Ph. D Synopsis

History of medicine goes back practically to the existence of human being. The current accepted Modern Medicine or allopathy has gradually developed over the years of scientific and observational efforts of scientists-however, the basis of its development remains in the roots of traditional medicine and therapies. Plants are the most exclusive source of drugs for the majority of World's population. Global estimate indicates that 80% of about four billion populations are using traditional medicines, which are mainly derived from medicinal plants listing over 20,000 species. Even in the allopathic medicine 25% of the prescription, substances are derived from higher plants. India is perhaps the largest producer of medicinal herbs and is rightly called the "Botanical Garden of the World". Except very few, all medicinal herbs of commercial importance are collected or cultivated in this country. Medicinal herbs have been of use for thousands of years in one form or another under the indigenous systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani. Since independence in 1947, India has made tremendous progress in Agro technology, processtechnology, standardization, quality control, and research and development etc. The WHO also appreciated the importance of medicinal plants for public health care in developing nations and evolved guidelines to support the member states in their efforts to formulate national policies on traditional medicine and to study their potential usefulness including evaluation, safety and efficacy.