Role of Ethnobotany in Drug Development

Abstract

As per the recent estimate, nearly 4.4 billion people comprising 80% of world's total population rely on plants as their primary source for medicine. The treasure trove of such knowledge remains untapped in forests all over the world. There are nearly 700 plant species which have been utilized for the development of modern drugs. In the present era of medical engineering, plants play significant role in discovery, designing and development of life saving drugs. Over the counter cost of herbal drugs is roughly estimated to be US$ 500 billion all over the world. It is growing consistently @ 10 – 15 % annually and likely to touch US $ 5 trillion during the next 30 - 40 years. Indian subcontinent is among top most nations having richest source of Ethnic/ Traditional Knowledge since time immemorial. India is inhabited by over 550 tribal communities belonging to 227 ethnic groups constituting 7.7 % of entire population of the country. About 10,000 plant species are traditionally utilized all over the country for healthcare, food and other day to day material requirements. It is considered as a heritage of traditional system of medicine dating back to 5000 BC. Traditional Knowledge in our country has survived due to its strength, proven efficacy in the treatment and drug formulations taking care of health requirements of the people. With the application of modern technologies, discovery and designing of new miracle herbal formulations have saved millions of lives in the twentieth century. Several important and well known mind altering drug plant species in the world reveal documented records of their traditional uses. Some significant examples are: Papaver somniferum, Cannabis sativa, Erythroxylum coca, Lophophora williamsii etc. Widespread distribution and antiquity of the use of these taxa and many other psychoactive drug species is indicative of their relative importance throughout the development of human society. Azadirachta indica, Cannabis sativa, Coptis teeta, Gymnema sylvestre, Papaver somniferum, Picrorrhiza kurroa, Rauvolfia serpentina and Withania somnifera etc. are few examples from the ethnic leads validating their efficacies based on modern pharmacological evaluations.