Issues and developments in clinical trials of traditional medicines

Traditional medicines have been used since the beginning of human life on earth. Traditional medicines form a part of the household not only in India but also in western countries. According to WHO, traditional medicines are those extracts from plants which are of medicinal value. Around 80% of the world’s population relies on traditional medicines for medicinal purposes or as neutraceuticals. There is a well-established procedure for conducting clinical trials of western medicine, but when in the case of traditional medicines, there are several obstacles in the path. Where traditional medicines are the oldest form of medicines used by human’s specific issues like lack of infras-tructure, lack of sponsors and lack of skilled manpower hinders the clinical trial process for traditional medicines. The articles focus on various issues for conducting clinical trials and the steps taken by the government to address these issues. Centres like the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences are working rigorously to research traditional medicine to establish safety and efficacious data at par with modern medicines. Standardization of the collected raw material, in-process standardization and quality control check of the final product will further help in reducing the harmful adverse effects.