Plant Extracts and Phytochemicals as Herbal Medicines and Antimicrobials

Primary healthcare systems involves use of medicinal plants as an effective source of both traditional and modern medicines. Any plant which possesses curative elements or properties in one or more of its organs may be termed as medicinal plant. Plant based medicaments have been employed since the dawn of civilization for prolonging the life of man and for combating various ailments. World Health Organization (WHO) also advocates use of traditional medicines as safe remedies for ailments of both microbial and non-microbial origins. According to WHO more than one billion people rely on herbal medicines to some extent. 21,000 plants all around the world have been listed for their medicinal uses and it has been estimated that as many as 80 percent of the world's population depends on plants for their primary healthcare needs. Plants used for traditional medicine contain a wide range of substances that can be used to treat chronic as well as infectious diseases. Medicinal value of plants depends on these inherent substances that produce a definite physiological action on the human body. BioMedSciDirect Publications International Journal of BIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH www.biomedscidirect.com Int J Biol Med Res Volume 3, Issue 1, Jan 2012