In recent years there has been a significant growth of interest in plant
based drugs, pharmaceuticals, perfumery products, cosmetic and aroma
compounds used in food flavours and fragrances and natural colours in the
world. MAPs has emerged as a major economic activity in India and
witnessed rapid growth in this sector. These resources produced and offered
in a wide variety of products, from crude materials to processed and
packaged products through value additions. Due to this increased demand in
the worldwide trade, these plants are facing severe pressure on its cultivation
and several factors like improper handling of the crop after its harvest,
packaging, low level technology, lack of basic equipment and facilities at the
collection centres or packing houses and lack of trained personnel’s. Hence,
the great effort has to be made in practicing the application of improved
post-harvest techniques viz., cleaning, drying, grading, distillation, value
additions, packaging and storage which would minimize the post-harvest
losses on other hand simultaneously. Furthermore, processing improves the
quality, safety, efficacy and profitability. The post-harvest losses of
Horticultural crops including MAPs in Asia Pacific region, including India,
have been reported to vary between 10-40%. In some instances, the figures
can exceed 50%, depending on the handling and distribution chain which
vary with different countries. Therefore, post-harvest management and its
processing is now regarded as the promising sector of Indian economy in
view of its large potential for growth and likely socio-economic impact
specifically on employment and income generation.
Keywords: Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), post-harvest technology,
post-harvest losses, harvesting, distillation, value additions