ayurveda is the ancient ( before 2500 b.c . ) 
 indian system of health care and longevity . 
 it involves a holistic view of man , his health , and illness . 
 ayurvedic treatment of a disease consists of salubrious use of drugs , diets , and certain practices . 
 medicinal preparations are invariably complex mixtures , based mostly on plant products . around 1,250 plants 
 are currently used in various ayurvedic preparations . 
 many indian medicinal plants have come under scientific scrutiny since the middle of the nineteenth century , although in a sporadic fashion . 
 the first significant contribution from ayurvedic materia medica came with the isolation of the hypertensive alkaloid from the sarpagandha plant ( rouwolfia serpentina ) , valued in ayurveda for the treatment of hypertension , insomnia , and insanity . 
 this was the first important ancient - modern concordance in ayurvedic plants . with the gradual coming of age of chemistry and biology , disciplines central to the study of biologic activities of natural products 
 , many ayurvedic plants have been reinvestigated . 
 our work on commiphora wightti gum - resin , valued in ayurveda for correcting lipid disorders , has been described in some detail ; based on these investigations , a modern antihyperlipoproteinemic drug is on the market in india and some other countries . 
 there has also been concordance for a few other ayurvedic crude drugs such as asparagus racemosus , cedrus deodara , and psoralea corylifolia.imagesfigure 1figure 2