Single plant remedies from traditional Indian medical systems in focus

Renewed awareness of the potentials of traditional medical systems and the limits of biomedicine have opened the dialog on making integrative medical therapies more mainstream. The vast resources of traditional medical knowledge from classical medical texts, folk medical practices based on the rich biodiversity available in India, and sophisticated experimental science and biomedical practice, places India in a unique place to lead the effort into integrative medicine to address some of the emerging global health care issues. Frequent use of antibiotics for minor ailments, for example, have been shown to develop adverse consequences for individuals and for public health globally. Here I propose that educating the public with controlled outcome-based studies, on the power of traditional therapies to stimulate the immune system, enhance anti-inflammatory activities and to promote cell growth, are needed to bring back traditional remedies into everyday use for minor illnesses in place of commonly used biomedicines that have long term adverse consequences. For simplicity, such studies should begin with single medicinal plants that derive from folk and Ayurvedic traditions. In addition, fundamental principles underlying the efficacy of traditional therapies and their long-term advantage for wellness, needs to be integral parts of education of biomedical physicians to make integrative medicine a reality.