Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran

Medicinal plants are one of the most important sources of chemical molecules needed by humans. Despite the progress in the synthesis of chemical molecules, medicinal plants are still used in about 25% of drugs. With the emergence of modern diseases and antibiotic resistance, plants are still considered a huge source of chemical molecules. Unfortunately, indiscriminate harvesting and climate change have put these plants at risk of destruction. More than 90% of medicinal plants are harvested from their natural habitats. Iran is one of the most important distribution areas of medicinal plants with more than 2 thousand species. This number of medicinal plants is important in terms of health security and income from the sale of related products. Iran's medicinal plants are mainly exported in the form of raw sales, and a lot of income from added value has been neglected. Due to the many risks and problems caused by the harvesting and storage of medicinal plants, as well as the losses caused by raw sales, the mega-project of production engineering and refinery of medicinal plants aims to help sustainable cultivation and production and to deal with research related to the completion of the chain the added value of important medicinal plants in the country.