Approaches Towards the Preclinical Testing and Standardization of Medicinal Plants

Herbs and herb-derived medicines have played a crucial role in health and disease management for many centuries. Many ancient civilizations show documented evidence for the use of herbs in the treatment of different ailments; as was seen with Mesopotamian, Indian ayurveda, ancient traditional Chinese medicine and Greek unani medicine [1-5]. In Africa, knowledge of traditional medicine as part of wholistic system, was passed through generations by oral communication and indigenous practices [6]. The global demand for herbal medicinal products has increased significantly in recent years. It is estimated that, the world’s population will be more than 7.5 billion in the next 10 to 15 years. This increase in population will occur mostly in the southern hemisphere, where approximately 80% of the population still relies on a traditional system of medicine based on herbal drugs for primary healthcare