Parkinson's disease (PD) was first formally described by James Parkinson in 1817

but the shaking of limbs was described in the literature of several ancient civilizations

such as ancient Chinese civilization and ancient Indian civilization. Historically

botanical drugs were used as the main source for the treatment of such kind of disorders. In Western countries

plant extracts also occupied an important place in the earlier medications of PD. With the adventure of synthetic drugs

the role of plant-derived drugs in management of PD has been diminished. Nowadays

there is still no cure for PD

dopaminergic (DA) medication is the treatment of choice

which is just designed to ameliorate symptoms of PD

and long-term use of DA medication will result in reduced efficacy and severe adverse reactions. It is necessary to explore new methods for the treatment of PD. Chinese medicine (CM) developed a holistic and unique theoretical system

and botanical drugs are widely used in practice for more than two millennia. Modern pharmacological studies have proved that Chinese herbs have potential therapeutic effects on PD

such as enhancing neurotrophic activity

clearing protein aggregates

regulating neuroinflammation

etc. All the advances provide us with hope for developing CM as a mainstream medication for treating PD.