Herbal medicines are the synthesis of therapeutic experiences of generations of practising physicians of indigenous systems of medicine for over hundreds of years while nutraceuticals are nutritionally or medicinally enhanced foods with health benefits of recent origin and marketed in developed countries. The marketing of the former under the category of the latter is unethical. Herbal medicines are also in great demand in the developed world for primary health care because of their efficacy, safety and lesser side effects. They also offer therapeutics for age-related disorders like memory loss, osteoporosis, immune disorders, etc. for which no modern medicine is available. India despite its rich traditional knowledge, heritage of herbal medicines and large biodiversity has a dismal share of the world market due to export of crude extracts and drugs. WHO too has not systematically evaluated traditional medicines despite the fact that it is used for primary health care by about 80% of the world population. However, in 1991 WHO developed guidelines for the assessment of herbal medicine. Suggestions for herbal medicine standardization are outlined. The scenario and perceptions of herbal medicine are discussed.
Herbal medicine is still the mainstay of about 75-80% will pay rich dividends. Strategically, India should enter of the world population, mainly in the developing coun-through those plant-based medicines which are already tries, for primary health care because of better cultural well accepted in Europe, USA and Japan. Simultaneously, acceptability, better compatibility with the human body it should identify those herbs (medicinal plants) which are and lesser side effects. However, the last few years have time-tested and dispensed all over in India. seen a major increase in their use in the developed world. The basic requirements for gaining entry into deve In Germany and France, many herbs and herbal extracts loped countries include:(i) well-documented traditional are used as prescription drugs and their sales in the use,(ii) single-plant medicines,(iii) medicinal plants free countries of European Union were around $6 billion in from pesticides, heavy metals, etc.,(iv) standardization 1991 and may be over $20 billion now. In USA, herbal based on chemical and activity profile, and (v) safety and drugs are currently sold in health food stores with a stability. However, mode of action studies in animals and turnover of about $4 billion in 1996 which is anticipated efficacy in human will also be supportive. Such to double by the turn of the century1. In India, the herbal scientifically generated data will project herbal medicine drug market is about $ one billion and the export of plant-in a proper perspective and help in sustained global based crude drugs is around $80 million2. Herbal market. medicines also find market as nutraceuticals (health foods) whose current market is estimated at about $80