The skyrocketing cost of research for therapeutic molecules from purely
synthetic chemistry, has prompted the resurgence of interest in traditional
herbal medicine. While clinical usage of such herbs has been extensively
documented in ancient texts, exhaustive plant profiles are lacking for most
plants, especially with regard to phytochemicals and their biosynthetic
pathways. This shortage of information, coupled with increasing information
demands of modern validation procedures of manufacturers of herbal medicinal
products and the demand of increasingly well-informed regulatory authorities
worldwide, is putting increasing pressure on scientists and technologists to
come up with such information. In addition, researchers involved with
ethnobotanical bioprospecting, from the pharmaceutical industry and academic
research institutes are