Medicinal plants in Viet Nam

Overview

VIET NAM is a tropical country with different climatic and geographical features in various regions. It has an abundance of diverse natural resources. Eighty per cent of the population live and work in the countryside; a large number of minority ethnical groups arc scattered in the forest highlands. The inhabitants in these places have certain difficulties in gaining access to modem medicines. However, Viet Nam possesses an age-old traditional system of medicine- a precious heritage handed down from times immemorial. Medicinal plants and herbal drugs have made a tremendous contribution to national health and development from the very beginning. For a very long time. the Vietnamese people, especially in the countryside and the mountains. have used locally available medicinal plants for medical treatment and have eaten certain vegetables and spices for health protection as well as sustenance.