title: An inside to the better understanding of the ethnobotanical route to drug discovery--the need of the hour.
abstract: For pharmaceuticals ranging from Digitalis to vincristine, the ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery has proven successful. The value of ethnobotanical information in drug development is based on several factors, which are discussed. Published ethnomedical information has many strengths and weaknesses relative to the ability to establish a corresponding biological effect in the laboratory. The ability to correlate ethnomedical reports with corresponding scientific studies could lead to improved selection of plants for further scientific studies. The application of NAPRALERT database in this regard is also discussed. An elaborate plant to drug pathway has been traced out for young researchers to make the drug discovery pathway more approachable. Various cautions related to possible errors during the ethnobotanical approach have also been highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur, India 495009.
authors.forename: Vivekananda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: Velmani
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gopal
authors.forename: Subhash C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Mandal
mesh_terms: D055808:Drug Discovery; D019448:Ethnobotany; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010946:Plants, Medicinal