Zebrafish: a nontraditional model of traditional medicine

With a modern rise in the use of traditional medicines has come a need for model organisms that are amenable not only to treatment with these remedies, but also to testing the large number of potential therapeutics this field presents. The high-fecundity and rapid generation time of the zebrafish makes it a natural candidate for this endeavor. Additionally, the zebrafish shares genetic, anatomic and physiologic homology to higher order vertebrates. This review surveys the present state of phytotherapy research utilizing the zebrafish model organism. The studies herein described utilize the zebrafish for investigating plant-based effectors of hypercholesterolemia, angiogenesis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. In addition to reviewing the present state of research in this area, the philosophical intersection of modern and traditional medical paradigms is discussed and future directions for investigations at this junction are suggested.