Review on Value Chain Analysis of Kothala Himbutu, Salacia chinensis

Kothala Himbutu has high importance with medicinal value. The goal of this analysis is to get information that wanted to map the value chain, give suggestions, and get associated challenges focused on developing productive and globally competitive industries reliant upon the sustainable management of limited natural resources such as Kothala Himbutu. However, there is a gap in the ethnopharmacological literature in terms of understanding what importance a significant analysis of value chains of the underutilized crop, Kothala Himbutu could have. For this study, a mixed-methods approach focuses on a general review of the literature in a systematic online search with a hand search of bibliographies and discussions with respondents such as Ayurvedic practitioners, medicinal plant cultivators, herbal plant collectors, middlemen, Ayurvedic drug sellers, Ayurvedic drug manufacturers, and herbal raw material suppliers. The overall value chain operates with little vertical integration and almost no horizontal collaboration. Downstream activities depended on market demand while upstream activities were on value addition. Consumer awareness of value-added Kothala Himbutu products was insufficient due to the unavailability in the market. Our paper takes a critical stocktake of Kothala Himbutu value chain in Sri Lanka and focused to identify its role in rural medicine and income security.