4. Future perspectives and treatment approach

Phytochemicals drugs have been used since ancient times as medicines for treatment of a range of diseases. Medicinal plants have played a key role in world health. In spite of the great advances observed in modern medicine in recent decades, plants still make an important contribution to health care. Medicinal plants are distributed worldwide, but they are most abundant in tropical countries. Over the past decade, interest in drugs derived from higher plants, especially the phototherapeutic ones, has increased expressively. It is estimated that about 25% of all modern medicines are directly or indirectly derived from higher plants. Phytomedicines are standardized herbal preparation consisting of complex mixtures of one or more plants which are used in most countries for the management of various diseases. Other characteristics of phytochemicals are their wide therapeutic use and great acceptance by the population. In contrast to modern medicines, phytochemicals are frequently used to treat chronic diseases. Phytochemicals are normally marketed as standardized preparations in the form of liquid, solid, or various preparations. Compared with well-defined synthetic drugs, phytochemicals exhibit some marked differences, namely:

