Herbal Medicine, Herbal, Herbal Remedies
What is Herbal Medicine?
Herbal medicine is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts.
Many well know drugs originally come from plants. For example, the painkiller morphine comes from poppies, aspirin comes from the bark of willow trees and digoxin (a drug used to treat heart failure) comes from foxgloves.
Herbal medicine is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbology, and phytotherapy.
Sometimes the scope of herbal medicine is extended to include fungi and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
The World Health Organization ( WHO) confirm that herbal medicine is actually the most widely practised form of medicine across the world - 80 percent of the world's population are dependent on herbs for their health.
Pharmaceuticals are extremely expensive for most of the world's population, half of which lives on less than $2 U.S. per day and even prosperous countries like the USA - 50% of their population cannot afford prescription drugs.
In comparison, herbal medicines can be grown from seed or gathered from nature for little or no cost.
Herbal medicine is a major player in all traditional or folk medicine from around the world in Siddha and Ayurvedic ( India), homeopathic, Unani-Tibb, Shamanic Herbalism, naturopathic, traditional Chinese medicine, and Native American medicine.
The use of, and search for, herbal drugs and dietary supplements derived from plants have greatly increased 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, according to the World Health Organisation, approximately 25% of modern drugs used in the United States have been derived from plants.
Three quarters of plants that provide active ingredients for prescription drugs came to the attention of researchers because of their use in traditional medicine.
There are a number of other therapies that use plants as herbal medicine:
Aromatherapy
Homeopathy
Ayurvedic medicine, which treats the mind and body together with herbal medicines, yoga, massage, diet and meditation
Traditional Chinese medicine, which works on the same principles as Ayurveda and uses herbs to boost or disperse qi (energy)
Different types of herbal medicine and the routes of administration
Tinctures: (alcoholic extracts of herbs such as echinacea extract. Usually obtained by combining 100% pure ethanol (or a mixture of 100% ethanol with water) with the herb. A completed tincture has a ethanol percentage of at least 40-60% (sometimes up to 90%).
Herbal wine and elixirs; these are alcoholic extract of herbs; usually with an ethanol percentage of 12-38%. Herbal wine is a maceration of herbs in wine, while an elixir is a maceration of herbs in spirits (eg vodka, grappa, ...)
Tisanes (hot-water extracts of herb, such as chamomile)
Decoctions (long-term boiled extract of usually roots or bark)
Macerates (cold infusion of plants with high mucilage-content as sage, thyme, ...) Plants are chopped and added to cold water.
They are then left to stand for 7 to 12 hours (depending on herb used). For most macerates 10 hours is used.
Vinegars (prepared at the same way as tinctures)
Topicals:
Essential oils- application of essential oil extracts, usually diluted in a carrier oil (many essential oils can burn the skin or are simply too
high dose used straight – diluting in olive oil or another food grade oil can allow these to be used safely as a topical).
Salves, oils, balms, creams and lotions- Most topical applications are oil extractions of herbs. Taking a food grade oil and soaking herbs in it for anywhere from weeks to months allows certain phytochemicals to be extracted into the oil. This oil can then be made into salves, creams, lotions, or simply used as an oil for topical application. Many massage oils, antibacterial salves and wound healing compounds are made this way.
Poultices and compresses- One can also make a poultice or compress using whole herb (or the appropriate part of the plant) usually crushed or dried and re-hydrated with a small amount of water and then applied directly in a bandage, cloth or just as is.
Whole herb consumption - This can occur in either dried form (herbal powder, or fresh (juice, fresh leaves and other plant parts.
Syrups: extracts of herbs made with syrup or honey. Sixty five parts of sugar are mixed with 35 parts of water and herb. The whole is then boiled and
macerated for three weeks.
Extracts: include liquid extracts, dry extracts and nebulisates. Liquid extracts are liquids with a lower ethanol percentage than tinctures. They can (and are usually) made by vacuum distilling tinctures. Dry extracts are extracts of plant material which are evaporated into a dry mass. They can then
be further refined to a capsule or tablet. A nebulisate is a dry extract created by freeze-drying.
Inhalation- as in aromatherapy can be used as a mood changing treatment, to fight a sinus infection or cough, or to cleanse the skin on a deeper level (steam rather than direct inhalation here).
Examples of plants used as herbal medicine
Artichoke may reduce production cholesterol levels according to in vitro studies and a small clinical study.
Soy and other plants that contain phytoestrogens (plant molecules with estrogen activity) (black cohosh probably has serotonin activity) have some benefits for treatment of symptoms resulting from menopause.
Cranberry may be effective in treating urinary tract infections in women with recurrent symptoms.
Echinacea extracts may limit the length and severity of rhinovirus colds; however, the appropriate dosage levels, which might be higher than is available over-the-counter, require further research.
Elderberry may speed the recovery from type A and B influenza. However it is possibly risky in the case of avian influenza because the immunostimulatory effects may aggravate the cytokine cascade.
Feverfew is sometimes used to treat migraine headaches.However, many reviews of these studies show no or unclear efficacy. However a more recent RTC
showed favorable results,[74]Feverfew is not recommended for pregnant women as it may be dangerous to the fetus.
Garlic may lower total cholesterol levels.
Green tea components can inhibit growth of cancer cells and may heal scars faster.
Honey may reduce cholesterol and can be useful in wound healing.
Lemon grass can lower cholesterol.
Oregano may be effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria.
Pawpaw can be used as insecticide (killing lice, worms).
Phytolacca or Pokeweed is used as a homeopathic remedy to treat many ailments. It can be applied topically or taken internally. Topical treatments have been used for acne and other ailments. It is used to treatment tonsilitis, swollen glands and weight loss.
Peppermint oil may have benefits for individuals with irritable bowel syndrome.
Rose hips Small scale studies indicate that hips from Rosa Canina may provide benefits in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Salvia lavandulaefolia may improve memory.
St. John's wort, has yielded positive results, proving more effective than a placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate depression.
Saw Palmetto can be used for BPH.
Stinging nettle In some clinical studies effective for enign prostatic hyperplasia and the pain associated with osteoarthritis.
Tea tree oil can be used to treat acne.
Valerian root can be used to treat insomnia.
Most herbalists concede that pharmaceuticals are more effective in emergency situations where time is of the essence. An example would be where a patient had elevated blood pressure that posed imminent danger. However they claim that over the long term herbal medicine can help the patient resist disease and in addition provide nutritional and immunological support that pharmaceuticals lack. We take the view that herbal medicine can be used as a prevention as well as cure.
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