Abstract:
Despite all the progress in synthetic chemistry and biotechnology, plants are still an indispensable
source of medicinal preparations, both preventive and 'curative. Hundreds of species are
recognized as having medicinal value, and many of those are commonly used to treat and prevent
specific ailments and diseases.
At least four out of every five of those plants are collected from the wild, most from the floras of
developing countries. Medicinal properties may be present in one or all of their parts: root, stem,
bark, leaf, flower, fruit or seed.