Ayurveda is a form of alternative medicine that uses different parts of herbs, plants and parts of animals to cure diseases and ailments. The word ayurveda comes from two Sanskrit words, 'ayus' meaning life and 'veda' meaning knowledge. Ayurveda is a complete and highly integrated science of life. It is a holistic and complex spiritual and philosophical system which has been developed over thousands of years and is a subtle body of knowledge. This medical system is based on the system of prevention which means that people are often treated before the symptoms of the illness become evident. A wide variety of healing techniques are used within the ambit of this system which include massage, mineral supplements, dietary change and medicated enemas.

The Indian traditional medicine can be classified in two groups. In the first group are the medicinal preparations belonging to Ayurvedic, Siddha & the Unani systems. The folk medicines belong to the second group.

The medicines of first group are generally of plant, mineral or animal origin or mixture of two or three of them. The medicines of second group i.e. sidha are household remedies. The Indian traditional medicine offers no systematic approach for processing raw materials, no documentary references are available and they are mostly used as family traditions. No claims therefore are made about their bio-availability or absence of toxicity. It is believed that traditional medicines due to the improper preparation, storage and other lopsided standardisation procedures.

Herbal medicines have been used since thousands of years in many parts of the world because they are often the lonely medicines available in less developed areas and also because they are becoming a popular alternative medicine in more developed areas.

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