International Holistic Health Centre (IHHC), the globally recognized holistic health care facility headed by Dr. Issac Mathai in Bangalore, has chalked out plans to undertake export of organically grown herbal plants as a viable long-term business project going by the increasing enquiries for top quality herbs from global drug majors.

In this connection, the centre has already started an experimental cultivation of Amla (gooseberry) on a two-acre land at its facility located at Samethanahalli near Whitefield in the outskirts of Bangalore. Going by the success of the cultivation, IIHC would immediately under take soil test on its 25 acres of land to scale-up its organic herbal farming project and increase the cultivation area in phases.

In order to have a thorough comprehension of organically grown herbs, the IHHC has already started growing around 12 plants including Aswagandha, Brahmi and Sadavari for in-house consumption. The herbal plants are used for preparation of certain instant medicines for both external application and internal consumption for its patients as part of the treatment therapies which has proved that herb quality is crucial for faster recovery.

The decision to export herbs as a concrete business development comes in the wake of enquiries from leading global companies primarily in the US and a few in Europe who are looking at top quality organically cultivated herbal plants from India. "Hence, this project is a significant step to prove our caliber in maintaining highest quality standards in herbal medicine through plants grown on stringent soil-tested land which are free from chemical fertilizers and insect repellants, Dr. Issac Mathai, medical director, told Pharmabiz.com

Currently, the investment for the project is more in terms of soil test and labour on IIHC land and not much in terms of funds which will be allocated depending on the developments, he added.

With a centuries of herbal tradition embedded in India, the country has the unique advantage to excel in the field, if its herbal medicine growers adhere to stringent quality standards. "IIHC believes it is time for it to set down its experience-expertise and is confident to produce herbs that are accepted internationally," he averred.

Although, the primary focus of the IIHC is to offer under one roof an integrated treatment approach of all systems of medicine- Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy, Tibetan Medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, Osteopathy and traditional medicine which are complemented with therapies like acupressure, acupuncture, yoga, aromatherapy, reflexology, Reiki and hydrotherapy, the herbal plant cultivation project is viewed as an alternative business strategy to reinstate its existing presence as a dependable treatment provider for modern diseases and disorders in the global market. The business model for the herbal plant exports project is based on revenues generation and financial stability in the long-run.