ABSTRACT
Herbal compounds have been used as a medicine to cure diseases and enhance the quality of health and life. From the dawn of human existence, countless generations of mankind have patiently experimented with and discovered a wide variety of herbs, which cure various diseases in plants and animals. The primitive man started to distinguish between nutritional and pharmacologically active plants for his survival. Herbal medicines are an essential part of traditional systems of medicine in almost all cultures. The efforts of various investigators have led to the development of various traditional systems of medicine, such as aromatherapy, Chinese, Indian, Unani, Tibetan, and Siddha systems of alternative medicines. All the civilized nations have developed their own material medica, and compiling details about plants used for therapeutic purposes. This chapter discusses the various alternative systems of medicines such as Chinese, Indian, Unani, Tibetan, Siddha systems, and so forth.
