The geographical situation, a diverse relief and various pedoclimatic conditions in Bulgaria as a part of the Balkan Peninsula determine the considerable floristic richness in the country. The ornamental, aromatic and melliferous properties, and especially the healing power of herbs, were held in respect by the ancient Bulgarians who made of these plants gardening favorites. Many plants like Geranium macrorrhizum, Primula veris, Valeriana officinalis, Atropa belladonna, Juniperus sabina, Salix, Thymus, Origanum, Mentha, Melissa, etc. had become emblematic in the Bulgarian folk tradition: some by being connected with superstitions and legends, others as a symbol of health, wealth and longevity. Ethnographic data show that 750 (21%) out of the 3570 vascular plant species have been used as medicinal plants in Bulgaria, but of these some 120 are predominantly applied [1,2].
At the end of the 19th century, besides the national symbol Rosa damascena (annual export of rose oil had reached over 6000 kg [3]), other essential-oil plants and spices like fennel, anise, cumin, coriander, poppy, etc. were cultivated for commercial needs. The increasing interest all over the world in natural medicines and new aromatic compounds opened broad vistas before the Bulgarian producers and merchants of rose oil for enriching the essential-oil assortment and simultaneously ensuring the full-scale utilization of distilling capacities. This process presented new opportunities to many Bulgarian landowners to earn a living by producing the source material for the essential-oil industry. To fill in the gaps in knowledge of modern cultivation and economic evaluation of such plants, experiments for their investigation were carried out at the State Experimental Field for Essential Oil and Medicinal Plants, newly instituted for this purpose in the town of Kazanluk (the famous Rose Valley) in 1907. Many new French and German specimens of medicinal and essential-oil cultivars (Lavandula vera, Mentha piperita, Salvia officinalis, Reseda, Pelargonium, etc.) were introduced [4].
During and after the World War I the West European countries, whether by compulsion or deliberately, decreased the production and import of synthetic medicines and turned to herbs. The efforts of Bulgarian researchers, producers, tradesmen, and responsible state institutions were aimed at converting the Bulgarian medicinal and essential oil plant production into a separate economic branch, so as to create new jobs for some population communities under the grave conditions of the all-European postwar economic crisis. Unfortunately, wild-growing plant populations ensured the easiest profit from crude drug export: in 1934 the exports amounted to 8.244 kg, while by 1939 it had already increased to 721.000 kg. Some important questions were brought to the public attention: preservation of the natural resources of medicinal plants by launching cultivation of valuable species and improving their quality, training of new specialists in agronomy and pharmacy, standardization of drugs so as to make the Bulgarian herbs competitive in the foreign market, as well as their processing within the country and increasing the export of final phytoproducts. The change in public awareness of this problems had influenced legislation: a specialized Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Bill prepared in 1941 (State Gazette 149/1941) regulated "the breeding, use, growing, distribution, and preservation of herbs in Bulgaria". Fifteen species were absolutely forbidden for gathering; 6 could be gathered in preliminary determined amounts or within specified regions; 121 could be gathered without restrictions. By 1940 about 60 native and introduced useful plants were approved for cultural practice: Mentha piperita, Pyretrum cynerariefolium, Coriandrum sativum, Foeniculum vulgaris, Papaver somniferum, Melissa officinalis, Digitalis purpurea, Hyssopus officinalis, Rosmarinus officinalis, Atropa bella-donna, Origanum majorana, Satureja hortensis, Valeriana officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Ocimum basilicum, Ruta graveolens, Melissa officinalis, Convallaria majalis, Geranium macrorrhizum, etc. [2,4,5,6,7,8].
During the World War II Bulgaria was the main supplier of herbs for Germany and significant amounts, especially those gathered from wild plants, were exported without any quality control. The Department of Medicinal Plants with the State Sanitary and Pharmaceutical Enterprise was founded in 1949 with the aim to organize and control herb gathering in the country, as well as their standardization [9]. Establishment of the State Variety Committee in 1951 marked the start of purposeful selection in Bulgarian horticulture, including of medicinal plants. In the 1950s and 1960s the main crops were subjected to breeding: Rosa damascena, Lavandula angustifolia, Salvia sclarea, Mentha piperita, M. spicata, Foeniculum vulgare, Papaver somniferum [4,10,11]. In 1955 the state monopoly on gathering, purchase, cultivation, and primary processing of herbs was given to the Central Cooperative Union and its branch organizations, mainly represented by the Bilkocoop Enterprise which carried out most activities along these lines, including cultivation. It functioned actively until 1990, when the government's monopoly was broken up [2].
In 1976 the World Health Organization founded a Work Group for Folk Medicine in Geneva, whose Program encouraged multidisciplinary investigations in this field and paid special attention to medicinal plants. Along these lines a special program was adopted by the Bulgarian Council of Ministries (Resolution 193/27.10.1977) aimed at the implementation of "Basic Trends in Protection, Cultivation and Rational Use of Medicinal Plants in Bulgaria until 1990" formulated by the State Council in 1977. Twenty-three researches, transfer and production institutions took part in this program. As a result 68 varieties belonging to 36 plant species were bred, complete technologies for large-scale cultivation were developed for the 38 most important essential oil and medicinal plant species, including those 20 of them that have been always in the focus of the pharmaceutical and food-processing industry, cosmetics, and export: Rosa damascena, Mentha piperita, Lavandula angustifolia, Salvia sclarea, S. officinalis, Foeniculum vulgare, Coriandrum sativum, Valeriana officinalis, Papaver somniferum, Atropa bella-donna, Matricaria chamomilla, Melissa officinalis, Leucojum aestivum, Datura innoxia, Vinca minor, Sylibum marianum, Althaea officinalis, Satureja hortensis, Glaucium flavum, Ocimum basilicum [2,12,13,14,15,16].
Regulation No 973/1991 of the Ministry of Environment (State Gazette 107/1991), regularly updated, conferred on 35 wild medicinal plant species the status of protected plants; forbid the economic use of natural resources of 14 of them and imposed a restricted use regime on another 21 species. Of the 330 protected vascular plants 37 are medicinal and their gathering is absolutely prohibited. A National Strategy of Biodiversity Conservation in Bulgaria, developed by 1990, summarized the investigations into the status of medicinal plants and offered recommendations for their long-term use. According this survey, about 50 species (14 wild and 36 introduced) have been cultivated either exclusively for production of herbal drugs or as ornamentals and additionally as herbs. Objective development prognostications of the problem of natural medicinal plant resources were made and rely on cultivation as the most effective preservation alternative [2].
In Bulgaria: The economic crisis, ongoing restructuring of agriculture and protracted restitution of private arable lands and forests, coupled with industrial and administrative reform, have caused grave problems in Bulgaria: coordination between the different institutions responsible for the work with medicinal plants, research and transfer units, state departments and producers was disturbed, as well as their functioning; commercial transfer of most of these promising varieties has been upset and organization of medicinal plants cultivation was generally destroyed; reduced funding of the research institutions and programs shrunk down the maintenance of varieties and even led to loss of some of them; lack of planting material and seeds for plantation allowed some merchants without professional knowledge in agronomy and herb cultivation to profit from the imports of genetically uncontrolled sowing material, often of poor quality and unknown productivity under the local conditions; limited investments and unfavorable credits for farmers impeded the latter them to engage in such initiatives.
Unfortunately, all this also reflected on the wild-growing medicinal plants causing depletion of their natural resources under the exacting pressure of quick and lucrative profits from herbs exports. The measures undertaken by the Ministry of Environment and the responsible research institutions were aimed at the establishment of effective environmental legislation: the Protected Areas Statute and especially the Medicinal Plants Bill (State Gazette #29/07.04.2000) (743 medicinal plant species came under the regulations of this law), showed that sooner or later wild populations of medicinal plants would be beyond use uncontrolled or would become inaccessible. On the other hand, market demands for herbal drugs of stable quality and quantity heightened public awareness of herb cultivation.
Needs in concerted action on the part of private enterprises brought to life different non-governmental organizations, such as the National Association of Cooperatives, the Society of Agronomists and the Bulgarian Association of Herb and Mushroom Gatherers, Producers and Vendors. Data reported by this Association (Inf. Bulletin 1/1999, 4/2000) showed the annual Bulgarian herbal-drug export as varying between 10.000-15.000 t, with a 35% to 50% share of the cultivated herbs according to market demand. Cultivation of medicinal and essential-oil plants is of great social and economic importance for Bulgaria. It presents opportunities to many families to earn their living in regions without any sustainable occupation, such as mountain areas, regions with high unemployment and to national minorities. The major medicinal plant crops in the country are peppermint, lemon balm, common valerian, marshmallow, milk thistle, coriander, savory, fennel, etc. [22,23]. The development of this branch of Bulgarian horticulture needs substantial investments to support producers, researchers and end-users in their practical integration
The efforts of Bulgarian scientists working in the field of medicinal plant cultivation are currently mainly directed to: - restoration and multiplication of the existing varieties and promotion of their large-scale production; - study of agrobiological and phytochemical specificity's of the treated medicinal plant species under conditions of cultivation, improvement of their quality and development of primary cultivation technologies; - expand the list of cultivated crops, according to the market conjuncture; - develop breeding programs to obtain new high-performance varieties in view of the quality trends are the most important breeding targets; - develop efficient and environmentally friendly cultural methods for the commonly cultivated crops, in conformity with the requirements of ecological agriculture; - develop alternative methods of active compounds production for the needs of pharmaceutical industry such as in vitro bio-production, introduction of more effective varieties or species, etc.
In the European Union: The EU countries currently claim the greatest share of the medicinal and aromatic plants market. In the next ten years, double and tenfold market increases are expected respectively in Europe and America. Germany, Italy and France hold the greatest share of this market. The EU drug raw material demand is mainly serviced by imports from South America and Eastern Europe, with the remaining part catered for by the EU-countries themselves with some 70.000 ha cultivation. The largest EU-cultivated medicinal plant areas are mainly located in France (25.000 ha) and Spain (19.000 ha), followed by Germany (5.700 ha), Austria (4.300 ha), Greece (4.000 ha), Netherlands (2.500 ha), Italy (2.300 ha), Great Britain (2.000 ha), Finland (1.900 ha), Ireland (50 ha). In order to increase the participation of EU farmers in this rapidly growing market, European researchers suggested that it should endeavor to produce as much domestic raw material as possible. They considered the necessity of strengthening the cooperation between farmers, buyers and researchers. Current research is mainly unintegrated. The objective for this research is to concentrate on the development and improvement of cooperation and get the focus on economically important goals and objectives with regard to the present and prospective market requirement [17].
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