Ramie, a multipurpose crop: potential applications, constraints and improvement strategies

World population growth has increased the demand for food and shelter, thus threatening environmental sustainability and expanding the gap between resource availability and the ability to meet human needs. Humans are fulfilling their needs by depleting natural resources. Currently, exploring plant species that can fulfill the life requirements of both humans and animals without degrading natural resources has become a major challenge. Therefore, research on underutilized crops is of high interest among plant scientists. Ramie, an ancient plant with a long history, is being researched because of its vigorous growth, high nutritional value and multipurpose applications in Textiles, livestock feed, environmental conservation and medicine. It can be cultivated in versatile conditions including tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. The present review article provides a detailed discussion on the multipurpose utilization and nutritional importance of ramie as well as potential applications and constraints, and the outlook for the future.