Use of plants for healing dates back to antiquity in the Indian subcontinent and traditional medical knowledge is very closely knit into the very fabric of Indian culture. In many parts of the world, the practice continues today because of its biomedical benefits and place in cultural beliefs. Increasing global disease burden, disillusionment with synthetic drugs, escalating health care costs are a few of the numerous factors for the rising popularity of plant-derived health care products and traditional medicine world over. The economic reality of the inaccessibility of modern medication for many societies has also played a major role in the broad use of herbal medicines. It has not only continued to be used for primary health care of poor in developing countries, but has also been used in countries where conventional medicine is predominant in the national health care system, with a resulting increase in international trade in herbal medicines and other types of traditional remedies. Recognition of importance of herbal medicines in international trade had led to its growing clinical, pharmaceutical and economic value. Today medicinal plants are important for pharmacological research and drug development, not only when plant constituents are used directly as therapeutic agents, but also as starting materials for the synthesis of drugs or as models for pharmacologically active compounds. This has created the need for greater precision in preparation and evaluation and has stimulated research into the applications and various uses of herbal medicines. Thus herbal medicines have been recognized as a valuable and readily available resource for primary health care, and World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed their safe and effective use. A few herbal medicines have withstood scientific testing, but others are used simply for traditional reasons to protect, restore or improve health. Most herbal medicines still need to be studied scientifically, although the experience obtained from their traditional use over the years should not be ignored.

The demand for herbal remedies is estimated to grow in the years to come, fuelled by the growth of sales of herbal supplements and remedies. It has been realized that medicinal plants are also a valuable resource for new pharmaceutical products and thus a potential source of new drugs.

The exponentially growing herbal drug trade is consequently shifting global attention to developing nations like India which are treasure troves of medicinal plant wealth. Unsustainable and reckless exploitation of the natural flora of these countries due to vast commercial potential has already resulted in disappearance of germplasm of several plant species, with many of them being endangered, extinct or on the verge of extinction. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity states that the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity is of critical importance for meeting the food, health and other needs of the growing world population, for which purpose access to and sharing of both genetic resources and technologies are essential. Therefore there is an urgent need to bring about legislative control over exploitative harvesting and other unlawful collection practices related to medicinal plant trade in these countries. Regulation of herbal drug trade together with international cooperation and coordination for medicinal plant conservation is essential to ensure their continued availability in the future.

To curb commercial exploitation and to ensure both safety and efficacy of the numerous plant-based remedies that are today available as over-the-counter (OTC) proprietary labelled herbal and other ‘natural’ medicines, there is a driving need to assess, rationalize and regulate all trade practices related to the manufacture, processing, sale and supply of these herbal drugs, cosmetics and other health enhancers.