CHAPTER 1Chapter-1. Introductio1.1 General introduction 2-51.2 Indian system medicine 5-111.3 Herbal medicine industry 12-131.4 Amaranth 13-151.5 Plant breeding 15-17CHAPTER 11.1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION: The history of herbal medicine must trace the history of civilization itself. The discovery of certain plants for their healing properties must have come from instinct. Traditional medicine is an evolving process as communities and individuals continue to discover new techniques for healing foods that can transform medical practices. We must credit our ancestors with the wisdom that identified species with medicinal properties. Since time immemorial, plants, animals and minerals have been used to treat human illnesses. Plants, in particular, are the basis of several traditional medicinal systems around the world, which have provided humanity with new remedies for thousands of years and continue. Herbal medicines are mainly distributed in raw form, such as teas, tinctures and poultices, and now form the basis for the invention of new medicines. In India, herbs are traditionally used for human and veterinary health care and in the food and textile industry. Ninety percent of indigenous peoples knew that local food resources were not documented, including nutritional literature, commerce and cosmetics; but India occupies a special position in the field of medicinal plants, as it is one of the few countries capable of cultivating most of the important plants used in both modern and traditional systems of medicine. India has a rich flora due to the wide variation in climate, soil and altitude conditions. climate, soil, altitude/latitude and rich flora.Throughout ...... middle of paper ......h African leaf is used as an abortive agent43,44.Amaranthus viridis Linn (Amaranthaceae) , commonly known as 'Chilaka ThotaKura' in Telugu, has been used in the traditional Indian and Nepalese system to reduce labor pains and act as an antipyretic32,45. The bruised leaves are directly applied to psoriasis, eczema and rashes by the Negritos of the Philippines42. Other ethnomedical uses are as an anthelmintic, diuretic anti-inflammatory agent, antirheumatic, antileprotic, antiulcer, analgesic, antiemetic, laxative, appetite improvement, for the treatment of respiratory problems, eye problems, venereal diseases, and for the treatment of asthma 32,46, 47-53. The three selected plants have no scientific data concerning their pharmacognostic, phytochemical and pharmacological activities (antioxidant, alpha amylase inhibition test, antipyretic, analgesic, anthelmintic, antimicrobial and laxative).).