MEDICINAL PLANTS: SOURCE OF MEDICINE


Medicinal plants are always has been the exemplary source of medicine. Medicinal plants have pharmacological activities of possible therapeutic use. Careful and planned investigations of the plants are needed in order to develop new drugs that meet the criteria of modern treatment.

The goals of research in this field are -

o The recognition of the active principles of medicinal plants, and pharmacological investigation of the extracts in categorize to make sure that they are safe, effective, and of constant activity, and

o The isolation of these active principles, and determination of their structure and pharmacological effects.

o Chemical modification of the active principles to synthesize new compounds of greater therapeutic value.

The methodology of research into medicinal plants must be scrupulous. If research is to be effective it must be performed logically and systematically by a multidisciplinary team comprising of a pharmacognosist, a pharmaceutical chemist and a pharmacologist.

Plants as a pharmaceutical source

Since ancient times plants have served as a natural source of treatments and therapies such as aspirin, quinine, and coffee. Today, scientists are using these renewable resources to produce a new generation of therapeutic solutions. Plants improved through the use of biotechnology can produce the essential proteins for innovative treatments for diseases such as cancer, HIV, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, kidney disease, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, Hepatitis C, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), obesity, arthritis and iron deficiency.

Conclusion

From the ancient times people uses plants as medicine. Many plants having pharmacological properties against various kinds of disease, but they are not well known to common people. we have to explore the pharmacological action of plants with the help of the biotechnology.Biotechnology help us to find the therapeutic properties of plant by using in-vitro and in- vivo methods.

About Author / Additional Info:
an An enthuiastic author from India