**6. Conclusion**

The use of plants in treating diseases is a very old human tradition. This knowledge, derived from observations and experiences, has been handed over from generation to generation

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verbally and also in the form of ancient texts. Medicinal plants are the foundations for modern therapeutic agents. Herbal medicines are an important part of the health care system in many developing countries. The use of herbal medicines, as health promoting agents, in developed countries has also increased and this trend is continuing. Healthcare professionals need to be aware of the pharmacology of these herbal medicines in order to provide well informed advice to patients. The traditional herbal medicines field is very vast. In this chapter we attempted to provide scientific evidence for the herbs with historical use in three major GIT disorders namely: peptic ulcer, diarrhoea and IBD. Researchers successfully reproduced these human disorders in animals by employing a range of chemical agents and scientific procedures. In some cases, these models not only have supported the traditional claims, but also provided important information on the mechanism of action of the plant extracts and in some cases their components. The majority of these preclinical studies established the scientific evidence to traditional herbal medicines. Unfortunately, very few clinical trials are conducted to translate animal data into humans. As clinical trials are important to furnish efficacy and safety data, the lack of clinical data has become the main impediment in developing traditional herbal remedies into mainstream medicines. Recent progress in the quality control of herbal products is very promising in gaining consumer confidence and promoting consideration of herbal medicines as complementary and in some cases alternative approaches to conventional therapies. Medicinal plants listed in this chapter have the potential to treat peptic ulcer, diarrhoea and IBD. Additional studies on quality, efficacy and safety in animals and humans will be required to integrate them in mainstream medicine.
