INDIAN DRUGS 51(08) AUGUSt 2014 5 Keywords: thrust area, Shifting paradigm, traditional Medicine, Regulatory affairs, Validation, Integrated approaches. TRADITIONAL MEDICINE SYSTEMS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES traditional medicine (tM) includes the longstanding remedies passed on and practiced by the people for prevention and treatment of diseases. It is composed of several systems of medicine from different parts of the world. Plants have formed the basis of traditional medicine systems. this includes traditional Chinese medicine (tCM) from China, Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) from Indian systems of medicine (ISM), Kampo medicine (Japan), Native American medicine (USA), tibetan medicine (tibet), Jamu Gendong (Indonesia), traditional African Medicine (Africa) and traditional Hawaiian Medicine (Hawaii) 1 . It has been estimated that two-thirds of the world’s population seek healthcare from sources other *Corresponding author: Pulok K. Mukherjee PhD, FRSC School of Natural Product Studies Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700 032, India. Telefax: +91-33-24146046 naturalproductm@gmail.com REVIEW ARTICLE SHIFTING PARADIGM FOR VALIDATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN INDIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE Mukherjee Pulok K*, Bahadur Shiv, Harwansh Ranjit K, Chaudhary Sushil K (Received 17 July 2014) (Accepted 02 August 2014) ABSTRACT the use of herbal drugs for the prevention and treatment of various health ailments has been in practice from time immemorial. Scientific validation and documentation of indigenous knowledge to work on patenting and research based on literature are necessary for the growth of Indian system of medicine. the Indian government has taken several initiatives for promotion and development of medicinal plants. traditional medicine plays an inevitable role in drug discovery and development. Most of the therapeutically useful molecules used in the present day are inspired by traditional medicine. Several thrust areas of research need to be focused to develop scientifically validated data on their quality, safety and efficacy, to improve the consumer’s need of modern days. The products developed through validation will be of immense use for the betterment of healthcare and will help the industries to compete with their products to export to other counties. A paradigm shift is required for the promotion and development of traditional medicine, which can significantly convey the important task in economic growth. An attempt has been made through this article to highlight the major thrust areas and challenges in medicinal plant research and development. than conventional biomedicine, while many of these individuals undoubtedly seek their remedies from various tM including Ayurveda, tCM, Kampo, native American medicine, traditional Hawaiian medicine, Unani, Latin American folk systems, etc 2 . to compensate the global market demand of herbal drugs, scientific and clinic experiments in TCM are continuously advancing. the achievements have been made in areas such as in circulating paths of meridians; in Zheng-syndrome, in diagnostic indexes, in therapeutic principles, in healing emergency patients with shock, acute disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute myocardial infarction and acute renal failure 3 . tCM has been known for efficient treatment of diseases like tumors, cardio-cerebro-vascular, bone fracture, etc. As an example, the theory of combination of mobilization and immobilization was enforced for treatment of bone fracture; Non-antibacterial compound prescriptions are still being used in treatment of bacterial infections. Fuzheng Guben compound prescriptions cause the shrinkage of the mass of cancer in the treatment of cancers. tCM provides an advantage in the non-surgical approach to the treatment of acute abdomen, which can be easily adopted in tM 4 . Demand for Chinese herbal products is surging not just domestically as consumer power increases, but also oversees as China’s economy is liberalized and tM is more widely accepted.