Presidential address delivered to the Plant Products Section of the Cento Symposium on 'Role of Science in the development of Natural Resources, held at Lahore in January 1962. Deals at some length with the various problems associated with the economic exploitation of plant products. The study of natural drugs, which had fallen into comparative neglect as a result of the phenomenal success of synthetic drugs, has been increasingly gaining ground and fast assuming its earlier position of prominence. This recovery of interest in the natural products, which was perhaps led by the discovery of vitamins and sex hormones, has been further strengthened by the advant of antibiotics derived from moulds and other micro-organisms. More recently, the therapeutic use of Rauwolfia serpentina, as a drug of choice in the treatment of cardio-vascular diseases and mental ailments has done much to stabilize the view that there may be a good deal more to be got out of the medicinal plant wealth than workers in the synthetic field have for long been inclined to concede. Reference to some of the work done by the author himself and his associates over the last three decades, stresses the advisability of handling fresh drug material for chemical studies, which, with mild chemical procedures, and new techniques mentioned, may yield interesting results on reinvestigation of many important drug already included in the various pharmacopaeas. Examples are cited of interesting findings on investigation of fresh samples of Cicer arietinum (Bengal gram), Peganum harmala, new alkaloidal complex Serpajmaline from R. serpentine, Momordica charantia (Karela), etc. In conclusion the author advocates the initiation of some scheme of cooperative effort in this field of research to give impetus to the economic development of the plant products of the region (Turkey, Iran, Pakistan).