The news has caused a public debate on the use of plants by profit-making organisations and prompted an outburst from environment campaign group Friends of the Earth, which has urged the government to resist the move.
It brings much closer to home the numerous sides of biodiversity, such as sustainability and profit-sharing, generally thought to have greater impact on developing nations. But with increasing public awareness of the these issues, and fingers being pointed at damage being done by the world's herbals industry, the sector looks set to come under growing scrutiny.
Many of the currently used herbal medicines are still derived from plants collected from the wild and as the use of herbals grows, so does the threat to olant species, environments and populations. The international community is working to develop guidelines on protecting wildlife and sharing profits from the resources but charities have warned that not enough is being done to meet these aims.
A report recently published by the UK conservation group Plantlife International estimates that some 1300 medicinal plants found in Europe are used commercially, with up to 90 per cent collected from the wild. And at the moment, wasteful harvesting techniques are commonplace, it said.
Plantlife claims that the medicinal plants industry needs to take action if the UK is to meet obligations set at the previous (6th) conference of the 188 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, agreed in 2002. These include ensuring that by 2010 at least 30 per cent of all plant-based products are derived from sustainably managed sources.
While 'bioprospecting' does not involve the collection of large quantities of plants, it does raise the issue of property on such resources, including patents.
Executive director of Friends of the Earth Tony Juniper, said: "A worldwide gene rush is underway with companies staking claims on life forms from across the planet. Companies are taking traditional knowledge about the useful aspects of plants, or information established by science at public expense, patenting the life forms and then selling products back to the public, who arguably owned the wildlife in the first place."
He added that official conservation agencies, such as the UK conservation group which has been approached for permission for bioprospecting, English Nature, must approach this issue with caution. "Helping companies get richer in this way is not necessarily good for society, and has no automatic benefits for the environment."
Jane Smart, executive director of Plantlife, told the Guardian newspaper: "Any activity must comply with the Convention on Biodiversity and should be about sharing benefits. If a plant's genes could be patented it should be owned by the public."
Just this week 12 European countries and the European Community have ratified the UN's International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, designed to protect the world's crops and food sources.But as the herbals industry expands it will need to ensure greater compliance with international guidelines to prevent the kind of attack prompted by Friends of the Earth.