One of the aspects of the present invention relates to a method of obtaining a reproducible extraction process for use as a standard process for extracting a pharmacologically active mixture of chemical components from a plant, the method comprising: (a) extracting a plurality of pharmacologically active mixtures of chemical components from the plant in a plurality of different extraction processes to obtain a plurality of extracts； (b) obtaining a biological fingerprint of the pharmacological activity of each extract from step (a) by conducting at least two in vitro and at least two in vivo pharmacological tests on each extract, wherein each of the tests is known to correlate with effective treatment of a medical condition in a patient； (c) choosing one of the plurality of extracts which displays the best pharmacological activity in step (b)； (d) repeating, at least once, the extraction process used to produce the chosen extract of step (c) to produce at least one test extract； (e) (1) obtaining chemical fingerprints of the chosen extract and the at least one test extract by distinguishing the identity and amount, relative to each other, of the chemical components in the pharmacologically active mixture of each extract, and (2) repeating said step (b) using the at least one test extract； and (f) comparing the chemical fingerprints and the biological fingerprints of the chosen extract and the at least one test extract.
