The plant kingdom continues to hold considerable importance in our daily life. In addition to supplying humanity with food, it is considered as a potential source of thousands of novel materials such as fragrances, flavoring agents, dyes, fibers, beverages, building materials, heavy metal chelators, and many useful compounds of great therapeutic value.

Early studies of plants helped humankind make use of local flora for healing ailments. These studies have continued until now to seek out new agents for the treatment of various diseases. Recent investigations regarding plants with centuries of use in folk medicine have generated a great deal of information about the biologically active chemical components responsible for many claimed medicinal effects. As a result of thorough research involving the isolation and structure characterization techniques, many lead compounds, and prototypes from natural products have assumed reputable roles in medicine. Despite the huge number of synthetic and semisynthetic drugs, the most valuable medicinal agents still in use are obtained from medicinal plants.