Lack of IP protection and the huge cost of infringement suits are not conducive to research on traditional herbal drugs. There is little financial incentive to explore traditional medical claims of herbal drugs for therapeutic efficacy. Current scientific drug discovery research is based on “single molecule–single receptor–single activity” approach of activity screening. Such methods of experimentation on herbs and their activity studies are unable to bring out the actual panoramic dimension behind herbal drug pharmacology. For example, isolation of a single chemical entity from an efficacious anti-diabetic traditional herb, if found to be not safe leads to unjustified apprehensions about the safety of the herb. What is needed is development of lateral analysis protocols tailored to evaluate multiple pharmacological effects of polychemical herbal drugs. Unless there is sufficient financial incentive and protection to fund such research efforts, herbs and herbal drugs will not receive the needed research attention.