A Brief Introduction to Herbal Medicine

Herbal Medicine 

Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of therapeutic herbs, which form the foundation of traditional medicine. With global pharmacology research, certain herbal medications have been converted into contemporary therapies, such as the anti-malarial group of pharmaceuticals known as artemisinin, which was extracted from Artemisia annua, a plant used to cure fever in Chinese medicine. There is minimal scientific proof for the safety and efficacy of plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which does not typically establish purity or dose criteria. Herbal medicine frequently incorporates fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells, and animal parts. Phytomedicine or phytotherapy are additional terms for herbal medicine.

History 

Archaeological evidence suggests that medicinal plant use extends back to the Paleolithic period, roughly 60,000 years ago. The Sumerians, who recorded plant lists over 5,000 years ago, left written evidence of herbal treatments. Herbals are literature written by ancient societies about plants and their medicinal purposes. Herbs are mentioned in Egyptian medical papyri, depicted in tomb illustrations, and on rare occasions found in medical jars containing trace amounts of herbs in ancient Egypt. The Ebers papyrus, which dates from around 1550 BC in ancient Egypt, covers over 700 compounds, mostly of plant origin.

The earliest known Greek herbals were written by Theophrastus of Eresos in the 4th century BC in Greek Historia Plantarum, Diocles of Carystus in the 3rd century BC, and Krateuas in the 1st century BC. Only a few fragments of these works have survived intact, but scholars have noted overlap with Egyptian herbals based on what remains. Herbalism seeds were discovered in Bronze Age China archaeological sites dating back to the Shang dynasty. Herbs account for over a hundred of the 224 compounds mentioned in the Huangdi Neijing, an early Chinese medical text. 

Modern Herbal Medicine: Does it Really Work? 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that herbal medicine is used by 80 percent of the population in several Asian and African nations for some component of primary health care. 

Herbal medicine has made an important contribution to providing essential care, according to WHO The Office of Alternative Medicine was established within the National Institutes of Health by the United States Congress in 1989 to encourage scientific research in the field of traditional medicine, and the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP) was founded in 1989 with the goal of advancing the scientific status and harmonization of phytomedicines at the European level.

As a result, investment in the assessment of herbal treatments has increased. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine spent approximately US$33 million on herbal medicines in the fiscal year 2005; in 2004, the National Canadian Institute committed nearly US$89 million to research a variety of traditional therapies. While this level of investment is small in comparison to the pharmaceutical industry's total R&D expenditures, it reflects genuine public, industry, and governmental interest in this area.

Preparation of Herbal Extracts 

Herbs can be taken in a variety of ways, the most common of which is a liquid eaten as a herbal tea or a (potentially diluted) plant extract. 

Herbal teas, or tisanes, are the liquid that results from extracting herbs into water, and they can be created in a variety of methods. Infusions are hot water extracts of plants like chamomile or mint that have been steeped. Decoctions are long-term boiling extracts of tougher materials such as roots or bark. Maceration is the cold infusion of mucilaginous plants such as sage or thyme. Plants are chopped and placed in cold water to make macerates. After that, they are left to stand for 7 to 12 hours.

Tinctures are alcoholic preparations of plants that are often more potent than herbal teas. Tinctures are often made by mixing the plant with pure ethanol (or a combination of pure ethanol and water). A finished tincture contains at least 25% ethanol (and occasionally up to 90%). Glycerin can be used to make non-alcoholic tinctures, however, it is thought to be less absorbable by the body than alcohol-based tinctures and has a shorter shelf life. Herbal wine and elixirs are alcoholic extracts of herbs, typically containing 12-38% ethanol. Liquid extracts, dry extracts, and nebulisates are examples of extracts.

Tinctures are often vacuum-distilled to create them. Dry extracts are plant extracts that have been evaporated into a dry substance. They can then be processed further to form a capsule or tablet.

Many plants are used topically on the skin in various forms. Essential oil extracts, generally diluted in a carrier oil, can be applied to the skin. Many essential oils can burn the skin or be too strong when used directly; diluting them with olive oil or another food-grade oil, such as almond oil, allows them to be used safely as a topical. Other types of topical administration systems include salves, oils, balms, creams, and lotions. 

Are Herbal Medicines Safer to Use?

Herb consumption may have negative consequences. Furthermore, "adulteration, incorrect formulation, or a lack of understanding of plant and medicine interactions have resulted in severe responses that are occasionally fatal or life-threatening." Before medicinal usage, proper double-blind clinical trials are required to establish the safety and effectiveness of each plant. 

Although many people feel that herbal medications are safe since they are natural, herbal medicines and synthetic pharmaceuticals can combine and create toxicity in the consumer. Herbal remedies can also be dangerously contaminated, and herbal medicines with no proven efficacy may be mistakenly used to replace prescription medications.

Aconite (which is frequently a legally restricted herb), Ayurvedic remedies, broom, chaparral, Chinese herb mixtures, comfrey, herbs containing certain flavonoids, germander, guar gum, liquorice root, and pennyroyal are examples of herbal treatments with likely cause-effect relationships with adverse events. Ginseng, the endangered herb goldenseal, milk thistle, senna (which herbalists generally advise against and rarely use), aloe vera juice, buckthorn bark and berry, cascara sagrada bark, saw palmetto, valerian, kava (which is banned in the European Union), St. John's wort, khat, betel nut, the restricted herb ephedra, and guarana)

There is also concern about the numerous well-established interactions between herbs and drugs. The use of herbal remedies should be discussed with a physician, as some herbal remedies have the potential to cause adverse drug interactions when combined with various prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, just as a customer should inform a herbalist of their actual prescription and other medication consumption.

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