Herbal Medicine and Sustainable Development Challenges and Opportunities

Eco-friendly, bio-friendly, reasonably priced, and usually safe herbal medicines have moved from the margins to the center of medicine as a result of expanding research in the field of traditional medicine over the past few decades. A variety of herbal medicines have been created over the past few decades for both the prevention and treatment of diseases that are safe for the environment, organically produced, and affordable due to extensive study in the conventional system of medicine. Natural herbs have been used for a long time to treat and prevent many illnesses. However, the major obstacles to the growth of herbal medicine include regulation, industrialization, biopiracy, inadequate infrastructure, overuse and irrational use of medicinal herbs, and loss of biodiversity. Promoting and incorporating herbal medicines into basic healthcare develops sufficient capacity enhancement. This should be viewed as a sustainable route. It possesses the potential to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the promotion of herbal medicines by the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as to facilitate the development of new drugs, improved access to healthcare, the preservation of forest resources, and assistance in bridging socioeconomic gaps.