Preclinical and clinical trials of Indian medicinal plants in disease control

Since the ancient period, the medicinal plants have been used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Recently, it has gained extreme research importance for their nutraceuticals values. It has been confirmed by WHO that herbal medicines serve the health needs of about 80% of World’s population; especially for millions of people in the vast rural areas of developing countries. This book chapter summarizes the importance of several medicinal plants which are traditionally used in treatment and management of different ailments in India. In addition, some pharmacological models describe the possible mechanism of action of bioactive phytochemicals, which can be successfully used as drug candidates in near future. However, there is urgent need for basic scientific investigations on medicinal plants and this has been highlighted in current research trends in clinical trials