Abstract:
The existence of trade of products of medicinal plants reflects their significance on health care
and the local economy. Consumption trends have shifted medicinal plants from local consumptions
to economic contexts. However, the engagement of medicinal plants products within the market
economy necessitates the understanding of the trade system and management for economy, health
and biodiversity securities. This paper used a systematic literature review to assess information
on trade of medicinal plants in order to explore its structure and identify research gaps. About
377 research articles were identified where 46 of them were reviewed. The literature indicate the
contexts of the trade are natural forests and health sectors which influence supply and demand
sides, respectively. The supply chain differ among literatures. The results indicate that, despite
the importance of the medicinal plant trade in Tanzania, its understanding rely on isolated bits
and pieces of information from other research articles, the evidence of an overlooked research
area. The identified research gap was lack of information on the trade like value chain and trade
mechanisms. The study recommends further research to combine ethnomedicine, conservation and
economics research domains which can ensure sustainable use of scarce resources of medicinal
plants to meet the limitless demand of the healthy community.
