Decision Support and Database Management System “AroMed” on Commercially Exploited Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of India

Abstract

Identification of plants and commercial promotion of plant species can be achieved by utilizing information technology based database development; new technology can help to improve quality and cataloging procedures to organize the botanical species. Further, we can share the same information with any other interested parties via the Internet. Now personal computers with large memory-storage-systems have brought the computing and database maintenance procedures to the desktop of users. In recent years, the Internet has literally tapped into all desktop computers. The "Information Technology Network Highways" opened the doors of many remotely located libraries or other information repositories to data seekers by simply logging on to a web site. Development of database on electronic media and development of a web site on medicinal plants will provide the necessary exposure the world regarding the plant species of commercially exploited Aromatic and Medicinal Plants of India. Substances derived from plant material have been used in perfumes, most of cosmetic items, flavor, very useful Ayurvedic, Unani, Homeopathy Medicine etc. Since time in memorial for medicinal purposes. For example, plants such as Ginger, Tulsi and Alovera are well known for their positive effects of maintaining and restoring health. Furthermore, it is generally not common knowledge that Mango Seeds- used in asthma, diarrhoea, dysentery, haemorrhage, and menorrhagia and bleeding piles some plants extract like Laung used as pain-killers, however, medicinal plants have not lost their significance as natural alternatives to synthetic drugs even in the modern world. Since the number of commercially available drugs derived from plant sources is increasing day by day, there is a distinct need for an easy accessible data collection that provides detailed scientific information on such plants and its medicinal uses. AroMed India new medicinal plants database, hopes to improve the current situation. This distributed web-based information system stores, organizes and will provides combined text and multimedia data on AroMed India as well as pharmacological properties of medicinal plants, in particular from the multimedia point of view. From the technical point-of view our system presents 3-tier architecture, a WAMP server with MYSQL database and Joomla 1.5 Application as a front end.