herbal research: gaps affecting the quality and validity of research findings

Traditional and herbal medicines are rich and promising sources for drug development. the number of articles published on traditional medicines and their applications is rapidly increasing. however, despite the extensive ongoing research on herbal medicines, the results of such research are not remarkable. against this background, this study aims to highlight some existing research gaps, the bridging of which will increase the quality and validity of the results of herbal research. to this end, iranian and non-iranian articles on allium sativum l. were reviewed for compliance with standards and requirements for herbal research. botanical nomenclature, processing and extraction procedures, and history of traditional medicine were identified as the main gaps in the reviewed herbal research. researchers and authors should keep in mind that familiarity with the history, characteristics, and potential of traditional medicine systems is a key factor accelerating the process of developing nature-based medicines. essential standards that have a great impact on the validity and reliability of the results of herbal research should not be ignored, either. in addition, there are still numerous areas that need to be considered by scientists and researchers, including the status of medicinal herbs, toxicological assessments, biological and pharmacological mechanisms of diseases, and research issues.