What is herbal medicine?

Herbal medicine, also called botanical medicine or phytomedicine, refers to using a plant's seeds,
berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Herbalism has a long tradition of use
outside conventional medicine. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality
control, along with advances in clinical research, show the value of herbal medicine in treating and
preventing disease.
How do herbs work?
In many cases, scientists are not sure what specific ingredient in a particular herb works to treat a
condition or illness. Whole herbs contain many ingredients, and they may work together to produce a
beneficial effect. Many factors determine how effective an herb will be. For example, the type of
environment (climate, bugs, and soil quality) in which a plant grew will affect it, as will how and when it
was harvested and processed.
How are herbs used?
The use of herbal supplements has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. Herbal supplements
are classified as dietary supplements by the U.S. Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)
of 1994. That means herbal supplements, unlike prescription drugs, can be sold without being tested to
prove they are safe and effective. However, herbal supplements must be made according to good
manufacturing practices.
An herb is a plant or plant part used for its scent, flavor, or therapeutic properties. Herbal medicines are
one type of dietary supplement. They are sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, extracts, and fresh or
dried plants. People use herbal medicines to try to maintain or improve their health.
The most commonly used herbal supplements in the U.S. include:
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea and related species)
St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
Garlic (Allium sativum)
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Ginseng (Panax ginseng or Asian ginseng) and Panax quinquefolius or American ginseng)
Science shows these herbal power-healers can help ease pain, prevent Alzheimer's, and ward off cancer
and heart disease
By Nancy Kalish November 3, 2011

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Your arsenal of home remedies is about to get a lot spicier with these best healing herbs. Though herbs
have been used for hundreds of years to heal, scientists are finally starting to substantiate these plants'
abilities to alleviate arthritis pain, reduce high blood sugar and cholesterol, and help with many other
conditions. They're even discovering amazing new powers in the best healing herbs, such as the ability
to kill cancer cells and help problem drinkers curb their alcohol intake.
"Herbs and other natural remedies can be as effective as traditional treatments, often without the same
negative side effects," says Roberta Lee, MD, medical director of the Continuum Center for Health and
Healing at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.
Ginger: Avert nausea
Ginger can prevent stomach upset from many sources, including pregnancy, motion sickness, and
chemotherapy. "This is one of Mom's remedies that really works," says Suzanna M. Zick, ND, MPH, a
research investigator at the University of Michigan. A powerful antioxidant, ginger works by blocking the
effects of serotonin, a chemical produced by both the brain and stomach when you're nauseated, and by
stopping the production of free radicals, another cause of upset in your stomach. In one study of cruise
ship passengers traveling on rough seas, 500 mg of ginger every 4 hours was as effective as Dramamine,
the commonly used OTC motion-sickness medication. In another study, where subjects took 940 mg, it
was even more effective than the drug.

Herbalist redirects here.

Herbalism ("herbology" or "herbal medicine") is use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of
such use. Plants have been the basis for medical treatments through much of human history, and such
traditional medicine is still widely practiced today. Modern medicine recognizes herbalism as a form of
alternative medicine, as the practice of herbalism is not strictly based on evidence gathered using the
scientific method. Modern medicine, does, however, make use of many plant-derived compounds as the
basis for evidence-tested pharmaceutical drugs, and phytotherapy works to apply modern standards of
effectiveness testing to herbs and medicines that are derived from natural sources. The scope of herbal
medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and
certain animal parts.

Modern herbal medicine

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the population of some Asian and
African countries presently use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care.[8]
Pharmaceuticals are prohibitively expensive for most of the world's population, half of whom lived on
less than $2 U.S. per day in 2002.[9] In comparison, herbal medicines can be grown from seed or
gathered from nature for little or no cost.

Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal
remedies, including opium, aspirin, digitalis, and quinine. According to the World Health Organization,
approximately 25% of modern drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants.[10] At
least 7,000 medical compounds in the modern pharmacopoeia are derived from plants.[11] Among the
120 active compounds currently isolated from the higher plants and widely used in modern medicine
today, 80% show a positive correlation between their modern therapeutic use and the traditional use of
the plants from which they are derived

he bark of the cinchona tree contains quinine, which today is a

widely prescribed treatment for malaria, especially in countries
that cannot afford to purchase the more expensive anti-malarial
drugs produced by the pharmaceutical industry