Herbalism
Herbal medicine (also called herbalism, phytomedicine or phytotherapy) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine.[1]
With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever.[2][3]
There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage.[1][4]
The scope of herbal medicine sometimes include fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.[5]
Paraherbalism describes alternative and pseudoscientific practices of using unrefined plant or animal extracts as unproven medicines or health-promoting agents.[1][4][6][7]
Paraherbalism relies on the belief that preserving various substances from a given source with less processing is safer or more effective than manufactured products.