The administrator of ‘Essential Oils and Extracts Bank’ of MPDRI, referring to the efforts of this research institute to isolate extracts from 2000 native medicinal plants in the three years to come, said, “So far, 500 extracts from the native medicinal plants species have been included in the Essential Oils and Extracts Bank of this institute.”

Dr. Molanejad, the Director of the Indian Ocean Rim Countries Association of Regional Center for Science and Technology Transfer (IORA RCSTT), “A Regional Center for Research and Education of Medicinal Plants will be established at the location of Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology, supported by the private sector, in order to uniform and coordinate the medicinal plants standard for the IOR region.

By using Taxus baccata , a plant native to the north of Iran, the researchers of Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute of Shahid Beheshti University have produced the anti-cancer drug “docetaxel” with the trade name of “Taxotere”.

, the goals of the 1404 Perspective Document have been to determine the values and aims of medicinal plants development in export and its effective role in the well-being of the country.

Vice-president for Science and Technology, Dr. Soorena Sattari, accompanied by Dr. Peyman Salehi and Dr Mohammad Hassan Assareh, paid a visit to Barij Essence Pharmaceutical Company and stressed the government support of medicinal plants’ technology development.

The country’s first specialized herbarium, essential oil and medicinal plants extract bank was opened in Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute of Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran.

Satoshi Nimora, Japan’s trade liaison officer said: “There is an effort to establish a bilateral and beneficial relation between the Iranian and the Japanese scientists.”

The deputy minister of department of greenhouse and medicinal plants affairs of Ministry of Agriculture Jihad said, “At the moment, 13 subsidized medicinal plants saplings are being distributed among farmers and more that 95 million dollars worth of varieties of medicinal plants and 14.5 million dollars worth of Rosa damascena have been exported since last year.”

Dr. Mohammd Hasan Assareh said, “134 plant products and medicine were included in the Ministry of Health indenture in 2005. However, last year this number rose to over 2200.

Vice-president for Science and Technology announced the support of medicinal plants research centers in Lorestan and said, “Any professor can present a paper in one or several of the world’s top 50 journals and a center will be supported.”