Malaysia Borneo rainforests are one of the wonders of the natural

world. They support at least 15,000 plant species , including more than 2,500
kinds of orchids
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Malaysia has one of the worlds oldest tropical rainforest and one of the
seventeen Megadiversity countries. Malaysias tropical rainforest is the home
to about 12% of all plant species on earth , which has not been fully exploited
and cultivated. Besides that, estimated 15,000 known plant species, 3,700
are known to be useful , 2,000 species with medicinal value and the balance
remain largely unexploited. (Ramlan, 2010,pg.8) Malaysias tropical rainforest
offers an effectively unquantifiable diversity of flora and fauna to encounter
and explore. Malaysia is the ideal country for commercialisation of herbal
products due to its herbal resources and hence there are good opportunities
to supply to the worldwide. Herbs are plant whose leaves are used in cooking
to add flavour to food, or as a medicine. However, there are about 2,000
species of herbs in Malaysia but only about one percent is being
commercialised. Besides, Malaysia local herbal industry is lagging 20 years
behind countries such as India, South Korea and China. One of the main
reason why Malaysia lagging behind compare to other countries is lack of
Research and Development (R&D) - lacking of scientific evidence and
research on safety , efficacy and standardisation of herbal products to elevate
it to a profitable business.

R&D gives the meaning discovering new

knowledge about products, processes, and services and then applying that
knowledge to create new and improved products, processes and services that
fill market needs. One of the main way to enhance commercialisation of
herbal products in Malaysias herbal industry is Research and Development
(R&D) through biotechnology development, discovery of variety of herbal
products and improvement of planting and harvesting technologies.
In general use, herbs are any plants used for flavouring, food,
medicine, or perfume. Herbal plants are regularly discovered that are
valuable in the treatment of many different ailments for more than 5,000

years. Herbs have properties that allow them to be used as stimulants and
relaxants. Some are reputed to help purify the blood, such as Agrimony herb.
Others like lemongrass and ginseng have multiple benefits ranging from
tonics for ulcers and sores to improve stamina and lower cholesterol.
Traditional people believe

that foods have medicinal properties that are

necessary for our internal balance. Nowadays, herbal medication is a more

acceptable alternative for consumers due to lower cost when compared to
modern medicine. Other than that, herbal meditation is safer and healthier
due to its lower risk and side effects when compared to modern medicine.
Furthermore, Dr Rasadah Mat Ali, FRIMs natural products division director
states that most of kampong in our country- Malaysia, especially the older
generation still use myriad brews, poultices and pastes derived from herbal
plants such as Ginseng, Aloe Vera, Tongkat Ali, for everything from physical
ailments to beauty concerns. Although herbs have many benefits on their
own , they are best used as part of a healthy, balanced diet for the individual
to obtain their full effect.