Economics of Medicinal and Anticancer Plants

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Despite millions of deaths every year, cancer has caused huge economic and non-economic costs for every nation in the world. Economic costs are higher in developed countries, while non-economic costs such as loss of jobs, family care time, and out-of-pocket expenses are higher in developing countries. These huge economic burdens on cancer patients and the increasing cost of chemotherapy led to the usage of plant-based medicines. Such medicines are more cost-effective because of their medicinal and treatment effectiveness. Most medicinal plants have anticancer ingredients that make them more sought-after. The demand for anticancer plants is increasing day by day. The main factors that shape the demand for anticancer plants are lower-priced plant-based anticancer plants, higher prices of chemotherapy, an increasing world population, particularly the ageing population, and increasing per capita GDP (income) of nations. The present chapter provides an overview of the economic burden of cancer, the demand and supply of medicinal and anticancer plants, herbal medicines as complementary medicine for cancer therapy, and the recent progress of anticancer plants.