Chinese Herbs facing extinction

Around 50% of drugs are made with the use of plant extracts, traditional chinese herbs making up some of these. With the discovery of the usefulness of folk and traditional medicines of different cultures, drug companies are finding demand out numbering supply in some cases. Anti-cancer drugs such as paclitaxel take extracts from the yew tree, however for one dose it takes around 6 trees, you can imagine the supply for this.
He Huan Pi has always been known to TCM practitioners as the happy bark herb, which is very useful to treat depression and emotional conditions. In recent discoveries it also has been shown to treat cancer, dementia and heart disease.
Here is a BBC extract from google reader:

MIRACLE CURES MOST AT RISK
Yew tree - Cancer drug paclitaxel is derived from the bark, but it takes six trees to create a single dose so growers are struggling to keep up
Hoodia - Plant has sparked interest for its ability to suppress appetite, but vast quantities have already been “ripped from the wild” as the search for the miracle weight drug continues
Magnolia - Has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years as it is believed to help fight cancer, dementia and heart disease. Half the world’s species threatened, mostly due to deforestation
Autumn crocus - Romans and Greeks used it as poison, but now one of the most effective treatments for gout. Under threat from horticulture trade