Many medicinal plants in the world are in trouble from over harvesting and destruction of habitat. Population growth, urbanization and the unlimited collection from the wild are the causes for the over-exploitation of these natural resources. Therefore, the management of the traditional medicinal plant in Sri Lanka has become a matter of necessity too. The genus Salacia has great importance as it contains a high medicinal value that is mostly used in traditional medicine to cure diabetes. Scientific information and knowledge about them are scant and their current usage is limited relative to their economic potential. It is necessary to examine their morphology and chemical composition as they have received a less attention for conservation and management. In Sri Lanka, the genus Salacia is represented by five species and only Salacia chinensis, Salacia oblonga, and Salacia reticulata were considered in this study. A morphological study using the specimens collected from natural habitats was done. The selected Salacia species could be three different species in the same genus. Anatomical studies were carried out by obtaining stem cross-sections. It also revealed that there are differences in hypodermis of selected Salacia species too. Qualitative phytochemical screening by using the air-dried and powdered stems was carried out to identify the different chemical compounds in water. The study confirmed the presence of tannins, terpenoids, and saponin. TLC profiling of these species was carried out using methanol extracts and it showed different R f values. Further, the generated results could be effectively utilized for the consistency of Salacia species for the improvement of the Sri Lankan pharmacopeia.

Kothala Himbutu has high importance with medicinal value. The goal of this analysis is to get information that wanted to map the value chain, give suggestions, and get associated challenges focused on developing productive and globally competitive industries reliant upon the sustainable management of limited natural resources such as Kothala Himbutu. However, there is a gap in the ethnopharmacological literature in terms of understanding what importance a significant analysis of value chains of the underutilized crop, Kothala Himbutu could have. For this study, a mixed-methods approach focuses on a general review of the literature in a systematic online search with a hand search of bibliographies and discussions with respondents such as Ayurvedic practitioners, medicinal plant cultivators, herbal plant collectors, middlemen, Ayurvedic drug sellers, Ayurvedic drug manufacturers, and herbal raw material suppliers. The overall value chain operates with little vertical integration and almost no horizontal collaboration. Downstream activities depended on market demand while upstream activities were on value addition. Consumer awareness of value-added Kothala Himbutu products was insufficient due to the unavailability in the market. Our paper takes a critical stocktake of Kothala Himbutu value chain in Sri Lanka and focused to identify its role in rural medicine and income security.

The genus Salacia has high importance as it contains a medicinal value. Cultivation of Salacia species has become an attractive, profitable industry over the past few years mainly due to an increase in its demand and market value. Due to overexploitation, the majority of these bears threatened will become extinct in the future. Hence, the conservation plan for Salacia species was presented to conserve Salacia species. Data were collected from relevant respondents from the Ayurvedic Department, Ayurvedic industries, and Department of Agriculture and stakeholders of the value chain using focus group interviews and discussions from May to July in 2019. Five options for recovery of Salacia species in the selected site were decided. Manage Salacia species on forest patches (option 2), protect plants of Salacia species at selected sites to correspond to the full range of remaining genetic diversity (option 3), and maintain Salacia species in cultivation (option 5) were chosen as the best options for the recovery of Salacia species in the selected sites. To manage these species on forest patches, protect plants at sites chosen to correspond to the full range of remaining genetic diversity, and maintain these species in cultivation, plans including their outcomes were decided. These suggestions, if suitably implicated, will go a long way forward conserving this invaluable herbal wealth.

A large population in developing countries depends on herbal drugs for their health care needs. We recognized a central gap in recent ethno-pharmacological research in Salacia species, which impacts factors applicable for a sustainable, equal socio-cultural, and safe supply of herbal medicines. The study was conducted at the lowland wet zone in Sri Lanka to understand the current environmental, economic, and social status of various Salacia species. Data were collected from using a mixed-method approach with a general review of the literature in a systematic online search with a hand search of bibliographies, face to face interviews, and discussions with respondents from March to May 2019. The data were collected from a total of 100 respondents that consisted of cultivators (60), collectors (2), traders (10), processors (5), and consumers (23). The survey results revealed that Salacia species in the wild are illegally harvested by unskilled persons for different purposes and economic benefit through illegal sales. It also revealed various issues such as the lack of knowledge about Salacia species, harvesting time, unavailability of desired Salacia species, and government restrictions or bans on wild collection faced by Salacia species collectors in the region had occurred in this field. This suggests that there is a need to develop practical and economically sound strategies for the efficient utilization of Salacia species to improve the condition of marginalized communities, which is a process that should eventually lead the country towards greater economic stability.