Numerous drugs have entered the international pharmacopoeia via the study of ethnopharmacology and traditional medicine. For traditional medicines, newer guidelines of standardization, manufacture and quality control and scientifically rigorous research on the scientific basis for traditional treatments will be required. Traditional medical traditions can offer a more holistic approach to drug design and myriad possible targets for scientific analysis. Powerful new technologies such as automated separation techniques, high-throughput screening and combinatorial chemistry are revolutionizing drug discovery.
Dr Bhushan Patwardhanwrites a short piece on the enormous contribution to medicine that natural products contribute, although some of the financials are out of date the understanding is still very valid. Found on SciTopics
