Author(s): Thillaivanan.S, Samraj.K

Abstract: Herbal medicine and their preparations have been widely used for the thousands of years in developing and developed countries. Herbal medicines are the synthesis of therapeutic experiences on generations of practicing physicians in indigenous systems of medicine, for over hundreds of years. They are also in great demand in the developed world all health care problems because of their efficacy, safety and lesser side effects. India is sitting on a gold mine of well-recorded and well- practiced knowledge of traditional herbal medicine. The Indian systems of medicine i.e., Siddha, Ayurveda & Unani mainly encompass herbal medicines along with herbo-mineral formulations. The preparations are either as single herbs or as collections of herbs in composite formulae. This may be the main reason why quality control of oriental herbal drugs is more difficult than that of western drug. The quantity and quality of the safety and efficacy data on traditional medicine are far from sufficient to meet the criteria needed to support its use world-wide. This review article, discusses these constraints and  challenges  in  relation  to  conservation,  science  and  technology,  use  of herbal medicine, drug   production sector, safety  and  efficacy  and also the opportunities of herbal medicine in local and global level.