India is a land of rich floral biodiversity having a long history for the use of medicinal plants in folk and other traditional systems of Medicine like Siddha and Ayurveda. About 7000 plants are estimated to be a major source of herbal medicine since prehistoric times. Several phytochemical constituents have been identified as having higher inhibitory effects with minimal side effects, unlike the chemically synthesized drugs. However, lack of extensive documentation on the ethnomedicineis considered to be a huge barrier for the increased its potential use in the medical practices. Therefore, a large number of research groups across the globe show their keen interest in exploring and exploiting the wealth of Indian medicinal plant compounds to discover the binding affinities of these secondary metabolites against the molecular targets of various ailments. Understanding the biochemical mechanisms that are involved in causing their desired inhibitory effects will cater in the developing novel plant-based therapeutic strategies against several diseases.
