Emerging Trends in the Herbal Pharmaceutical Industry and Practice

Medicinal plants constitute an effective source of traditional (e.g., Ayurvedic, Chinese, Unani and Homeopathy) and modern medicine. Herbal medicine has been shown to have genuine utility and about 80% of rural populations depend on medicinal herbs as their sole source of primary health care. A study from the U.S. demonstrated that about 34% of the general population used one or the other system at least once a year. In Germany and France, which together represent 39% of the $14 billion global retail market, the use of herbal remedies is well established. In fact, today approximately 70% of “synthetic” medicines are derived from plants.A medicinal herb can be viewed as a biosynthetic laboratory as it contains a number of chemical compounds. These compounds, responsible for medicinal activity of the herb, are secondary metabolites. For example, alkaloids are nitrogenous principles of organic compounds and combine with acids to form crystalline salts. Morphine, Atropine, Codeine and Cocaine are familiar examples. Glycosides are crystalline compounds, which are neutral in reaction that when acted upon by acids, split into sugar and non-sugar parts. Salicin and Digioxin are familiar examples of glycosides. In addition, herbs contain saponins, resins, oleoresins, lactones and volatile oils.