Rajkot: A medicinal storehouse by itself, guggulu, or botanically known as commiphora, has been preserved by the forest department and several farmers of Bhuj and Nakhatrana talukas even as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has declared the plant critically endangered.
Pharma companies as well as Ayurvedic drug manufacturers use the plant’s gum resin to make drugs used for arthritis, lowering cholesterol, weight loss and a few skin diseases besides reducing blood sugar levels.
Forest department in Kutch is cultivating this medicinal plant in around 5,000 hectare area with grants specially received from Ayush ministry’s National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB). Nearly 15 to 20 farmers in Bhuj and Nakhatrana talukas of Kutch are cultivating the plant in the wasteland.