Abstract

The study assessed the annual consumption of raw drugs by the Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing industry in Kerala. Although, about 400 raw drugs are used in the manufacture of various medicines, for the present study, 230 items which are consumed at the rate of over one thousand kg per year were selected. There are 713 pharmaceutical units having drug license from the Industries Department. The study focuses on the consumption/requirement of the licensed units. Based on the annual turnover, the medicine manufacturing units were classified into small, (below 1 crore) medium (1-3 crores) and large (over 3 crores). The annual consumption of the 230 raw drugs studied is 20,517 tonnes, of which 48% is consumed by the large units, 37% by small units and 15% by medium units. Annual consumption of 27 items of raw drugs is over 200 tonnes; 28 items between 200-100 tonnes; 39 items between 100-50 tonnes; 53 items between 50-25 tonnes and 53 items between 25-10 tonnes; 30 items below 10 tonnes. Sida rhombifolia ssp. retusa (Kurumthotti) [1,194 tonnes] and Phyllanthus emblica (Nellikkai) [860 tonnes] are most abundantly consumed items. The raw drugs consumption is highest in Thrissur (6,276 tonnes) and Malappuram (4,433 tonnes) districts, as some of the larger units are located here. The lowest consumption is in Kasaragod (22 tonnes) and Wayanad (133 tonnes), where the manufacturing units are very less.

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