TEHRAN -- The vice president for science and technology, Sourena Sattari, has said activities of herbal processing industries are supported, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

“We support every technology which boosts herbal medicine ecosystem and manufactures biotechnological products,” he said.

He said that the main problem related to herbal medicine is the processing industry not harvesting of medicinal plants.

A good ecosystem is the solution in which startups are formed, the money cannot solve the problem by itself, he explained.

The government is responsible for infrastructures and support the activities in the field of herbal medicine, he said.

The establishment of knowledge-based companies and science and technology parks at the universities changed them to centers for job and wealth creation, he said.

According to the World Health Organization, traditional herbal medicines are naturally occurring, plant-derived substances with minimal or no industrial processing that have been used to treat illness within local or regional healing practices. Traditional herbal medicines are getting significant attention in global health debates.

Global herbal market size is estimated approximately $72 billion which is predicted to reach $7 trillion by 2050. Medicinal plants are used in various industries which are worth around $80 billion.

SB/MG