Studying medicinal plants

There is a need for countries, endowed with rich biological diversity and steeped in a traditional healing culture, to develop the economic potential of their medicinally useful plants. Nearly one quarter of medicine prescribed in the United States of America are of plant origin, with the market for plant-derived pharmaceuticals estimated at US$9 billion per year in the United States alone.

In Malaysia the roots of tongkat ali (Eurycoma longifolia) contain biologically active compounds which have the potential to be developed as antimalarial drug. The crude extract of the bark of bintangor (Calophyllum lanigerum) contains the active component against the HIV virus.