ABSTRACT
The pharmacognostic studies on Indian medicinal plants have been reviewed extensively, covering the published work of the period 1940 to 1968 and having a bibliography comprised of 1081 references. There is a need, therefore, to redefine the strategy of work on medicinal plants so that the available resources can be optimally utilised on worthwhile areas. The studies in India and elsewhere have clearly demonstrated the necessity for collaborative multidisciplinary efforts for the development of drugs from medicinal plants. The pharmacopeias of the traditional systems have mainly drawn upon the indigenous flora for the preparation of a wide variety of herbal medicaments and about 800 plants are mentioned in the relevant systems. A systematic examination of plants belonging to the Umbelliferae occurring in the Himalayan region has led to the isolation of a large number of new coumarins. Attention has been hitherto focused on the land flora in India, largely because these plants are used in the traditional systems of medicine.
