Iranian Scientists Produce 1st Specific Markers of Indigenous Mountain Celery
Ecophysiological and development of microsatellite markers to study the relationships and genetic structure of populations of exclusive species of mountain celery is the title of a project that has been completed in the form of Fa’ezeh Mahdavikia's PhD thesis with the support of the National Science Foundation of Iran.
“Iran is the origin of many valuable medicinal plant species. Many researches are conducted in the field of identification and evaluation of medicinal plant species using phenotypic and biochemical traits, and these researches have been accelerated in recent years,” said Mahdavikia.
She noted that due to the valuable benefits of molecular techniques, including markers at the DNA level, their use in various researches, including ecology, genetics, and population genetics, has become very popular.
“DNA markers are widely used in the establishment and management of banks and collections, identification of cultivars and populations, correct identification of parents and offspring in crosses, identification and mapping of genes related to important traits, and study of the natural selection process,” Mahdavikia said.
Figures in 2023 showed that Iran had exported more than $660 million worth of herbal medicine in recent years.
As a vast country with different climates, Iran is a suitable place for planting and growing different types of herbs, a report by the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology says, adding that as statistics show currently, about 90% of medicinal herbs are grown inside the country.
Despite the fact that growing herbs can generate a lot of revenues for Iran, the country’s share of exports of these herbal medicines in the global market is not good at all.
Available official reports indicate that the value of exports of medicinal herbs and herbal medicines in 2012 was about $350 million while the figure has reached more than $ 660 million in recent years. The total value of exports excluding saffron is estimated to have reached at $370 million.
According to the report, the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology’s Department for Development of Herbal Medicine and Traditional Medicine has made necessary planning to expand scientific and technological cooperation at the international level and provide more opportunities for exporting more herbal medicines to other countries.
Participating in International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines (IRCH), sending knowledge-based, technological and creative companies to leading countries in the field of herbal medicines and preparing and presenting the capabilities of domestic companies in the field of equipment, processing and concentrated herbs (herbal beverages) and their introduction to foreign markets are some of the measures and planning made by the department.
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