Ecopharmacognosy and the globalization of Traditional medicines

Abstract

<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";mso-bidi-font-family:="" mangal;mso-ansi-language:en-gb;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-GB">“Ecopharmacognosy” is the study of sustainable, biologically active, natural resources. It provides a philosophical and practical framework for developing new strategies and scientific perspectives which can assure global healthcare product accessibility and beneficial outcomes. Here, the sustainable precepts of ecopharmacognosy to develop improved traditional medicinal agents for globalization, based on a holistic approach to technology integration, will be presented. Plants remain a primary source of healthcare for the majority of patients in the world. However, they are typically used with minimal quality control. In addition, there are many tropical diseases, as well as multidrug-resistant organisms, requiring drug discovery programs. To address these needs, ecopharmacognosy approaches and network pharmacology must enhance the quality, assure the safety, demonstrate efficacy, and provide consistency (QSEC), and explore the many diverse effects of individual and complex products at the gene level. Field-based instruments are being deployed to assess natural materials non-invasively, and spectroscopic and chromatographic procedures are in development to analyze quantitatively single and multi-component plant mixtures for established bioactive markers. Combining contemporary technologies and sustainability considerations, as aspects of ecopharmacognosy, are important strategies to enhance the quality control of traditional medicines for improved patient care.</span>