Traditional Health Care Systems and Herbal Medicines

INTRODUCTION Globally, hundred types of traditional medical practices are known to exist, which are in use and enlisted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Continuity of traditional medicine system replete with examples across the world, for instance, acupuncture in China, magnetic healing in France, Heilpraxis in Germany, Herbalism in Sweden, Shiatsu in Japan, and Sowa Rig-pa in Tibet and Bhutan (Anonymous, 2006). Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy, Naturopathy and Yoga are some of the most popular systems of alternative medicine ( Indian sub-continent, and some of them Ayurveda, Sidhha, and Naturopathy, for example, are still playing a major role in curing many old and new born diseases (Kala et al., 2006). People across the world rely upon the traditional systems of medicines, largely plant based, to meet their primary health care needs. In China, the traditional herbal preparations account for 30-50% of the total medicinal consumption. In Germany, about 90% populations have used natural remedies at some point in their life. In many African countries including Ghana, Mali, Zambia and Nigeria, over 60% children with malarial fever are cured at home with herbal remedies. In Europe and North America, over half of the populations have used complementary and alternative medicine, at least once (Anonymous, 2006; WHO, 2008). All these traditional medical systems have accumulated a great deal of knowledge on the various medicinal plant species. Ayurveda, the oldest medical system Kala / Traditional Health Care Systems and Herbal Medicines 2 © 2017 by Author/s in Indian sub-continent, has alone reported approximately 2000 medicinal plant species, fol