| AAAS | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| AICRPE | All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Ethnobiology |
| AIT | Automated Identification Technology |
| ASU | Ayurveda, Siddha, or Unani |
| AZ | Azadirachtin |
| CBD | Convention on Biological Diversity |
| CDER | Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research |
| CDRI | Central Drug Research Institute |
| CDSCO | Central Drugs Standards Control Organization |
| CER | comparative effectiveness research |
| CIMAP | Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants |
| CPI | conservation priority index |
| CSIR | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research |
| DL | Digital Library |
| DNTI | drugs from nature targeting inflammation |
| EBKDL | Ethnobotanical Knowledge Digital Library |
| EMA | European Medicine Agency |
| EOLLS | Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems |
| ESTs | expressed sequence tags |
| Fic | informant consensus factor |
| FL | fidelity level |
| FSH | follicle stimulating hormone |
| GAPs | good agricultural practices |
| GC | gas chromatography |
| GCP | good clinical practice |
| GLP | good laboratory practices |
| GMP | good manufacturing practice |
| HTS | high throughput screening |
| IPR | Intellectual Property Rights |
| ISMs | Indian Systems of Medicine |
| IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature |
| LC | liquid chromatography |
| LCPI | local conservation priority index |
| LH | luteinizing hormone |
| MS | mass spectrometry |
| NBA | National Biodiversity Authority |
| NBRI | National Botanical Research Institute |
| NCL | National Chemical Laboratory |
| NGS | next generation sequencing |
| NMR | nuclear magnetic resonance |
| NPM | non-pesticidal management |
| PIC | prior informed consent |
| PTGs | particularly vulnerable tribal groups |
| RCT | randomized clinical trials |
| RFC | relative frequency of citation |
| RRL | Regional Research Laboratories |
| SK | scientific knowledge |
| ST | scheduled tribals |
| TGA | Therapeutic Goods Administration |
| TK | traditional knowledge |
| TKDL | Traditional Knowledge Digital Library |
| TKS | traditional knowledge systems |
| UTs | Union Territories |
| UV | use value |
| WHO | World Health Organization |