Status of medicinal and aromatic plants in - Inia

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WORKING GROUP ON MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS: FIRST MEETING
Medicinal and aromatic plants in the Nordic Countries
Katarina Wedelsbäck Bladh
Nordic Gene Bank (NGB), Alnarp, Sweden
MAPs at the Nordic Gene Bank
Within the Nordic countries the production and the collection of herbs and medicinal plants
is quite low. During recent years the interest has increased.
In 1985, a working group for spices and medicinal plants was established at the Nordic
Gene Bank. Among other working group activities, the group collected information in the
area of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). Only a few accessions of material where
collected and conserved at the Nordic Gene Bank. Unfortunately, the group was closed
down in 1993 due to lack of resources. Before it was closed down, the working group
produced a study on Nordic medicinal plants, covering information such as content of
chemical substances in the plants, distribution, uses and recommendations for conservation.
When the working group was closed down the material and the responsibility were carried
over to the working group for vegetables. Table 1 lists the MAP species conserved at the
Nordic Gene Bank.
Table 1. MAP material stored at the Nordic Gene Bank (ACC = accepted; TEM = temporary)
Species Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden
ACC TEM ACC TEM ACC TEM ACC TEM ACC TEM
Anthriscus cereifolium Chervil 2 1
Carum carvi Caraway 1 3+3
Angelica archangelica
subsp. archangelica
Angelica 1 1
Levisticum officinale Garden lovage 1
Solanum nigrum
Garden
nightshade
1
Petroselinum crispum
var. crispum
Parsley 11 7 2
Anethum graveolens Dill 4 3 5
Humulus lupulus Hops 19 10 31 32
The SPIMED project
However, during the late 1990s interest in this material increased and in 2000 the working
group for vegetables initiated a project called SPIMED (SPIce and MEDicinal plants). It will
run for five years (2001-2005) and is supported by the Nordic Gene Bank. The full title of the
project is "Spice and medicinal plants in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Strategies for conservation
of genetic resources in minor crops". Its aim is to develop strategies for conserving cultivated
spice and medicinal plants in situ or ex situ in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The three
Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are participating in the project as well as
Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden; in 2003, the project will expand to include Iceland.
Planned activities in the project are:
1. To establish a priority list of species to be included in the project; list existing in situ
populations of these species;
2. Consider if these populations are safe in terms of plant genetic resources conservation;
3. Collect threatened species/populations for ex situ conservation;
4. Develop descriptors for characterization of the species on the priority list;
5. Characterize the collected material according to these descriptors;
6. Develop systems for documentation of in situ conservation;
7. Map genetic variation in the species;
8. Develop strategies for conservation, in situ or ex situ.