The traditional use of many indigenous and exotic medicinal plants is the subject of important drug research. There is usually a trend in the usage of a certain plant. If a plant has been used in a specific way for a specific purpose for a long time and this recipe is replicated in different geographical areas, there is a need to take a closer look at it Ethnobotany is a rapidly growing industry that helps drug researches focus on often-used herbs first and what diseases they can successfully cure. Many modern disorders and old conditions have been matched with certain plants used in tropics and developing nations however, there has not been any strong medical claims that herbal plants have been clinically proven to absolutely cure or effectively treat these diseases.

Eighty percent of the world's population is estimated by the World Health Organization to still depend mainly on herbal treatments for their primary health care. Most indigenous people are credited with the discovery of the medicinal uses of more than three-quarters of the plant-derived medicines that we use today. Yet, most of the "evolved" drugs developed by large companies are still out of the financial reach of the working classes and the poor in who live in developing nations and in the rainforest areas. The sad truth is, pharmaceutical drugs are not exactly getting any cheaper. People in the Third World like the tuktuk driver who earns the equivalent of $40 U.S. monthly to support a family of five can no longer afford the sophisticated drugs and yet still has to face the same maladies as people in developed nations do.

It is natural, then, to turn to plant-based medicines and concoctions because they are often the most available and fitting treatments for a wide diversity of health problems experienced by most of the world's populations. Usually, these populations cultivate wild medicinal plants in and around their homes. In their village, there is a shared knowledge on how to go about treating common fevers, infections, respiratory problems, stomach troubles, body pain and even snake bites. People in tropical forests and in many of the poorer parts of the world have long ago learned to use the plants growing in their backyards as their primary health care system. Some archaeologists have even discovered the remains of dried plants used as medicine at sites in South America that date back to 8000 B.C.

In the upper regions of the Amazon alone, at least 1,200 species of trees and herbs have been used create drogas do cert