Considerable volumes of plant material are used in traditional systems of medicine, particularly in Asia. China’s total output of medicinal plants from both cultivated and wild-harvested sources is 1,600,000 tonnes. In comparison, that of Germany is relatively small at 40,000 tonnes. China is also a significant exporter of medicinal materials with export sales in 1993 reported at US $ 270 million although this figure includes plant, animal and mineral drugs. Ayurvedic and Unani herbs from India are also traded in large quantities and over a very wide geographical area. It is estimated that the total value of products from the entire Ayurvedic production in India is US $5.5 billion. The annual turnover from indigenous herbal medicines is about Rs.2,300 crores as against the pharmaceutical industry’s turnover of Rs.14,500 crores. The export value of herbal drugs from India amounted to Rs. 32,603.83 lacs with a CAGR of 17.45 in 2008. Indian exports are largely to Bangladesh, Japan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United States and United Arab Emirates. Major herbals exported from India is recent years are Isabgol, opium alkaloids, senna derivatives, vinca extract, cinchona alkaloids, ipecac root alkaloids, solasodine, diosgenin/16 DPA, menthol, gymnema and henna. PHARMEXCIL is the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India governing exports of herbals and pharmaceuticals from India.

The age-old practice of the traditional practitioner dispensing his own medicines using simple but ingenious traditional methods is being gradually shifted to profit-oriented large-scale herbal drug manufacturing units. Today these medicines are produced industrially using improvised techniques with the technology available today. Traditional herbal medicinal products are characterized by the fact that their efficacy can neither be demonstrated by clinical studies nor by bibliographical data. Their efficacy may only be apparent from long-term traditional use and experience. Importance of traditional medicine in medicinal plant trade is highlighted by the WHO estimate that 80% of the population in developing countries rely on traditional medicine, primarily constituted of plant drugs, for their primary health care needs. In addition to ancient and renowned traditional systems such as Ayurveda, Unani and TCM, many less-documented systems of traditional medicine have been handed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth and are still being practised in many parts of the world. In addition to the traditional practitioners in developing countries, there are an increasing number of alternative medicine practitioners in the developed world.

It is estimated that some 10,000 plant species are used medicinally; most of these are used in traditional systems of medicine. However only a relatively small number of species is used in a significant volume. For e.g., in TCM 9,905 botanicals are used, but only an estimated 500 are commonly used.