Plant to phytopharmaceutical: The journey and future directions

Nature has an answer for all human needs. Since the beginning of human life, plants have been used as medicines, and these continue to be a valuable reservoir of therapeutic agents and pharmaceutical products. The journey of a plant from nature to the market involves selection, collection, authentication, extraction or isolation of bioactives, chemoprofiling, biological evaluation, and quality assurance. This article highlights the importance of each step and emphasises the need for a sustainable use of plants and incorporating new technologies in order to ensure a regular supply as well as quality, efficacy, and safety of plant products and phytopharmaceuticals.