Medicinal Plants - International Journal of Phytomedicines and Related Industries

Large-scale quantitative analyses of associations between medicinal plants and health-related applications have been performed using, as examples, two databases: one specific for biomedical applications and the other more general—the world-wide web. Four plant species were selected for this analysis based on parameters such as common usage (e.g., Echinacea) and well-established therapeutic associations (e.g., Artemisia). Some common health-related parameters associated with these plants — e.g., malaria, infection, thrombosis, antioxidant activity— were also selected for analysis. The results with both databases were similar, and corresponded to the bestdocumented or most-researched medical roles for the plants or their bioactive phytochemicals. The analysis process is described along with calculations for determining optimal bioactivity association indices (AI). Interpretations of AI as well as influence of database type on such interpretations are discussed, e.g., influence of commercialization, and biochemical or clinical research. The analyses presented are generally applicable to medicinal plants and can also be used to analyze specific phytochemicals.