Do medicinal plants possess significant activities?

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants and their preparations for the
treatment of diseases is as old as mankind, and even today
majority of the world population depends on herbal health
care practices. Exploring medicinal plants in the context
of modern science is the need for optimum and proper
utilization of medicinal plants. Research on medicinal plants
for biological activities is an area of interest worldwide.
Lots of scientific research has been carried out on a large
number of medicinal plants, as evident from increase in
the number of research articles on biological activity of
plants. In spite of increased research on medicinal plants,
there is no considerable development in the number of
marketable drugs as plant derived chemical entities or herbal
formulations with modern standards of safety and efficacy.
In this situation, the medicinal properties of medicinal plants
become questionable, raising the title question.