Conservation And Cultivation of

Medicinal Plants

Middle- Eastern Plants / Lost Biblical Species/ Plants for Tibetan Medicine

Medicinal plants in Israel and throughout the world are becoming increasingly rare, due to an ongoing destruction of natural habitat, over-harvesting of wild species and detrimental changes to the climate and environment.

As a result it is predicted in Israel that many species, particularly in desert areas where almost a third of native plants are found, will have disappeared within the next 10 yrs unless urgent measures are taken to protect and preserve them.

The Middle-Eastern Medicinal Plant Project (MEMP)

In response to this ongoing environmental problem, NMRU established in 1995 The Middle Eastern Medicinal Plant Project (MEMP) in order to act as a unique focus for the conservation and scientific study of medicinal plants in Israel and the region.

The aims of MEMP are to;

1.Preserve a unique and valuable tradition of medicinal plant use in Israel, common to Jewish and Arab communities. (see PRESERVATION OF KNOWLEDGE).

2.Conserve and Cultivate medicinal plants particularly endangered and rare species.

3.Research selected medical plants by assessing their biological activity in focused scientific screening models. (see RESEARCH)

4.Develop local medicinal plants in Israel commercially as natural products or as the basis of new drugs. (see RESEARCH)

Cultivation of Middle Eastern Medicinal Plants at Kibbutz Ketura

Located in the Syrian -African Rift Valley, 50 kms. north of Eilat, Kibbutz Ketura is a leading pioneer in Israel for environmental awareness.

Through its Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) and as a member of the Green Kibbutz movement, Ketura has pioneered organic farming with the establishment of experimental orchards and plantations that are a leading center for research and development of new crops in Israel.

Dr. Elaine Solowey is the Director of plant research programs at Ketura, and an internationally known horticulturist, and expert on arid land cultivation and sustainable agriculture

.As consultant for NMRU she has been instrumental in establishing MEMP`s cultivation program at Ketura, which currently;

• Conserves domesticates and improves plant genotypes of local wild medicinal species

• Re-introduces locally extinct medicinal species once found in the area.
• Provides  raw plant material for scientific testing from the cultivation site  without  depleting wild sources.

The plantation site at Ketura currently covers several dunams of land  and contains over 50 varieties of organically cultivated medicinal plants, shrubs and trees, including;

• Rare and endangered plants from the desert regions of Israel, including species traditionally used as anti-infectives, tonics, and for anti-aging,cardiac problems and liver diseases.

• Aromatic species often used as spices and teas; including sage, chamomile, valerian, dill, etc.

• Rare plants and trees from other areas in the Middle East, eg. North Africa, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc., and including the highly medicinal Argania and Marula trees.

Lost Biblical Species

For more than 3000 years, a number of exotic species were cultivated in Israel which were used in the production of Biblical incense, the anointing oil, as well as many perfumes and medicines.

Some of these species, such as the Boswellia trees, used to make Frankincense, Commiphora species, used in the manufacture of Myrrh and Opobalsumum trees thought to be the source of the valuable Balm of Gilead were originally native to the Arabian peninsula, but were introduced to ancient Israel, according to legend, by seeds given to King Solomon by the Queen of Sheba.

Some 800 years ago, during the Crusador period, these valuable plantation sites finally disappeared, however their memory lives on in popular folklore, and in some cases exact cultivation sites have been uncovered in archeological excavations.

An important aim of MEMP is to re-introduce these valuable species at Kibbutzim Ketura and Ein Gedi so that  these plantations will once again flourish as they did a thousand years ago.

Cultivation of Medicinal Plants at Kibbutz Ein Gedi

Established on the shores of the Dead Sea in 1956, Kibbutz Ein Gedi is famous for its 100 dunams of Botanical gardens, containing plants native to Israel as well as an extensive collection of foreign and exotic species.

With a sub-tropical climate, fresh water supply and a unique geographical situation at the lowest point on earth, this oasis site, mentioned in the Bible, has for thousands of years been the home to many medicinal species.

Quoted in the Bible and other historical sources, Ein Gedi was also the ancient center for producing the ritual incense used in the Temple as well as perfumes and medicines greatly valued in antiquity.

In 2002, NMRU began a collaboration with Kibbutz Ein Gedi, to cultivate and domesticate  medicinal plants, native to the Dead Sea Region. 

Initially a pilot germination program of 16 rare and endangered medicinal plants was successfully established by staff at the Ein Gedi Botanical Gardens. These include such rare species as Grewia villosa, Commiphora abyssinica and a number of plants endemic only to the Dead Sea region including rare varieties of Chamomille

In 2004 a larger cultivation area at the entrance of the kibbutz was established containing medicinal species  many domesticated for the first time in Israel

In the future the site will be further expanded  to cultivate other endemic medicinal plants, as well as species mentioned specifically in the Bible including l Myrrh, Frankincense and Opobalsumum.

NMRU's Field Research and Educational Centre is also being established at Kibbutz Ein Gedi, providing extensive  ethnobotanical and scientific information on all aspects of the plants under cultivation. 

Cultivation of Tibetan Medicine plants at Kibbutz Ketura

The Tibetan Medicine Cultivation project at Ketura is the first time commercial quantities of plants for Tibetan medicines and teas have been produced in Israel.

The climatic and geographical conditions in the Arava region of Israel, are in many ways similar to the desert regions of the  Tibetan plateau and as a result several species of plants used in Tibetan medicine, particularly those considered rare and endangered, have been successfully cultivated by Dr. ElaineSolowey at Kibbutz Ketura .

The plantation site, which was initiated  by NMRU  in 1997 in conjunction with the Swiss  company Padma A.G ,cultivates all plants organically, and produces commercial quantities of a number of species used in Padma formulas, including more than 300 Neem trees, Lowquat and a number of rare Bael (Aegyle marmelos) trees.

It is intended that this very successful program will provide an important commercial revenue for Kibbutz Ketura, as well as material for future scientific evaluation in NMRU’s screening programs.