ABSTRACT
Ethnopharmacology is more than a simple study of medicinal plants used in traditional cultures. It is categorized as an interdisciplinary scientific investigation of biologically active substances used in traditional cultures and is currently available for physicians for health promotion and medicinal purposes. WHO estimates that about 80% of the world’s population uses herbal medications for some aspects of primary health care and that herbal compounds are used by alternative medicine practitioners in both industrialized and developed countries. Ethnopharmacology and ethnopharmacognosy present knowledge about drug discovery and fill the gaps between traditional practices and modern phyto-pharmaceutical technology. This chapter highlights the current status and the future prospects of ethnopharmacology and ethnopharmacognosy. A particular interest will be given to the major confirmed plant preparation effects including anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It is deducible that the cumulus of these biological activities is mainly due to the rich phytochemical composition of medicinal plants, which is explored by several chromatographic approaches, and the effects are commonly studied by combined in silico and in vitro and/or in vivo approaches.
