Herbalism

Herbalism is the study and use of medicinal properties of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant" title="Plant" >plants</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extract" title="Extract" >plant extracts</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-0" >[1]</a> Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytotherapy" title="Phytotherapy" >phytotherapy</a>. The scope of herbal medicine is sometimes extended to include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungi" title="Fungi" class="mw-redirect" >fungal</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee" title="Bee" >bee</a> products, as well as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_mineral" title="Dietary mineral" >minerals</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_shell" title="Animal shell" class="mw-redirect" >shells</a> and certain animal parts.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-1" >[2]</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacognosy" title="Pharmacognosy" >Pharmacognosy</a> 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 have had an ethnomedical use identical or related to the current use of the active elements of the plant.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-Fabricant2001-2" >[3]</a>

Plants have 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. 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 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aromatic" title="Aromatic" class="mw-redirect" >aromatic</a> substances, most of which are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenols" title="Phenols" >phenols</a> or 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 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb" title="Herb" >herbs</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice" title="Spice" >spices</a> used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-3" >[4]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-4" >[5]</a>

Similarly to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescription_drugs" title="Prescription drugs" class="mw-redirect" >prescription drugs</a>, a number of herbs are thought to be likely to cause adverse effects.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-Talalay-5" >[6]</a> 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.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalism#cite_note-LewisME-6" >[7]</a>

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<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_plants_used_in_herbalism" title="List of plants used in herbalism" >List of plants used in herbalism</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinal_mushrooms" title="Medicinal mushrooms" >Medicinal mushrooms</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_herbs_with_known_adverse_effects" title="List of herbs with known adverse effects" >List of herbs with known adverse effects</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_garden" title="Herb garden" class="mw-redirect" >Herb garden</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine_of_signatures" title="Doctrine of signatures" >Doctrine of signatures</a></li>

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<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pharmacy" title="History of pharmacy" >History of pharmacy</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnobotany" title="Ethnobotany" >Ethnobotany</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda" title="Ayurveda" >Ayurveda</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_herbology" title="Chinese herbology" >Chinese herbology</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Directive_on_Traditional_Herbal_Medicinal_Products" title="European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products" >European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products</a></li>

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<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_medicine" title="Alternative medicine" >Alternative medicine</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrative_medicine" title="Integrative medicine" >Integrative medicine</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathic_medicine" title="Naturopathic medicine" class="mw-redirect" >Naturopathic medicine</a></li>

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Herbalism

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