Herbalism

Herbalism refers to folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as phytotherapy.

Biological background

All plants produce chemical compounds as part of their normal metabolic activities. These can be split into two categories - primary metabolites, such as sugars and fats, found in all plants; and secondary metabolites found in a smaller range of plants, some only in a particular genus or species.

Related Topics:
Compound - Metabolic - Sugar - Fat - Genus - Species

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The autologous functions of secondary metabolites are varied; for example as toxins 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 dahlias, quinine from the cinchona, morphine and codeine from the poppy, and digoxin from the foxglove.

Related Topics:
Inulin - Dahlia - Quinine - Cinchona - Morphine - Codeine - Poppy - Digoxin - Foxglove

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As of 2004, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine started to fund clinical trials into the effectiveness of herbal medicine http://health.nih.gov/result.asp/324.

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Some surveys of scientific herbal medicine can be found in:

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Evidence-based herbal medicine edited by Michael Rotblatt, Irwin Ziment; Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus, 2002; and

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Herbal and traditional medicine: molecular aspects of health, edited by Lester Packer, Choon Nam Ong, Barry Halliwell; New York: Marcel Dekker, 2004

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