J Ethnopharmacol. 1980 Jun; 2(2): 173-81.

The development of pharmacological and chemical research for application to traditional medicine in developing countries.

Farnsworth NR.

The resolution of the 31st WHO Assembly requests: (1) a complete inventory of medicinal plants, (2) evaluation of efficacy and safety of the plants, (3) standardization of the plants. This involves a great effort, not only from developing but also from industrialized countries, being a task which will take many years and the full-time dedication of many researchers. Any research on the use of plants in traditional medicine should be developed in the framework of the activity of WHO. An example of this type of collaboration is the organization of research on fertility regulating plants in which six universities in different regions of th world are interested. This work must be done in such a way that industry should play a role, because of its greater knowledge of modern technologies, which may lead to a better utilization of plants and their extracts, and its funding and marketing abilities.