Medicinal Plants: Ethobotanical Approach

About eighty per cent of the world population depends on traditional medicines for primary health care. Herbal medicines are in great demand in both developed and the developing countries in primary health care because of their great efficacy and little or no side effects. The revival of interest in plant-based drugs have necessitated and increased demand of medicinal plants leading to over exploitation, unsustainable harvesting and finally to the virtual decimation of several valuable plant species in the wild. The Indian systems of medicine have identified 1,500 medicinal plants, of which 500 species are commonly used in the preparation of ISM and H drugs.The present book "Medicinal Plants: Ethnobotanical Approach" contain 18 articles covering information on medicinal plants and their utilisation with special reference to the Indian scenario. Book covers articles on utilisation and development of drugs from medicinal plants; cancer chemopreventive agents, anti-aid and antidiabetic pl