The importance of medicinal (aromatic) plants (MAP's) for science, studies and human health

Abstract

Medicinal (aromatic) plants are playing an important role for the solution of WHO problem Health for everyone in 21st Century. In 184 countries there are 1846 botanical gardens. The collections of medicinal plants are created in 480 botanical gardens. In Lithuania, since 1924 until now, the collections of medicinal plants are being developed in the Sector of Medicinal and Herbaceous Plants in Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University. These collections are unique in Europe as a research center for the introduction of medicinal herbs, spices (aromatic plants), as the object of project - based activities and of the national and international studies and as the object of public education [2]. From 1999 till present (research supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ona Ragažinskienė) the chemical properties of medicinal (aromatic) plants are investigated in cooperation with the scientists of Development of Instrumental Analysis Methods and their Application to Molecular Analysis of Biological Objects, Synthetic Products and the Environment cluster from Vytautas Magnus University of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the Open Access Center of Instrumental Analysis (Head Prof. Dr. Habil. Audrius Maruška)