic manures

The research work done on some of the crops is summarized in Table 3. Most of the
experiments conducted compared application of FYM / vermicompost (VC) with fertilizer N
or were part of integrated nutrient management experiments. Very few experiments were
conducted with different levels of FYM/ VC only. ln most of the experiments the test crops
responded to application of organic manures, but the level of response was much higher
with fertilizer N. The integrated nutrient management experiments have shown that either
full doses of chemical and manurial applications produced best results or that part of the
fertilizer N can be replaced by FYM without loss of yield.

ln medicinal plants velvet bean, lndian ginseng and ambrette, application of FYM/ VC
significantly increased the seed yields of ambrette and velvet bean and root yield of lndian
ginseng (Rajeswara Rao, unpublished data). ln king of bitters, though application of 10 t
FYM increased the shoot yield of the crop, the highest yield was observed in the treatment
NPK + 20 t FYM (Rajeswara Rao ef a|.,2004). ln Bacopa, FYM application increased the
yield in the first crop and the maximum total herb yield was given by a combination of FYM
and NPK (Prakasa Rao ef a/., 2003). Periwinkle did not respond to FYM addition (Prakasa
Rao ef a/., 1988).
Among aromatic plants, palmarosa (Rajeswara Rao, 2001), jamrosa (Chand et a/., 1996),
davana (Prakasa Rao ef al., 1997) and menthol mint (Ram and Kumar, 1997; Patra et al.,
2000) responded to application of FYM without affecting the quality of these oils. However,
the yield increases were more with mineral fertilizers or with combination of organic and
inorganic sources as in medicinal plants.

5. Response to biofertilizers

Out of 20 aromatic and 25 medicinal plants investigated, the rhizosphere sorls of palmarosa
had the highest Azotobacter populations, while those of Rauvolfia tetraphylla and Plantago
ovafa showed the lowest populations (Rao ef al., 1987). Azotobacter application with or
without mineral fertilizers significantly increased the yields without altering the quality of oil
of rainfed palmarosa (Maheshwari et al., 1998) and vetiver (Sinkanagam et al., 1999). Dual
inoculation of Glomus aggregatum and Azospirillum brasilense increased the growth, yield
and oil content in palmarosa compared to uninoculated or inoculated with VAM or
Azospirillum alone (Neelima and Janardhanan, 1996). Azotobacter application alone was
equivalent to application of recommended doses of NPK for plant height, oil content and oil
yield in bergamot mint (Mentha citrata) but was inferior to the latter for herb yield, N and K
uptake. The highest values for all the parameters were recorded by 75% recommended
NPK + castor cake + Azotobacter (Venu Madhv, 2004).lnoculating Datura stramoniumwith
Azotobacter + Azospirillum + VAM fungi significantly increased the dry matter and alkaloid
concentration in the plants (Saleh et a|.,1998). More studies are needed on the response of
medicinal and aromatic crops to application of biofertilizers.

6. Response to AM fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form obligate symbiotic association with the roots and
other underground parts of most of the angiospermic plants. They have gained
considerable importance in recent years owing to their beneficial response in improving
crop productivity and disease resistance. All the medicinal and aromatic plants examined
harboured AM fungi (Barthakur and Bordoloi, 1990; Rao ef al., 1987; Rao ef a/., 2000;
Sharma and Roy, 1991; Venkateswara Rao ef a/., 2000). lnoculation of aromatic plants
citronella with Glomus intraradices (Kothari and Singh, 1996), palmarosa with G/omus
aggregatum (Gupta and Janardhanan, 1991), six mint species wilh Glomus aggregatum,
Glomus fasciculatum and G/omus /??osseae (Khaliq and Janardhanan, 1997), rose-scented
geranium with mixed inoculum consisting Acaulospora laevis, Gigaspora margarita, Glomus
fasciculatum and Glomus /7?osseae (Venkateshwar Rao et al., 2002) and medicinal plants
Datura stramonium (Saleh ef a/., 1998), onion (Gurubatham et a|.,1989) and four medicinal
plant species with Glomus mosseae (Camprubi et al., 1990) increased growth, yield and
nutrient uptake of these crops. Most of these were pot culture studies and there is a need to

42
devise experimental protocols to investigate the positive influence of AM fungi on medicinal
and aromatic crops under field conditions.

7. Recycling of Bye-products/ bio-wastes of medicinal and aromatic crops

ln aromatic crops, a large amount of distilled biomass is obtained that can be economically
used for many purposes particularly for reducing cost of cultivation through organic farming
methods. The nitrification inhibitory properties of neem cake (Prasad ef al., 1971) and
pongamia cake (Sahrawat, 1981) are well known. Menthol mint distilled waste and
pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) flowers also showed significant nitrification
inhibitory property that is better than neem cake (Ram ef a/., 1993). These materials can be
used in integrated nutrient management system along with N fertilizer for improving N use
efficiency. lncorporation of palmarosa distilled grass at 5 Uha along with N decreased weed
biomass, conserved soil moisture and increased biomass and essential oil yields of rainfed
palmarosa (Prakasa Rao ef al., 2OO1). Similarly incorporatton of citronella spent grass (6
Uha along with N) reduced N losses, saved 150 kg N/ha and gave yields equivalent to 450
kg N/ha without affecting the quality of the oil of citronella (Puttanna and Prakasa Rao,
1997). Mulching menthol mint with citronella spent'grass (7 Uha) along with'180 kg N after
the sprouting of the rhizomes increased yields of main and ratoon crops of menthol mint
(Ram and Kumar, 1997). Leaf mulch of Pongamia glabra (20 Uha) reduced weed biomass
(72%), conserved soil moisture (45%) and increased herb and oil yields of citronella that
was comparable to that of 200 kg N application (Prakasa Rao and Puttanna, 2000).
lnvestigations on the bio-wastes of other medicinal and aromatic crops may yield useful
information that can be commerciahzed in future.

8. Weed management in medicinal and aromatic crops through organic

farming methods

Weeds compete with crop plants for water, nutrients, space and reduce crop yields.
Manual weeding, weeding through cultural methods like hoeing, mulching are widely
practiced. Intercropping has been successfully used to manage weed population and
increase crop yields. Organic mulch (menthol mint distillation waste with 20o/o moisture),
intercropping with cowpea and black gram were superior to control and herbicides in
controlling weeds in medicinal yam (Dioscorea floribunda). Medicinal yam + black gram
combination was mosteconomical (Singh etal., 1986). Hand weeding, mulching with spent
grass, close spacing produced significantly higher biomass and essential oil yields of
citronella in comparison to control. lntercropping with green gram increased essential oil
content. None of the quality parameters were affected by the treatments (Rajeswara Rao ef
a/., 1993). Organic mulch with citronella spent grass effectively controlled weeds and
increased biomass and oil yields of aromatic grasses citronella, palmarosa and lemongrass
(Singh et al., 1991) and succeeding menthol mint crop (Singh et al., 1997). lntercropping
with menthol mint reduced weed growth by 40 % and did not reduce the yields of rose-
scented geranium (Rajeswara Rao, 2002). Withania somnifera along with other agricultural
crops as trap crops controlled broomrape parasite of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)
by inducing germination of the parasite through allelochemicals and subsequently killing it
as none of the trap crops were hosts for the parasite (Ramanathan, 1985). Mucuna pruriens
was used a cover crop for weed control and as living mulch in fruit crops reducing use of
herbicides and synthetic chemicals. The weeds were controlled through allelochemicals
released by the crop (Fujii ef a/., 2000).

9. Medicinaland aromatic plants as biopesticides and organic pest

management

Pyrethrum is a known pesticidal plant (Head, 1967) whose flowers contain pyrethrins, the
natural insecticidal chemicals. The flowers are widely used in mosquito repellant products
and household pesticides. Neem (Azadirachta indica) cake and neem oil are known
biopesticides. Almost all the essential oils and plant extracts of many medicinal plants have
exhibited pesticidal and antimicrobial properties. Some of the essential oils eg. citronella,
lemon-scented gum etc. have mosquito repellant properties (Table 6). Farmers are using
the following herbal formulations for repelling/ controlling pests of these crops.

43
a. Custard apple seed and leaf extracts or decoctions
b. Vitex negundo leaf extract
c. Garlic + chillies extract
d. Distillation waters of aromatic crops
These need to be scientifically validated.
Nematode control was accomplished in agricultural crops through herbal plants. White and
pink periwinkle as trap crops controlled root-knot nematode population (Meloidogyne
incognita, M. iavanica) and reduced infection in okra (Patel et al., 1991). Amending the soil
with Calotropis procera leaf and AM fungi significantly reduced Meloidogyne incognita
infection and improved the growth of tomato seedlings (Rao ef a/., 1996). Shoot and root
extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides, Solanum hispidum, Melia azadirachta and
Cannabis sativa showed killing action on nematodes Hoplolaimus rndrcus and
Rotylenchulus reniformls (Haseeb et al., 1978). Herbal extracts possessed insecticidal,
fungicidal and anti-viral properties. Acetone extract of Glycosmis pentaphyllum + C. roseus
+ Salvodora oleododes + Breneya species exhibited ovipositional deterrence activity
against Phthorimaea opeculella (Deshpande et al., 1990). Andrographis paniculafa crude
extract and andrographolide exhibited antifeedant activity against rice pest Nephotettix
cincticeps (Widiarta et al., 1997). Aqueous extract ol Andrographis panicula/a inhibited
aflotoxin production (78.6%) by Aspergillus flavus (Kumar and Prasad, 1992). Leaf extracts
of periwinkle, Tribulus terrestris, Vitex negundo var. purpurascens and Aloe vera sho0ed
antiviraleffect against rice tungro virus (Selvaraj and Narayana Swamy, 1991). Future holds
promise for botanical/ herbal pesticides. A number of studies pointed to the usefulness of
herbal extracts for pesticidal properties, but they are yet to be commercialized through
development of viable technology. There is a need to critically examine the shelf life of
these herbal extracts.

10. Conclusions

The review of literature has clearly revealed that medicinal and aromatic crops respond
positively to organic cultivation practices. lt is possible to move in the direction of integrated
nutrient and pest management practices from the current chemical cultivation techniques
and then shift totally to organic farming in a phased manner. However, lot of research work
needs to be carried out for this transformation to take place and to scientifically validate
some of the current practices.

Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Director, CIMAP, Lucknow for facilities and encouragement.

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Table l.lmportant medicinal plants and their uses
Cornmon Scientific name Useful Constituent Use
name part
Psvllium Plantaoo osvllium Seed husk Laxative
lndian Withania somnifera Roots Withanolides Adaptogenic,
oinsenq Aohrodisiac
Senna Cassla senna Leaves, Sennosides Laxative
oods
Periwinkle Catharanthus roseus Leaves, Vincristine, Anti-cancer
Vinblastine,
Roots Aimalcine Hvootensive
Aloe Aloe vera Leaves Aloin, Purgative
Polysaccharides Cosmeceuticals,
nutraceuticals
Rauvolfia Rauvolfia serpentina Roots Reserpine, Hypotensive,
Seroentine sedative
Velvet bean Mucuna pruriens/ Seeds L-dopa Parkinsonism
M. cochinchrnensls
Long Piper longum Seeds, Piperine Digestive, blood
oeDDer roots purifier
Glory lily Gloriosa superba Seeds, Colchicine Gout, mutation
tubers breedinq
Gvmnema Gvmnema sv/vesfre Leaves Gvmnimic acid Hvpoqlycemic
King of Androgrphis Herb Andrographolide Hepatoprotective
bitters paniculata
Phvllanthus Phvllanthus amarus Herb Phvllanthin Heoatoorotective
Coleus Coleus forskohlii Tubers Forskolin Hvootensive
Tinospora Tinosoora cordifolia Stem Bitters Antipvretic
Safed musli Chlorophytum Tubers Saponins Aphrodisiac,
borivilianum nervine tonic
Stevia Sfevia rebaudiana Leaves Stevioside, Sweetener
rebaudioside
Brahmi Bacopa monnieri Herb Baccopasides Memory
enhancer
Goticola Centella asiatica Herb Asiaticosides Memory
enhancer
Sarsaoarilla Hemidesmus rndlcus Roots Health drink
Decaleois Decalepis hamiltonii Tubers Health drink
Satavari Asparagus Tubers Saponins Adaptogenic
racemosus

48
 Common Seientific name Useful Constituent Use
name part
lndian Emblica officinalis Fruits Ascorbic acid General health
ooose berrv tonic
Milk thistle Seeds Sylimarin Hepatoprotective
Sylibum marianum
Evning Oenothera biennis Seeds Linoleic acid, Atopic eczema
primrose Gamma
linolenic acid

Table 2. lmportant aromatic plants and their major chemical compounds

Crop Scientific name Useful part Maior compounds
Patchouli Poqostemon patchouli Leaves Patchoulol
Citronella Cymbopogon Leaves Citronellal, citronellol,
winterianus qeraniol
Lemongrass Cymbopogon Leaves Citral a, citral b
flexuosus
Davana Artemisia oallens Herb Davanone
Palmarosa Cymbopogon Herb Geraniol, geranyl acetate
Martiniivar. motia
Vetiver Vetiveria zizanioides Roots Vetiveroi
Lemon-scented Eucalyptus citriodora Leaves Citronellal, isopulegol
oum
Rose-scented Pelargonium species Herb Geraniol, citronellol
qeranium
Rosemary Rosemarinus Herb 1,8- Cineole
officinalis
Menthol mint Mentha arvensls Herb Menthoi
Sweet basil Ocimum basilicum Herb Linalool
Sacred basil Ocimum sanctum Herb Euqenol/ methvl euqenol
North lndran Ocimum basilicum Herb Methyl chavicol
basil

Table 3. Response of medicinal and aromatic plants to farmyard manure (FYM) or

vermicom
S. No Crop Rate of lncrease in Reference
application yield (%)
(Uha)
1 Ambrette 20 FYM 308.7 Rajeswara Rao ef a/., UP
(Abelmoschus
moschatus\
2
Bacopa 20 FYM 33.8 Prakasa Rao ef a|.,2003

3 Periwinkle 15 FYM NS Prakasa Rao ef al., 1988

4 lOFYM 150.0 Rajeswara Rao ef a/.,
King of bitters
2004
5 lndian ginseng 7.5 FYM 53.8 Rajeswara Rao, UP
a Velvet bean 5VC 30.4 Rajeswara Rao, UP
7 Davana 30 FYM 36.7 Prakasa Rao ef al.,1997
B Jamrosa 24 FYM 22.8 Chand et a/., 1996
(Cvmbooooon so.)

49
 S. No Crop Rate of lncrease in Reference
application yield (%)
(Uhal
o Menthol mint 20 FYM 22.1 - 37.7 Ram and Kumar, 1997
Patra ef a|.,2000
10 Palmarosa 15 FYM 10.3 Rajeswara Rao, 2001
11 South American 10 FYM NS Prakasa Rao ef a\.,2001
marioold
1-6 = Medicinal crops; 7-11 = Aromatic crops; NS = Not significant,
UP = Unpublished

Table 4. Percent colonization of AM fungi in different medicinal plants

Crop % Colonization
Alpinia qalanaa 100
Glvcvrrhiza qlabra 3B
Allium ceoa 38-42
Fenuqreek 92
Coriander 32
Diqitalis 60
Catharanthus roseus 65
Clocimum 92
Curcuma amada 92
Ambrette 83
Sacred basil 77
Basil 63
Source: Rao ef a\.,1987', Rao ef a\.,2000; Sharma and Roy, 1991

Table 5. Percent colonization of AM fungi in different aromatic plants

Crop % Colonization
Mentha aryensis 46
Mentha oioerita 100
Mentha spicata '100
Mentha citrata 40
Palmarosa 41-98
Celarv 92
Citronella 75-91
Davana 86
Lavender 80
Lemon-scented qum 3B-71
Vanilla 57
Patchouli 43
Groo % Colonization
Vetiver 42
Lemonorass 21-75
Rose-scented qeranium 22-59
Currv leaf 36
Cvmbopooon citratus 80
Cymbopogon tlexuosus var. 72
Sikimensls
Cvmbonooon khasianus 76
Cvmbopoqon Jwarancusa 50
Source : Barthakur and Bordoloi, 1990; Rao ef al., 1987', Rao ef a|.,2000

50
 Table 6. Pesticidal properties of medicinal and aromatic crops

Medicinal plants Aromatic plants

1. Anti-viral 1. Antimicrobial
Catharanthus roseus All essential oils and aroma
Tribulus feresfris chemicals isolated from essential oils
Aloe vera
Vitex negundo var. Purpurascens
2. Nematicidal 2. Nematicidal
Catharanthus roseus and its parts Tagetes species
Calotropis procera + AM fungi
Me li a azad i rachta, C an n abis safiva
Mucuna soeices
3. Insecticidal 3. Mosquito repellant
Androg raph is pan iculata / andrographolide Citronella
Catharanthus roseus + other extracts Lemon-scented gum
Neem extract
Pyrethrum flower extract 4. lnsect repellant
Garlic + chillies extract Distillation waters of aromatic crops
Vitex negundo
Withania somnifera / withanolides

5l

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