Medicinal properties of mangrove plants – an overview

Perhaps the most important role of mangroves is that they protect vulnerable coastlines from wave action because they hold the soil together and prevent coastal erosion. Mangroves shield inland areas during storms and minimize damage. For example, learning from the 2005 tsunami in Asia, there were no deaths in the areas which had mangrove forests, compared to those areas without, which suffered massive causalities. Many species in the mangrove forest have medicinal value and it has been proved that these plants are antiviral and antibacterial in nature. Community participation is must to enhance mangrove habitats. Plant species in this ecosystem like Avicennia Marina, Sesuvium Portulacastrum and Suaeda Monoica have chemical properties that can kill vectors namely Anopheles, Culex and Aedes, which cause diseases such as malaria, filariasis and dengue fever.