Multiple-usage shrubs: Medicinal and pharmaceutical usage and their environmental beneficiations

Abstract

The main goal of this chapter is to discuss the multiple usage of plants, one of which is its usage for medicinal and pharmaceutical applications besides their potential role in improving the environment. The chapter will be focusing on a few plants which have medicinal properties and potential pharmaceutical/industry applications. Generally, medicinal plants used for traditional medicine play a significant role in the healthcare of the majority of people in many developing countries. At the same time, those plants can play a bigger role in solving many environmental issues like the gradual conversion of habitable land used for agriculture into a desert and reduce the carbon footprint. In this chapter, we will be discussing and reviewing the major role of multiple usage of shrubs growing or potentially can be grown in arid and semi-arid areas such as jojoba, Aloe vera, Moringa and Acacia.