Herbal drugs for ophthalmic use

Abstract

The traditional medicinal systems of various civilizations are well known to use herbal remedies for various ocular conditions. Plant derived compounds came to ocular use in the last century in which cocaine, physostigmine, pilocarpine and atropine are still holding a place in modern ophthalmology practice. The traditional knowledge available at different populations are of current interest among researchers throughout the world for finding new therapeutic modalities for ocular disorders like glaucoma, uveitis, cataract and neovascular conditions etc. This chapter documents the studies exhibiting the usefulness of such attempts to have a place in ocular therapeutics from the alternative systems of medicine.