నైరూప్య

Bioactive Natural Products from Plant Sources

Vijay Kothari

Botany today has moved far ahead of the days when most of the work in this branch of science was centered on reporting new species from various geographical regions. It was dominated by taxonomists, who held the expertise for identification of various plant species based on their morphological and other characters. Another notable aspect was that of plant physiology. However no heavy emphasis was given on bioprospecting of the vast plant biodiversity. Though almost all ancient cultures had their own system of plant-based-therapy, no strong connection of these traditional medicinal practices was there with the modern scientific research practice until few years back.