Information AboutHerbalism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HERBALISM | |
| alternative medical systems | |
| alternative medicine | |
| biologically based therapies | |
| botany | |
| dietary supplements | |
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Herbalism, also known as '''phytotherapy''', is folk and traditional Medicinal practice based on the use of Plants and Plant Extract s. Finding healing powers in plants is an ancient idea. People in all continents have long used hundreds, if not thousands, of indigenous plants for treatment of various ailments dating back to prehistory. There is evidence that Neanderthals living 60,000 years ago in present-day Iraq used plants for medicinal purposes (found at a burial site at Shanidar Cave, Iraq, in which a Neanderthal man was uncovered in 1960. He had been buried with eight species of plants) These plants are still widely used in Ethnomedicine around the world. The first generally accepted use of plants as healing agents were depicted in the cave paintings discovered in the Lascaux caves in France, which have been Radiocarbon dated to between 13,000 - 25,000 BCE. Over time and with trial and error, a small base of knowledge was acquired within early tribal communities. As this knowledge base expanded over the generations, tribal culture developed into specialized areas. These 'specialized jobs' became what are now known as healers or Shaman. Plants have an almost limitless ability to synthesize Aromatic substances, most of which are Phenols or their oxygen-substituted derivatives such as Tannins . Most are Secondary Metabolite s, of which at least 12,000 have been isolated, a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total. In many cases, these substances (esp. Alkaloid s) serve as plant defense mechanisms against predation by microorganisms, insects, and Herbivore s. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds. The use of and search for drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have accelerated in recent years. Pharmacologists, microbiologists, botanists, and natural-products chemists are combing the Earth for phytochemicals and leads that could be developed for treatment of various diseases. In fact, many modern drugs have been derived from plants. The use of Herb s to treat Disease is almost universal among non-industrialized societies. A number of traditions came to dominate the practise of herbal medicine in the Western World at the end of the Twentieth Century :
Many of the Pharmaceuticals currently available to Western physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies, including Opium , Aspirin , Digitalis , and Quinine . BIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND All plants produce chemical Compounds as part of their normal Metabolic activities. These can be split into primary metabolites, such as Sugar s and Fat s, found in all plants, and secondary metabolites found in a smaller range of plants, some only in a particular Genus or Species . The Autologous functions of secondary metabolites are varied. For example, as Toxin s to deter Predation , or to attract insects for Pollination . It is these secondary metabolites which can have therapeutic actions in humans and which can be refined to produce drugs. Some examples are Inulin from the roots of Dahlia s, Quinine from the Cinchona , Morphine and Codeine from the Poppy , and Digoxin from the Foxglove . As Of 2004 , the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine started to fund Clinical Trial s into the effectiveness of herbal medicine. Some surveys of scientific herbal medicine can be found in ''Evidence-based herbal medicine'' edited by Michael Rotblatt, Irwin Ziment; Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, . POPULARITY A survey released in May 2004 by the (CAM), what was used, and why it was used. The survey was limited to adults age 18 years and over during 2002 living in the United States. According to this recent survey, herbal therapy, or use of natural products other than Vitamin s and minerals, was the most commonly used CAM therapy (18.9%) when all use of Prayer was excluded. EXAMPLES Examples of some commonly used herbal medicines:
DANGERS A common misconception about herbalism and the use of 'natural' products in general, is that 'natural' equals safe. However many plants have chemical defence mechanisms against predators that can have adverse or lethal effects on humans. Examples are Poison Hemlock and Nightshade , which can be deadly. Herbs can also have undesirable side-effects just as pharmaceutical products can. These problems are exacerbated by lack of control over dosage and purity. Furthermore, if given in conjunction with drugs, there is danger of 'summation', where the herb and the drug have similar actions and add together to make an 'overdose'. In animals, there are other dangers. There may be residues in food from farm animals (e.g. Eggs , Milk , Meat ) or danger of ' Doping ' in competition animals. The latter may also apply to human Athlete s. Name confusion The common names of herbs may be shared with others with different effects. For example, in one case in Belgium in a TCM -remedy for losing weight, one herb was swapped for another resulting in Kidney damage. One variety of the herb causes elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate, versus another variety for the weight-loss remedy, the varieties are differentiated by the suffix in the Latin names. International standards The legal status of herbal ingredients varies by country. For example, Ayurvedic herbal products may contain levels of heavy metals that are considered unsafe in the U.S. , but heavy metals are considered therapeutic in Ayurvedic medicine. Medical interaction Those wishing to use herbal remedies should first consult with a physician, as some herbal remedies have the potential to cause adverse drug interactions when used in combination with various prescription and Over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. Dangerously low blood pressure may result from the combination of an herbal remedy that lowers blood pressure together with prescription medicine that has the same effect. Physicians may not be the best sources of information because most have no knowledge of herbal medicine. There is little known about interactions of herbal remedies with pharmaceuticals because, contrary to pharmaceutical medicine, there is no official system, database, or hotline to report and publish adverse interactions, so even herbalists may not be aware of adverse interactions. A meta-analysis published in the overall 2,216,000 (1,721,000-2,711,000) hospitalized patients had serious ADRs and 106,000 (76,000-137,000) had fatal ADRs, making these reactions between the fourth and sixth leading cause of death." (JAMA. 1998;279:1200-1205) SEE ALSO
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