Herbalism
Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or flock medicine practice based on the use of plants and
plant extracts.Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources.
Traditional use of medicines is recognized as a way to learn about
potential future medicines. In 2001, researchers identified 122
compounds used in mainstream medicine which were derived from
"ethnomedical" plant sources; 80% of these compounds were used in the
same or related manner as the traditional ethnomedical use.
Plants have evolved the ability to synthesize chemical compounds that
help them defend against attack from a wide variety of predators such
as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals. By chance, some of these
compounds, whilst being toxic to plant predators, turn out to have
beneficial effects when used to treat human diseases. Such secondary
metabolites are highly varied in structure, many are aromati
substances, most of which are
phenolsor their oxygen-substituted derivatives. At least 12,000 have been
isolated so far a number estimated to be less than 10% of the total.
Chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body by
binding to receptor molecules present in the body; such processes are
identical to those already well understood for conventional drugs and as
such herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in
terms of how they work. This enables herbal medicines to be in principle
just as effective as conventional medicines but also gives them the
same potential to cause harmful side effects. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.
Similarly to prescription drugs, a number of herbs are thought to be likely to cause adverse effects.
Furthermore, "adulteration, inappropriate formulation, or lack of
understanding of plant and drug interactions have led to adverse
reactions that are sometimes life threatening or lethal.