Meaning of Traditional Medicine/ Herbal Medicine: Traditional medicines are those medicines which are imbibed with a variety of characteristics. It is indigenous to the people who use it and is part of the wider belief system that is prevalent in the community. Knowledge on traditional medicines can be gathered by the study of the history i.e. the history of disease and illness. Traditional medicines exist in different parts of the world. In USA it is referred to as the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) or non conventional medicines. Though it is very difficult to define the concept of traditional medicine but a few noted scholars as well as noted institutions tried to define the concept in their own way-- the South African Traditional Health Practitioners Act defines Traditional Health Practice as “the performance of a function, activity, process, or service based on a traditional philosophy that uses indigenous African techniques and principles that include traditional medicines or practices, including the physical or mental preparation of an individual for puberty, adulthood, pregnancy, childbirth (sexual and reproductive health), and death” (Act 22, p. 5) (Cited, Muweh, 2011). Though this definition is considered to be very narrow in nature, the World Health Organization (WHO) traditional medicine is— “Traditional Medicine is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illnesses”. Therefore, traditional medicines involve a wide variety of natural products which is involved for herbal treatments of human beings. One can divide the traditional medicines into two parts— Firstly, medical therapies, which involves the use of medication, for example, herbal medications. It generally includes the traditional African medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy and Unani medicine. Secondly, non medication therapies i.e. referred to therapies based on the traditional processes. It doesn’t include the therapies which do not use medications internally, for example, acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy and meditation therapies. Systems of traditional medicine in World Regions: There are various systems of traditional medicines which exists in different parts of the world. A few systems of traditional medicines are firstly, Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient system of Hindu medicine. It means “the science of life‟. It dates back to the 10th century BC. It is mainly practiced in South Asia, which includes, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is used as a system of medicine as well as a method to cure and prevent diseases among the people. Secondly, Chiropractic system of traditional medicine. It was practiced in the 19th century by the therapeutic practice of Iowa. It is based on the association between the spine as well as the nervous system which thereby acts as the self healing properties of the human body. Thirdly, the system of homeopathy. It is a system of belief that Hippocrates (the father of medicine) was the first person to use homeopathy. Homeopathy comes from two Greek words; „‘homeo’’ which means similar and „‘pathos’’ which means suffering (or disease by extension). In homeopathy, rather than combating the disease directly as in biomedicine, the treatment in this system of traditional medicine is intended to arouse the body to battle the disease. Fourthly, the unani system of traditional medicine. The Unani system of healing is based on four bodily humours; blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. According to the Unani system, disease is the result of an imbalance in the four bodily humours. It is also known as Arabic medicine as it is practiced in China, India, Egypt, Iraq, Iran1. Fifthly, traditional African medicine. Africa has a rich bio-diversity of medicinal plant products which leads to the healing of the individuals. People who know the medicinal values of the plants and the herbs are generally looked up in the African society. The report of the regional overview in the WHO African region (AFR) there is only 50% of the population who has access to essential health care while the other 80% continue to rely on African traditional medicines (ATRM). It mainly includes herbal medicine, spiritual therapies and manual therapies. It can be also seen that in USA, among the 35 WHO member states (AMR) (it has a high percentage of indigenous population) and 60% of the world’s biodiversity uses traditional medicine through folk healers such as herbalists, masseurs, bonesetters and spiritual therapists. In South East Asian region (SEAR), Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy, yoga, naturopathy, Tibetan medicine, Jamu medicine, Thai medicine and Koryo medicine are the most demanding medical systems among the people. It is estimated that 70─80% of the population use traditional medicines. In Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR), traditional medicine is divided among popular knowledge, healers/oral traditions, codified systems among the 22 member states. EMR has developed guidelines for registration of herbal products and technical guidelines for safety, efficacy and quality control of herbal medicines since 2003. Unani, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Chinese medicine, chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy, spiritual therapy, reflexology, and aromatherapy are some of the prevalent practices apart from the folk medicines and other popular knowledge. Therefore, in almost all the regions of the world, “bio- medicalization” is taking place. Traditional medicine and their health impacts: Healing through medicinal plants has been a matter of interest for mankind since time unknown. It is believed that it was the people of Mesopotamia who were the first to use the herbs like oils of cypress, cedar, liquorice and poppy juice for treating various ailments in 2600 B.C. the Buddhist system of medicine is known as “gSo-ba Rig-pa” which is mainly practiced in Bhutan, Tibet and Mongolia and is around 2500 years old and its pharmacopoeia notes the use of 2200 traditional prescription drugs. Around 1500 BC, the Egyptian’s developed the Ebers papyrus which listed at around 700 drugs including things like-- gargles, snuffs, poultices, infusions, pills and ointments. The Chinese materia medica Wu-Shi Er-Bing Fang lists around 52 prescriptions which dates back to 1100BC. Ayurveda emerged in India around 1000 BC which records the use of plants like datura, aconitum, canabis and sarcostemma. In 78 AD, Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician produced De materia medica, which elaborated more than 500 medicinal plants and their related uses. People from all around the world are teaching the uses of herbal medicines to the others so that the benefits of medicinal plants in healing individuals can be achieved by people around the world. In the USA, homeopathy that includes hydrotherapy, nutritional therapy, herbal therapy, manual manipulation and midwifery, which were founded by German physician Hahnemann (1755-18- 1 (www.lifemojo.com) 43), became popular in 1830s. The National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) was established at the National Institute of Health, USA in the 1990s to independently develop and support research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The NCCAM categorized seven forms of therapies practiced worldwide such as mind-body interventions, bio-electromagnetic therapies, alternative systems of medical practice, manual healing methods, pharmacological and biological treatments, herbal medicine and diet and nutrition. (Cited, Wangchuk, 2008) The discovery of antibiotics and vaccines in the beginning of the 20th century made a major change in the medical practice worldwide. It also led to the emergence of the field of ethno- medicine as an independent academic field which focuses on the traditional healing systems. According to the health estimates provided by WHO, WHO estimates show that 75% of the French population, 30% of the Vietnamese population, and 40% of Indonesia’s population uses traditional medicines; 77% of pain clinics provide acupuncture in Germany and 72% of registered western style doctors uses kampo medicine in Japan. In Bhutan, traditional medicine is an integral part of the health care delivery system. Almost 100% of Hospitals and some Basic Health Units provide traditional medical services. (Cited, Wangchuk, 2008) Thus, development in the sphere of health is taking place as time passes by. Researches are taking place to analyze the impact of the traditional medicines on the human beings. Modernity in traditional medicine: The notion of modernity in traditional medicine has been a topic of concern for several years by medical practitioners. People who believe in the allopathic medical system are many a times skeptical about the use of traditional medical products. Modernity in traditional medicine could be thought about as a „„marriage‟‟ between modern medicine and traditional medicine (Cited, Muweh 2011). It acts as the transition or evolution from the primitive method of traditional medicine (where witchcraft is sued for the healing of the individuals) and to treat patients of their ailments in a scientific manner. Mutabazi (2008) discussed modernity in traditional medicines by taking into account for major points, they are— Autonomy—according to him, granting autonomy to the traditional medical system would lead to increasing