Ethnopharmacological investigation of Chinese medicinal plants

Chinese medicinal plants, which have been used by the Chinese people for centuries, are still being widely used today within the framework of healthcare services. A recent nationwide survey has shown there are 7295 species of plants used medicinally in China. An ethnopharmacological investigation included families containing over 100 medicinal plant species in Chinese medical flora, as well as genera containing over 15 medicinal species with a high proportion of therapeutic members. Medicinal plants are an important source for new drug development in China. Up to now about 200 new drugs have been developed directly or indirectly from Chinese medicinal plants. Nearly one half of the new drugs are from a single Chinese medicinal plant, or its active principle(s) and synthetic derivatives, or active fraction(s) or even the total extract. More than half are from composite prescriptions.