Today, Herbal Medicine

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 4 million people, 80% of world population, currently the use of herbal medicines for some aspect of primary health care. Herbal medicine is an important component in all indigenous medicine and traditional common element in Ayurvedic, homeopathic, naturopathic, traditional oriental, and Native American medicine in India. WHO notes that of 119 plant-derived pharmaceutical medicines, about 74% is used in modern medicine in a way that correlates directly with their traditional uses as plant medicines by native cultures. Major pharmaceutical companies are conducting extensive research on plant materials derived from tropical forests and other places for their potential medicinal value. 

Today, the U.S. Pharmacopeia, With its dependence on herbal compounds, has been almost forgotten. Most modern physicians rely on the Physician's Desk Reference, a comprehensive list of chemically manufactured drugs. It is important to note that each entry in this enormous volume, in addition to specifying the chemical compound and the actions of a particular drug, also includes an extensive list of contraindications and possible side effects. 

Instead of using a whole plant, pharmacologists identify, isolate, extract and synthesize the individual components, thus capturing the active properties. This can create problems, however. In addition to active ingredients, plants contain minerals, vitamins, volatile oils, glycosides, alkaloids, bioflavonoids and other substances that are important in supporting the medicinal properties of an herb. These elements also provide an important natural protection isolated or synthesized active compounds can be toxic in relatively small doses, usually takes a much greater than the whole herb with all its components, to achieve a toxic level. Herbs are medicines, however, and can have powerful effects. They should not be taken lightly shirt. Suggestions for herbal treatments in this book is not intended to replace consultation with a qualified medical professional, but to support and help in understanding and working with your doctor's advice. 

Substances derived from plants remain the basis for a large proportion of commercial drugs currently used to treat heart disease, high blood pressure, pain, asthma and other problems. For example, ephedra is an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than two thousand years to treat asthma and other respiratory problems. Ephedrine, the active ingredient in ephedra, is used in commercial pharmaceutical preparations for the relief of symptoms of asthma and other respiratory problems. It helps the patient to breathe more easily. 

Another example of using an herbal preparation in modern medicine is the foxglove plant. This herb has been used since 1775. At present, the dust from the leaf of this plant is known as a cardiac stimulant digitalis to the millions of heart patients that keeps alive worldwide. 

There are over 750,000 plants on earth. In relative terms, only very few of the herbs have been scientifically studied. And because modern pharmacology and seeks an active ingredient is isolated to the exclusion of all others, most of the research done on plants continues to focus on identifying and isolating the active principles, rather than studying the properties whole plant medicinal. Herbalists, however, believe that the power plant is in the interaction of all its ingredients. Plants used as medicines offer synergistic interactions between ingredients both known and unknown. 

The efficacy of many medicinal plants has been validated by scientists abroad, from Europe to East. Thanks to modern technology, science can now identify some of the specific properties and interactions of botanical constituents. With this scientific documentation, we now know why certain herbs are effective against certain conditions. However, almost all current research validating herbal medicine has been done in Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and Russia. And for the most part, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for licensing all new drugs (or any other substance medicinal properties are claimed) for use in the United States does not recognize or accepts the results across the sea. Doctors and U.S. government agencies want to see scientific studies before recognizing the effectiveness of a plant as medicine. However, although important research is being done in other countries, pharmaceutical companies and laboratories in the United States so far have not chosen to put much money or resources into botanical research. The result is that herbal medicine is not the same place of importance or level of acceptance in this country as it does in other countries.