Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

PRESENTED PAPERS 139
Regarding medicinal plant processing, it is known that the world's annual production of
essential oils is at least 45 000 tonnes (Verlet 1993). However, Serbian producers do not
operate on the world market because of variable yields and quality and lack of technical
information to overcome these problems (Menković et al. 1997). The largest quantities of
essential oils are obtained from species both indigenous and cultivated in Serbia, such as
mint, juniper tree, lemon balm, thyme, chamomile, dill, parsley and valerian.
Only recently, mostly in the private sector, more attention has been paid to essential oil
distillation from plants such as Levisticum officinale, Angelica archangelica, Ocimum basilicum
and Echinacea angustifolia (Dajić and Stevanović 2001). Unfortunately, it is very difficult to
estimate the amount of essential oils produced annually in Serbia, but it is believed to range
between a few hundred kg and up to 10 000 kg.
In developed countries, agriculture produces a surplus of traditional crops and this is to
be restricted. Council regulation EEC 1765/92 and its updates established a support system
for producers of certain arable crops. Although cereal areas should be reduced, it is
permitted to use set-aside land for "non-food" crops; medicinal plants and spices belong to
this category, which is not restricted, but supported (Németh 2000).
Current research on MAPs and further prospects and goals
In addition to investigations on MAP biology, diversity and population mapping, significant
research is conducted on breeding, selection and introduction of wild MAPs (Institute for
Medicinal Plant Research, Belgrade; Department for Medicinal Plants, Bački Petrovac;
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade and Novi Sad).
The main achievements in MAP breeding and selection in F.R.Y. are reflected in the
number of domestic cultivars (Table 3).
Table 3. Domestic or improved MAP cultivars in F.R. Yugoslavia (source: Kišgeci et al. 1997;
Adamović 2000)
Species
No. of
cultivars
Species
No. of
cultivars
1 Achillea millefolium L. 1 26 Majorana hortensis Moench. 4
2 Acorus calamus L. 1 27 Malva silvestris L. 3
3 Agrimonia eupatoria L. 1 28 Melissa officinalis L. 3
4 Althaea officinalis L. 1 29 Mentha x piperita L. 5
5 Anethum graveolens L. 2 30 Mentha spicata L. 1
6 Angelica archangelica L. 2 31 Ocimum basilicum L. 4
7 Artemisia absinthium L. 1 32 Oenothera biennis L. 1
8 Artemisia dracunculus L. 2 33 Origanum vulgare L. 1
9 Borago officinalis L. 2 34 Papaver somniferum L. 1
10 Calendula officinalis L. 1 35 Pimpinella anisum L. 1
11 Carum carvi L. 4 36 Ricinus communis L. 1
12 Chamomila recutita (L.) Rausch. 3 37 Ruta graveolens L. 2
13 Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium L. 1 38 Salvia officinalis L. 1
14 Cochlearia armoracia L. 1 39 Salvia sclarea L. 2
15 Coriandrum sativum L. 5 40 Satureja hortensis L. 2
16 Cynara scolimus L. 1 41 Satureja montana L. 1
17 Datura innoxia Mill. 1 42 Sideritis scardica L. 1
18 Digitalis lanata Ehrh. 1 43 Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. 1
19 Foeniculum vulgare Mill. 5 44 Sinapis alba L. 1
20 Glycyrrhiza glabra L. 1 45 Thymus vulgaris L. 4
21 Gypsophila paniculata L. 1 46 Trigonella foenum-graecum L. 1
22 Hyssopus officinalis L. 2 47 Urtica dioica L. 1
23 Lavandula angustifolia Mill. 1 48 Valeriana officinalis L. 3
24 Leonurus cardiaca L. 1 49 Verbascum densiflorum Bert. 1
25 Levisticum officinale Koch. 1
Total no. of cultivars = 89