ECDC medicinal and aromatic plants sector manager says opportunities abound as users move to healthy alternatives now valued at R270 million.

Home to several plant kingdoms in the world and almost 10 per cent of all known plants in the world, the Eastern Cape province provides an important investment opportunity as users move to alternative and natural health remedies.

Recent statistics put the global use of natural products and their derivatives in clinical drugs at a staggering 50 per cent.

A significant portion of daily medicine emanates from the 30,000 medicinal plants found in this region.  Latest estimates put the harvest of the 1,000 plants at 20,000 tons every year. The value of this harvest is R270 million.

Leading the charge are indigenous plants such as pelargonium, aloe ferox, honeybush and bulbine natalensis whose traditional treatment for a range of ailments are now being taken on more widely.

Pelargonium luridum or as it is known locally, ishaqa, is harvested from the wild with commercial cultivation of the plant limited. Traditionally the plant is used for treating diarrhea, dysentery and bronchitis. The plant is currently exported to Europe.

ECDC is equally optimistic about the prospects of the honeybush tea or cyclopia intermedia. Indigenous to the southern Cape in the Joubertina area, the plant is much like its more widely known counterpart, the rooibos tea which is a herbal drink. It contains no caffeine, and is known for its positive effects on the urinary system as well as being an anti-oxidant. It also helps relieve stress.

Two notable differences from the rooibos tea is that honeybush grows quickly and that almost all of the bush (leaves, stems and flowers) is used during harvesting.  Advanced technology is in the process of being developed to extract its medicinal qualities from the dust which is given off during processing. 

While moves are advanced to look at how honeybush tea can leverage off the significant marketing profile of rooibos tea, other developments for the two plants include blending rooibos and honeybush into a health tea.

The Eastern Cape is home to over 80 per cent of the country's resources. Aloe ferox, counterpart of aloe vera, is now widely used in cosmeceuticals with several manufacturing plants now located in the southern Cape area of the country. .It remains a plant that is harvested in the wild with limited cultivation.  Its uses in cosmeceuticals range from skin care products to hair shampoo. It is also used in functional foods such as health drinks.

Bulbine natalensis, ibhucu or rooiwortel is used for treating wounds, burns, rashes, itches, ringworms, cracked lips and herpes. Other uses include the treatment of vomiting, venereal diseases, diabetes, rheumatism, blood disorders and urinary complaints.

There is also an increasing focus on the cultivation of high-value essential oils such as rose geranium, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm and lemon.  It also intends to expand these operations to include more products as well as tourism opportunities.

While there is significant opportunity to warrant further investigation and investment, investors should be cognisant that these plants can no longer be commercially cultivated or traded without a permit under the national environmental management act, recently promulgated. 

The act aims to address, amongst others, the abuse of indigenous plant biodiversity and the traditional plant knowledge by national and global companies of traditional or indigenous plant knowledge.  Hence one of the criteria which has to be met before a permit is issued is the presence of a benefit-sharing agreement with local communities.